(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.

Source Note: The provisions of this §441.5 adopted to be effective November 1, 1998, 23 TexReg 10903; amended to be effective October 11, 2000, 25 TexReg 10190; amended to be effective June 26, 2001, 26 TexReg 4734; amended to be effective July 29, 2002, 27 TexReg 6726; amended to be effective December 24, 2002, 27 TexReg 12008; amended to be effective May 26, 2005, 30 TexReg 3037; amended to be effective November 8, 2005, 30 TexReg 7239; amended to be effective March 27, 2006, 31 TexReg 2701; amended to be effective March 7, 2007, 32 TexReg 1099; amended to be effective December 18, 2012, 37 TexReg 9783; amended to be effective November 26, 2015, 40 TexReg 8344; amended to beeffective February 10, 2016, 41 TexReg 980; amended to be effective November 25, 2021, 46 TexReg 7897