19 Tex. Admin. Code § 153.1113 - Charter School Educators
(a) National
criminal history record information review.
(1) This section applies to a person
described in the Texas Education Code (TEC), § 22.0832, that is, a person
who is an employee or an applicant for employment with an open-enrollment
charter school in a position to which the TEC, §
12.1059,
applies.
(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.
[(6)]
(3) 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, §
22.0832.
[(7)]
(4)
The following conditions are material violations of the school's charter, as
provided by the TEC, §
22.0832:
(1) Upon notice from the Texas Education
Agency (TEA), an open-enrollment charter school shall provide the TEA with the
names, mailing addresses, and any other requested identifying information for
all employees and applicants to whom the TEC, §
12.1059,
applies.
(2) The charter school
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
charter school and its employees to whom the TEC, § 12.1059, applies of
the schedule and deadline for the submission of all such
information.]
[(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 covered employee's
national criminal history record information must be received by the TEA as
required by this section and the TEC, § 22.0832 .]
[(5) A person who has not
submitted the required information by the date specified in the notice shall
not be eligible to serve in a position to which the TEC, § 12.1059,
applies.]
(A) failure of an open-enrollment charter
school to provide the information required by this section; and
(B) continued employment by an
open-enrollment charter school of a person in a position to which the TEC,
§
12.1059, applies,
after receipt of notice from the TEA that the person has failed to submit the
information required by this section.
(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 (SBEC) 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) An open-enrollment charter
school may require an employee to whom the TEC, §
12.1059, applies to
pay all fees related to obtaining and reviewing the national criminal history
record information required by this section.
(d) Employment pending review.
(1) An open-enrollment charter school shall
ensure that a person subject to the TEC, §
22.0832, submits the
required information before that person's employment begins in a position to
which the TEC, §
12.1059,
applies.
(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, §
22.0832, 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 open-enrollment
charter school withdraws its offer of employment or terminates the employee
under review, the school shall immediately notify the TEA, and no final
determination of employability will be made.
(e) Standard of TEA review for charter school
educators.
(1) As required by the TEC, §
22.0832, the TEA shall
review the criminal history record information of a person to whom that section
applies to determine if that person would be eligible for certification under
the TEC, Chapter 21, Subchapter B, and shall review the certification status,
if any, of the person to determine if the person presents a danger to the
health, safety, or welfare of the students, as defined by the TEC, §
12.1162(b).
(2) The TEA shall determine that a person to
whom this section applies would not be eligible for educator certification if
that person's criminal history record information provides satisfactory
evidence that the person would not be eligible for educator certification under
the TEC, Chapter 21, Subchapter B, and Chapter 249 of this title (relating to
Disciplinary Proceedings, Sanctions, and Contested Cases), where it is provided
that certification may be denied if:
(A) the
person has engaged in conduct that would constitute an offense directly
relating to public education;
(B)
the person lacks good moral character; or
(C) the person is unworthy to instruct or
supervise the youth of this state.
(3) The TEA may rely on the rules and
reported decisions of educator certification cases in its interpretation of the
standards for educator certification. The TEA may also determine that a covered
charter school educator would not be eligible for educator certification
because the educator's revoked or suspended certification status, if any,
demonstrates that the educator presents a danger to the health, safety, or
welfare of the students, as defined by the TEC, §
12.1162(b).
(f) Notice of proposed
determination of ineligibility for employment.
(1) The TEA shall notify the charter school
educator by certified mail, return receipt requested, if, based on its criminal
history record information review, the TEA proposes to make a determination
that the charter school educator is ineligible for such employment under the
terms of the TEC, §§
12.1162(b)
and/or 22.0832 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 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 charter school educator 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 charter school educator is
eligible for employment as a charter school educator under the terms of the
TEC, §§
12.1162(b)
and/or 22.0832 and 22.085.
(4)
After review of such response, if any, the TEA shall notify the charter school
educator by certified mail, return receipt requested, of its determination and
shall notify the open-enrollment charter school by e-mail.
(g) Other charter school obligations.
(1) An open-enrollment charter school shall
discharge or refuse to hire an employee or applicant for a position to which
the TEC, §
12.1059, applies if
the charter school obtains information through a criminal history record
information review or by notification from the TEA pursuant to the TEC, §
22.0832, that:
(A) an employee or applicant has been
determined to be ineligible for employment as a charter school educator
pursuant to the TEC, §
22.0832 and §
22.085; or
(B) an employee or applicant has been
determined to be ineligible for employment as a charter school educator
pursuant to the TEC, §
12.1162(b),
because the employee or applicant is a certified educator whose certificate is
currently revoked or suspended for reasons that indicate a danger to the
health, safety, or welfare of students, as defined by the TEC, §
12.1162(b).
(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 chief operating
officer of an open-enrollment charter school shall certify to the TEA that the
school entity has complied with the TEC, §
22.085.
(4) The charter school 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.
(5) The failure of an open-enrollment charter
school to comply with a final determination under this section or to provide
the information required by this section may be deemed a material violation of
the school's charter.
(h) Appeal of the TEA determination. A
charter school educator may appeal the TEA determination that he or she is not
eligible for employment as a charter school educator pursuant to the TEC,
§§
12.1162(b)
and/or 22.0832 and 22.085, according to the procedures in §
153.1115 of this title (relating
to Appeal of the TEA Determination), but the charter school educator is not
eligible for employment in a position to which the TEC, §
12.1059, applies
unless the TEA determination is reversed by a final administrative
order.
Notes
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