(a) A school district shall ensure that a teacher is provided with an orientation of the Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (T-TESS) no later than the final day of the first three weeks of school and at least two weeks before the first observation when:
  (1) the teacher is new to the district;
  (2) the teacher has never been appraised under the T-TESS; or
  (3) district policy regarding teacher appraisal has changed since the last time the teacher was provided with an orientation to the T-TESS.
(b) The teacher orientation shall be conducted in a face-to-face setting during a district's first year of T-TESS implementation and include all state and local appraisal policies and the local appraisal calendar. In addition to the orientation, campuses may hold other sessions sufficient in length allowing teachers to actively participate in a discussion of the T-TESS specifics and to have their questions answered.

Source Note: The provisions of this §150.1006 adopted to be effective July 1, 2016, 41 TexReg 2957