37 Tex. Admin. Code § 441.5 - Requirements
(a) Continuing education shall be required in
order to renew certification.
(b)
The continuing education requirement for renewal shall consist of a minimum of
18 hours of training to be conducted during the certification period. Of the 18
hours, two hours shall be a review of the most recent TCFP injury report, with
a focus on the top three leading causes of injuries during the reporting
period. All documentation of training used to satisfy the continuing education
requirements must be maintained for a period of three years from the date of
the training. Continuing education records shall be maintained by the
department in accordance with the Texas State Library and Archives Commission,
State and Local Records Management Division, Records Schedule, or Local
Schedule (GR 1050-28), whichever is greater.
(c) Level 1 training must be conducted by a
certified instructor. Interactive computer-based continuing education training
that is supervised and verified by a certified instructor is
acceptable.
(d) The continuing
education program of a regulated entity must be administered and maintained in
accordance with commission rule by a certified instructor.
(e) No more than four hours per year in any
one subject of Level 1 training may be counted toward the continuing education
requirement for a particular certification.
(f) There shall be no "hour per subject
limit" placed on Level 2 courses, except that emergency medical courses shall
be limited to four hours per year.
(g) The head of a fire department may select
subject matter for continuing education appropriate for a particular
discipline.
(h) The head of a fire
department must certify whether or not the individuals whose certificates are
being renewed have complied with the continuing education requirements of this
chapter on the certification renewal document. Unless exempted from the
continuing education requirements, an individual who fails to comply with the
continuing education requirements in this chapter shall be notified by the
commission of the failure to comply.
(i) After notification from the commission of
a failure to comply with continuing education requirements, an individual who
holds a certificate is prohibited from performing any duties authorized by a
required certificate until such time as the deficiency has been resolved and
written documentation is furnished by the department head for approval by the
commission. Continuing education hours obtained to resolve a deficiency may not
be applied to the continuing education requirements for the current
certification period.
(j) Any
person who is a member of a paid or volunteer fire department who is on
extended leave for a cumulative period of six months or longer due to a
documented illness, injury, or activation to military service may be exempted
from the continuing education requirement for the applicable renewal period(s).
Such exemptions shall be reported by the head of the department to the
commission at renewal time, and a copy kept with the department continuing
education records for three years.
(k) Any individual who is not a member of a
paid or volunteer fire department who is unable to perform work, substantially
similar in nature as would be performed by fire protection personnel appointed
to that discipline, may be exempted from the continuing education requirement
for the applicable renewal period(s). Commission staff shall determine the
exemption using documentation provided by the individual and the individual's
treating physician of the illness or injury that cumulatively lasts six months
or longer, or by documentation of military service or activation to military
service.
(l) In order to renew
certification for any discipline which has a continuing education requirement
stated in this chapter, an individual holder of a certificate not employed by a
regulated entity must comply with the continuing education requirements for
that discipline. Only 20 total hours of continuing education for each
certification period in Level 1 or Level 2 subjects relating to the
certification being renewed shall be required to renew all certificates the
individual holds, except as provided in §
441.17 of this title (relating to
Continuing Education for Hazardous Materials Technician).
(m) An individual certificate holder, not
employed by a regulated entity, shall submit documentation of continuing
education training upon notification by the commission. An example of
documentation of continuing education training may include, but not be limited
to, a Certificate of Completion, a college or training facility transcript, a
fire department training roster, etc. Commission staff will review and may
approve or disapprove such documentation of training in accordance with
applicable commission rules and/or procedures. The training for a resident of
Texas at the time the continuing education training is conducted shall be
administered by a commission instructor, commission certified training
facility, an accredited institution of higher education, or a military or
nationally recognized provider of training. The training for a nonresident of
Texas shall be delivered by a state fire academy, a fire department training
facility, an accredited institution of higher education, or a military or
nationally recognized provider of training. The individual must submit training
documentation to the commission for evaluation of the equivalency of the
training required by this chapter. The individual certificate holder is
responsible for maintaining all of his or her training records for a period of
three years from the date of the training.
(n) If an individual has completed a
commission approved academy in the 12 months prior to his or her certification
expiration date, a copy of that certificate of completion will be acceptable
documentation of continuing education for that certification renewal
period.
Notes
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