19 Tex. Admin. Code § 153.1111 - Substitute Teachers
(a) National
criminal history record information review.
(1) This section applies to a person
described in the Texas Education Code (TEC), § 22.0836, that is, a person
who is a substitute teacher for a school entity or who is an applicant for a
substitute teaching position.
(2)
Before being employed by a school entity, every person to whom this section
applies, and who has not previously done so, shall submit fingerprint,
photograph, and identification information to the Texas Department of Public
Safety (DPS) as required by this section. All information shall be submitted in
the form the DPS requires for the purpose of being included in the
Clearinghouse.
(b)
Submission of required information.
(1) Upon
notice from the Texas Education Agency (TEA), a school entity shall provide the
TEA with the names, mailing addresses, and any other requested identifying
information for all substitute teachers authorized to be employed by the school
entity at that time.
(2) The school
entity shall ensure that each such person shall obtain electronically from the
TEA an authorization for submission of fingerprint, photograph, and
identification information to the DPS in the form the DPS requires.
[(3) The TEA shall notify the
school entity and its substitute teachers of the schedule and deadline for the
submission of all such information by substitute teachers employed by the
school entity.]
[(4) This notice of the schedule
and deadline shall specify the date, which shall be at least 80 calendar days
from the date the notice is mailed, that the substitute teacher's national
criminal history record information must be received by the TEA as required by
this section and the TEC, § 22.0836 .]
[(5) A person who has not
submitted the required information by the date specified in the notice shall
not be eligible to serve as a substitute teacher for any school
entity.]
(3)
[(6)] Only fingerprint, photograph, and
identification information that has been properly authorized by the TEA will be
accepted by the DPS and included in the Clearinghouse as required by the TEC,
§
22.0836.
(c) Fees.
(1) The TEA's fee for review of national
criminal history record information shall be the same as that required by the
State Board for Educator Certification for such a review and may be collected
by any entity authorized to obtain the information necessary for the review,
which shall then remit the TEA's portion of the fee to the TEA.
(2) A school entity may require a substitute
teacher to pay all fees related to obtaining and reviewing the national
criminal history record information required by this section.
(d) Employment pending review.
(1) A school entity shall ensure that a
person subject to the TEC, §
22.0836, submits the
required information before that person's employment begins.
(2) After the required information is
submitted, the person may begin employment, but that employment is conditional
upon the review of that person's criminal history record information by the TEA
pursuant to the TEC, §
22.0836, and must be
terminated if the TEA makes a determination that the employee or applicant is
ineligible for employment under the terms of the TEC, §
22.085.
(3) In the event that the school entity
withdraws its offer of employment or terminates the employee under review, the
school entity shall immediately notify the TEA, and no final determination of
employability will be made.
(e) Notice of proposed determination of
ineligibility for employment.
(1) The TEA
shall notify the substitute teacher by certified mail, return receipt
requested, if, based on its criminal history record information review and/or
its review of the substitute teacher's certification status, if any, the TEA
proposes to make a determination that the substitute teacher is ineligible for
such employment under the terms of the TEC, §
22.0836 and §
22.085.
(2) The notice shall specify the basis for
the proposed determination, including, but not limited to, a description of the
criminal charges or convictions involved and/or the educator certification
status, if any, related to the determination.
(3) The notice shall state that the
determination will be made unless the substitute teacher submits a written
response to the TEA, which may include supporting documents or affidavits,
within 15 calendar days from the date the notice was mailed, and such response
demonstrates to the satisfaction of the TEA that the substitute teacher is
eligible for employment as a substitute teacher under the terms of the TEC,
§
22.0836 and §
22.085.
(4) After review of such response, if any,
the TEA shall notify the substitute teacher by certified mail, return receipt
requested, of its determination and shall notify the substitute teacher's
school entity by e-mail.
(f) Other school entity obligations.
(1) A school entity shall discharge or refuse
to hire an employee or applicant if the school entity obtains information
through a criminal history record information review or by notification from
the TEA pursuant to the TEC, §
22.0836, that an
employee or applicant for employment has been convicted of an offense covered
by the TEC, §
22.085, or that an
employee or applicant is a certified educator whose certificate is currently
revoked or suspended.
(2) Pursuant
to the TEC, §
22.085(e),
sanctions may be imposed on the certificate of a certified educator who fails
to discharge an employee or fails to refuse to hire an applicant, if the
educator knows or should have known that the employee or applicant has been
convicted of an offense described in the TEC, §
22.085(a).
(3) Each school year the superintendent or
chief operating officer of a school entity shall certify to the TEA that the
school entity has complied with the TEC, §
22.085.
(4) The school entity shall cooperate with
the TEA and the DPS and its contractors to facilitate the submission of the
required information, including assisting in the distribution of notices and
authorization forms, if requested to do so by the TEA.
(g) Appeal of the TEA determination. A
substitute teacher may appeal the TEA determination that he or she is not
eligible for employment as a substitute teacher pursuant to the TEC, §
22.0836 and §
22.085, according to
the procedures described in §
153.1115 of this title (relating
to Appeal of the TEA Determination), but the substitute teacher is not eligible
for employment by a school entity as a substitute teacher unless the TEA
determination is reversed by a final administrative order.
Notes
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