37 Tex. Admin. Code § 217.1 - Minimum Standards for Enrollment of Initial Licensure

(a) In order for an individual to enroll in any basic licensing course the provider must have on file documentation, acceptable to the Commission, that the individual meets eligibility for licensure.

(b) The commission shall issue a license to an applicant who meets the following standards:

(1) minimum age requirement:

(A) for peace officers and public security officers, is 21 years of age; or 18 years of age if the applicant has received:

(i) an associate's degree; or 60 semester hours of credit from an accredited college or university; or

(ii) has received an honorable discharge from the armed forces of the United States after at least two years of active service;

(B) for jailers and telecommunicators is 18 years of age;

(2) minimum educational requirements:

(A) has passed a general educational development (GED) test indicating high school graduation level;

(B) holds a high school diploma; or

(C) for enrollment purposes in a basic peace officer academy only, has an honorable discharge from the armed forces of the United States after at least 24 months of active duty service;

(3) is fingerprinted and is subjected to a search of local, state and U.S. national records and fingerprint files to disclose any criminal record;

(4) has never been on court-ordered community supervision or probation for any criminal offense above the grade of Class B misdemeanor or a Class B misdemeanor within the last ten years from the date of the court order;

(5) is not currently charged with any criminal offense for which conviction would be a bar to licensure;

(6) has never been convicted of an offense above the grade of a Class B misdemeanor or a Class B misdemeanor within the last ten years;

(7) has never been convicted or placed on community supervision in any court of an offense involving family violence as defined under Chapter 71, Texas Family Code;

(8) for peace officers, is not prohibited by state or federal law from operating a motor vehicle;

(9) for peace officers, is not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition;

(10) has been subjected to a background investigation completed by the enrolling or appointing entity into the applicant's personal history. A background investigation shall include, at a minimum, the following:

(A) An enrolling entity shall:

(i) require completion of the Commission-approved personal history statement; and

(ii) verify that the applicant meets each individual requirement for licensure under this rule based on the personal history statement and any other information known to the enrolling entity; and

(iii) contact all previous enrolling entities.

(B) In addition to subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, a law enforcement agency or law enforcement agency academy shall:

(i) require completion of the Commission-approved personal history statement; and

(ii) meet all requirements enacted in Occupations Code 1701.451, including submission to the Commission of a form confirming all requirements have been met. An in-person review of personnel records is acceptable in lieu of making the personnel records available electronically if a hiring agency and a previous employing law enforcement agency mutually agree to the in-person review.

(11) examined by a physician, selected by the appointing or employing agency, who is licensed by the Texas Medical Board. The physician must be familiar with the duties appropriate to the type of license sought and appointment to be made. The appointee must be declared by that professional, on a form prescribed by the commission, within 180 days before the date of appointment by the agency to be:

(A) physically sound and free from any defect which may adversely affect the performance of duty appropriate to the type of license sought;

(B) show no trace of drug dependency or illegal drug use after a blood test or other medical test; and

(C) for the purpose of meeting the requirements for initial licensure, an individual's satisfactory medical exam that is conducted as a requirement of a basic licensing course may remain valid for 180 days from the individual's date of graduation from that academy, if accepted by the appointing agency;

(12) examined by a psychologist, selected by the appointing, employing agency, or the academy, who is licensed by the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists. This examination may also be conducted by a psychiatrist licensed by the Texas Medical Board. The psychologist or psychiatrist must be familiar with the duties appropriate to the type of license sought. The individual must be declared by that professional, on a form prescribed by the commission, to be in satisfactory psychological and emotional health to serve as the type of officer for which the license is sought. The examination must be conducted pursuant to professionally recognized standards and methods. The examination process must consist of a review of a job description for the position sought; review of any personal history statements; review of any background documents; at least two instruments, one which measures personality traits and one which measures psychopathology; and a face to face interview conducted after the instruments have been scored. The appointee must be declared by that professional, on a form prescribed by the commission, within 180 days before the date of the appointment by the agency;

(A) the commission may allow for exceptional circumstances where a licensed physician performs the evaluation of psychological and emotional health. This requires the appointing agency to request in writing and receive approval from the commission, prior to the evaluation being completed; or

(B) the examination may be conducted by qualified persons identified by Texas Occupations Code § 501.004. This requires the appointing agency to request in writing and receive approval from the commission, prior to the evaluation being completed; and

(C) for the purpose of meeting the requirements for initial licensure, an individual's satisfactory psychological exam that is conducted as a requirement of a basic licensing course may remain valid for 180 days from the individual's date of graduation from that academy, if accepted by the appointing agency;

(13) has never received a dishonorable discharge from the armed forces of the United States;

(14) has not had a commission license denied by final order or revoked;

(15) is not currently on suspension, or does not have a surrender of license currently in effect;

(16) meets the minimum training standards and passes the commission licensing examination for each license sought;

(17) is a U.S. citizen or is a legal permanent resident of the United States, if the person is an honorably discharged veteran of the armed forces of the United States with at least two years of service before discharge and presents evidence satisfactory to the commission that the person has applied for United States citizenship.

