37 Tex. Admin. Code § 218.3 - Legislatively Required Continuing Education for Licensees
(a) Each licensee shall complete the
legislatively mandated continuing education in this chapter. Each appointing
agency shall allow the licensee the opportunity to complete the legislatively
mandated continuing education in this chapter. This section does not limit the
number or hours of continuing education an agency may provide.
(b) Each training unit (2 years)
(1) Peace officers shall complete at least 40
hours of continuing education, to include the corresponding legislative update
for that unit. Peace officers shall complete not less than 16 hours of training
on responding to an active shooter as developed by the Advanced Law Enforcement
Rapid Response Training Center at Texas State University-San Marcos. All peace
officers shall complete ALERRT Level 1 training not later than August 31, 2027.
Training for all chief administrators, who are licensed as peace officers,
shall include ALERRT command and leadership training each training
unit.
(2) Telecommunicators shall
complete at least 20 hours of continuing education to include cardiopulmonary
resuscitation training.
(c) Each training cycle (4 years)
(1) Peace officers who have not yet reached
intermediate proficiency certification shall complete: Cultural Diversity
(3939), Special Investigative Topics (3232), Crisis Intervention (3843) and
De-escalation (1849).
(2)
Individuals licensed as reserve law enforcement officers, jailers, or public
security officers shall complete Cultural Diversity (3939), unless the person
has completed or is otherwise exempted from legislatively required training
under another commission license or certificate.
(d) Assignment specific training
(1) Police chiefs: individuals appointed as
"chief" or "police chief" of a police department shall complete:
(A) For an individual appointed to that
individual's first position as chief, the initial training program for new
chiefs provided by the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute, not
later than the second anniversary of that individual's appointment or election
as chief; and
(B) At least 40 hours
of continuing education for chiefs each 24-month unit, as provided by the Bill
Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute.
(2) Constables: elected or appointed
constables shall complete:
(A) For an
individual appointed or elected to that individual's first position as
constable, the initial training program for new constables provided by the Bill
Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute, not later than the second
anniversary of that individual's appointment or election as constable;
and
(B) Each 48 month cycle, at
least 40 hours of continuing education for constables, as provided by the Bill
Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute and a 20 hour course of training
in civil process to be provided by a public institution of higher education
selected by the Commission.
(3) Deputy constables: each deputy constable
shall complete a 20 hour course of training in civil process each training
cycle. The commission may waive the requirement for this training if the
constable, in the format required by TCOLE, requests exemption due to the
deputy constable not engaging in civil process as part of their assigned
duties.
(4) New supervisors: each
peace officer assigned to their first position as a supervisor must complete
new supervisor training within one year prior to or one year after appointment
as a supervisor.
(5) School-based
Law Enforcement Officers: School district peace officers and school resource
officers providing law enforcement services at a school district must obtain a
school-based law enforcement proficiency certificate within 180 days of the
officer's commission or placement in the district or campus of the
district.
(6) Eyewitness
Identification Officers: peace officers performing the function of eyewitness
identification must first complete the Eyewitness Identification training
(3286).
(7) Courtroom Security
Officers/Persons: any person appointed to perform courtroom security functions
at any level shall complete the Courtroom Security course (10999) within 1 year
of appointment.
(8) Body-Worn
Cameras: peace officers and other persons meeting the requirements of
Occupations Code
1701.656 must first
complete Body-Worn Camera training (8158).
(9) Officers Carrying Epinephrine
Auto-injectors: peace officers meeting the requirements of Occupations Code
1701.702 must first
complete epinephrine auto-injector training.
(10) Jailer Firearm Certification: jailers
carrying a firearm as part of their assigned duties must first obtain the
Jailer Firearms certificate before carrying a firearm.
(11) University Peace Officers,
Trauma-Informed Investigation Training: each university or college peace
officer shall complete an approved course on trauma-informed investigation into
allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, and
stalking.
(e)
Miscellaneous training
(1) Human Trafficking:
every peace officer first licensed on or after January 1, 2011, must complete
Human Trafficking (3270) within 2 years of being licensed.
(2) Canine Encounters: every peace officer
first licensed on or after January 1, 2016, must take Canine Encounters (4065)
within 2 years of being licensed.
(3) Deaf and Hard of Hearing Drivers: every
peace officer licensed on or after March 1, 2016, must complete Deaf and Hard
of Hearing Drivers (7887) within 2 years of being licensed.
(4) Civilian Interaction Training: every
peace officer licensed before January 1, 2018, must complete Civilian
Interaction Training Program (CITP) within 2 years. All other peace officers
must complete the course within 2 years of being licensed.
(5) Crisis Intervention Training: every peace
officer licensed on or after April 1, 2018, must complete the 40 hour Crisis
Intervention Training within 2 years of being licensed.
(6) Mental Health for Jailers: all county
jailers must complete Mental Health for Jailers not later than August 31,
2021.
(f) The Commission
may choose to accept an equivalent course for any of the courses listed in this
chapter, provided the equivalent course is evaluated by commission staff and
found to meet or exceed the minimum curriculum requirements of the
legislatively mandated course.
(g)
The commission shall provide adequate notice to agencies and licensees of
impending non-compliance with the legislatively required continuing
education.
(h) The chief
administrator of an agency that has licensees who are in non-compliance shall,
within 30 days of receipt of notice of non-compliance, submit a report to the
commission explaining the reasons for such non-compliance.
(i) Licensees shall complete the
legislatively mandated continuing education in the first complete training
unit, as required, or first complete training cycle, as required, after being
licensed.
(j) All peace officers
must meet all continuing education requirements except where exempt by
law.
(k) The effective date of this
section is September 1, 2024.
Notes
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.