(a) Notice to school entity.
  (1) Upon notice from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) staff, a school entity shall provide, no later than 15 calendar days from the date the school entity receives the notice, the names, e-mail addresses, and any other requested identifying information for all certified educators employed by the school entity at that time.
  (2) All certified educators shall provide the school entity by which they are employed an e-mail address at which the certified educator can receive notices and authorizations required by this subchapter. A school entity e-mail address or an Internet e-mail address is acceptable for this purpose.
  (3) The TEA staff shall use the identifying information to return a fingerprinting status to the school entity. The TEA will also submit the identifying information to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) or its vendor to pre-enroll certified educators who must submit fingerprint, photograph, and identification information for the purpose of a national criminal history record information review.
  (4) All certified educators hired by a school entity shall submit fingerprint, photograph, and identification information required by this subchapter before the certified educator begins employment with the school entity. This requirement will not apply if the certified educator has already submitted such information to the DPS in the form the DPS requires for the purposes of fingerprinting under §230.11(b)(2) of this title (relating to General Requirements) or Chapter 153, Subchapter DD, of this title (relating to Criminal History Record Information Review).
(b) Notice to certified educator to submit required information.
  (1) The TEA staff shall notify the certified educator by e-mail, at the address specified by the school entity, that the certified educator must submit fingerprint, photograph, and identification information to the DPS in the form the DPS requires for the purpose of entering the certified educator's national criminal history record information into the Criminal History Clearinghouse.
  (2) The notice shall specify the date, which shall be at least 80 calendar days from the date the notice is sent via e-mail, that the certified educator's national criminal history record information must be received by the TEA staff as required by this section and by the Texas Education Code (TEC), §22.083.
(c) Authorization to submit required information.
  (1) Each certified educator shall pay the required national criminal history review fee, which shall be in the same amount as the national criminal history check fee for applicants for certification in §230.101of this title (relating to Schedule of Fees for Certification Services). This provision does not prohibit another entity from paying the national criminal history review fee on behalf of the educator.
  (2) Only fingerprint information that has been properly authorized by the TEA staff shall satisfy the requirements of the TEC, §22.0831, and shall be accepted and entered in the Criminal History Clearinghouse.

Source Note: The provisions of this §232.35 adopted to be effective August 12, 2012, 37 TexReg 5764; amended to be effective August 6, 2020, 45 TexReg 5345