(c) For the purposes of this section, the commission will construe any court-ordered community supervision, probation or conviction for a criminal offense to be its closest equivalent under the Texas Penal Code classification of offenses if the offense arose from:

(1) another penal provision of Texas law; or

(2) a penal provision of any other state, federal, military or foreign jurisdiction.

(d) A classification of an offense as a felony at the time of conviction will never be changed because Texas law has changed or because the offense would not be a felony under current Texas laws.

(e) A person must meet the training and examination requirements:

(1) training for the peace officer license consists of:

(A) the current basic peace officer course(s);

(B) a commission recognized, POST developed, basic law enforcement training course, to include:

(i) out of state licensure or certification; and

(ii) submission of the current eligibility application and fee; or

(C) a commission approved academic alternative program, taken through a licensed academic alternative provider and at least an associate's degree.

(2) training for the jailer license consists of the current basic county corrections course(s) or training recognized under Texas Occupations Code § 1701.310;

(3) training for the public security officer license consists of the current basic peace officer course(s);

(4) training for telecommunicator license consists of telecommunicator course; and

(5) passing any examination required for the license sought while the exam approval remains valid.

(f) The commission may issue a provisional license, consistent with Texas Occupations Code § 1701.311, to an agency for a person to be appointed by that agency. An agency must submit all required applications currently prescribed by the commission and all required fees before the individual is appointed. Upon the approval of the application, the commission will issue a provisional license. A provisional license is issued in the name of the applicant; however, it is issued to and shall remain in the possession of the agency. Such a license may neither be transferred by the applicant to another agency, nor transferred by the agency to another applicant. A provisional license may not be reissued and expires:

(1) 12 months from the original appointment date;

(2) on leaving the appointing agency; or

(3) on failure to comply with the terms stipulated in the provisional license approval.

(g) The commission may issue a temporary jailer license, consistent with Texas Occupations Code § 1701.310. A jailer appointed on a temporary basis shall be enrolled in a basic jailer licensing course on or before the 90th day after their temporary appointment. An agency must submit all required applications currently prescribed by the commission and all required fees before the individual is appointed. Upon the approval of the application, the commission will issue a temporary jailer license. A temporary jailer license may not be renewed, except that the sheriff may petition the commission to extend the temporary appointment for a period not to exceed six months. A temporary jailer license expires:

(1) 12 months from the original appointment date;

(2) at the end of a six-month extension, if granted; or

(3) on completion of training and passing of the jailer licensing examination.

(h) A person who has previously been issued a temporary jailer license and separated from that position may be subsequently appointed on a temporary basis as a county jailer at the same or a different county jail only if the person was in good standing at the time the person separated from the position.

(i) A person who has cumulatively served as a county jailer on a temporary basis for two years may continue to serve for the remainder of that temporary appointment, not to exceed the first anniversary of the date of the most recent appointment. The person is not eligible for an extension of that appointment or for a subsequent appointment on a temporary basis as a county jailer at the same or a different county jail until the first anniversary of the date the person separates from the temporary appointment during which the person reached two years of cumulative service.

(j) A person whose county jailer license has become inactive may be appointed as a county jailer on a temporary basis.

(k) The commission may issue a temporary telecommunicator license, consistent with Texas Occupations Code § 1701.405. An agency must submit all required applications currently prescribed by the commission and all required fees before the individual is appointed. Upon the approval of the application, the commission will issue a temporary telecommunicator license. A temporary telecommunicator license expires:

(1) 12 months from the original appointment date; or

(2) on completion of training and passing of the telecommunicator licensing examination. On expiration of a temporary license, a person is not eligible for a new temporary telecommunicator license for one year.

(l) A person who fails to comply with the standards set forth in this section shall not accept the issuance of a license and shall not accept any appointment. If an application for licensure is found to be false or untrue, it is subject to cancellation or recall.

(m) The effective date of this section is April 1, 2024.

Notes

37 Tex. Admin. Code § 217.1

The provisions of this §217.1 adopted to be effective January 1, 2012, 36 TexReg 8986; amended to be effective July 12, 2012, 37 TexReg 4602; amended to be effective January 17, 2013, 37 TexReg 10252; amended to be effective February 1, 2014, 38 TexReg 9611; adopted by Texas Register, Volume 39, Number 40, October 3, 2014, TexReg 7935, eff. 11/1/2014; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 41, Number 01, January 1, 2016, TexReg 274, eff. 2/1/2016; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 43, Number 12, March 23, 2018, TexReg 1879, eff. 5/1/2018; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 45, Number 05, January 31, 2020, TexReg 765, eff. 2/5/2020; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 47, Number 19, May 13, 2022, TexReg 2883, eff. 6/1/2022; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 49, Number 12, March 22, 2024, TexReg 1967, eff. 4/1/2024