Sec. 21.304.  DECISION OF COMMISSIONER.  (a)  The commissioner's decision must be in writing and must include findings of fact and conclusions of law.  The commissioner may adopt by reference and incorporate findings of fact or conclusions of law from the local record.
(b)  The commissioner must issue a decision not later than the 30th day after the last day on which a response to the petition for review may be filed under Section 21.301(b).  If the commissioner fails to issue a decision within that time, the decision of the board is affirmed.
(c)  The commissioner shall send a copy of the decision to each party or the party's representative by certified mail.  The commissioner shall keep a record of the mailing.  A party is presumed to be notified of the decision on the date the decision is received, as indicated by the certified mail return receipt.
(d)  The commissioner shall maintain and index decisions of the commissioner issued under this section with the recommendations or decisions of the hearing examiner.
(e)  If the commissioner reverses the action of the board of trustees, the commissioner shall order the school district to reinstate the teacher and to pay the teacher any back pay and employment benefits from the time of discharge or suspension to reinstatement.
(f)  Instead of reinstating a teacher under Subsection (e), the school district may pay the teacher one year's salary to which the teacher would have been entitled from the date on which the teacher would have been reinstated.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 260, Sec. 1, eff. May 30, 1995.