(a) The Texas Education Agency (TEA) staff shall develop procedures to:
  (1) notify educators at least six months prior to the expiration of the renewal period to the email address as specified in §230.91 of this title (relating to Procedures in General);
  (2) confirm compliance with all renewal requirements pursuant to this subchapter;
  (3) notify educators who are not renewed due to noncompliance with this section; and
  (4) verify that educators applying for reactivation of certificate(s) under §232.9 of this title (relating to Inactive Status and Late Renewal) are in compliance with subsection (c) of this section.
(b) The TEA staff shall administratively approve each hardship exemption request that meets the criteria specified in paragraphs (1)-(3) of this subsection for a hardship exemption due to a catastrophic illness or military service or paragraph (4) of this subsection for a hardship exemption requested by a local education agency.
  (1) A hardship exemption must be due to one of the following circumstances that prevented the educator's completion of renewal requirements:
    (A) catastrophic illness or injury of the educator;
    (B) catastrophic illness or injury of an immediate family member; or
    (C) military service of the educator.
  (2) The request for a hardship exemption must include documentation from a licensed physician or verified military records.
  (3) The request for the amount of time allowed for renewal is equal to:
    (A) the amount of time that a licensed physician determined that the educator was not able to complete renewal requirements due to the educator's catastrophic illness or injury; or
    (B) the amount of time that a licensed physician determined that the educator was not able to complete renewal requirements due to the catastrophic illness or injury of an immediate family member; or
    (C) two years of additional time for a military service member, in accordance with the Texas Occupations Code, §55.003.
  (4) A hardship exemption may be approved for a local education agency on behalf of an educator who has an invalid certificate due to lack of earning the required continuing professional education (CPE) hours as prescribed in §232.11 of this title (relating to Number and Content of Required Continuing Professional Education Hours). The hardship exemption is valid for the academic year of the application and may be renewed up to one additional academic year, provided that the superintendent or designee of the local education agency requests the extension.
  (5) If a hardship exemption request, as described in paragraph (4) of this subsection, is approved, the educator must pay the appropriate renewal fee, pursuant to §230.101 of this title (relating to Schedule of Fees for Certification Services).
(c) To be eligible for renewal, an educator must:
  (1) subject to §232.16(c) of this title (relating to Verification of Renewal Requirements), satisfy CPE requirements, pursuant to §232.11 of this title;
  (2) hold a valid standard certificate that is not currently suspended and has not been surrendered in lieu of revocation or revoked by lawful authority;
  (3) not be a respondent in a disciplinary proceeding under Chapter 249 of this title (relating to Disciplinary Proceedings, Sanctions, and Contested Cases);
  (4) be in compliance with all terms of any orders of the State Board for Educator Certification resulting from a disciplinary proceeding against the educator under Chapter 249 of this title;
  (5) successfully resolve any reported criminal history, as defined by §249.3 of this title (relating to Definitions);
  (6) not be in arrears of child support, pursuant to the Texas Family Code, Chapter 232;
  (7) pay the renewal fee, provided in §230.101 of this title, which shall be a single fee regardless of the number of certificates being renewed; and
  (8) submit fingerprints in accordance with §232.35(c) of this title (relating to Submission of Required Information) and the Texas Education Code, §22.0831.
(d) The TEA staff shall renew the certificate(s) of an educator who meets all requirements of this subchapter.

Source Note: The provisions of this §232.7 adopted to be effective August 12, 2012, 37 TexReg 5764; amended to be effective August 28, 2016, 41 TexReg 6195; amended to be effective August 6, 2020, 45 TexReg 5345; amended to be effective May 12, 2022, 47 TexReg 2754; amended to be effective October 6, 2022, 47 TexReg 6435; amended to be effective March 7, 2024, 49 TexReg 1276