(a) The department shall evaluate continuing education programs and assign the number of qualified category units. No more than one (1) unit will be assigned for any fifty (50) minutes of actual instruction time. Each course must be approved annually by the department. A course's content may be approved for a maximum of two (2) years. After two years, any previously approved course content must be updated to reflect changes in current laws, data and/or scientific research in order to requalify for approval for continuing education credit. The department will consider the learning objectives, technical information given, the accuracy of the information, the relevance of the information to structural pest control, the qualifications of the instructor as determined by the provider, and the amount of actual training or self-study time devoted to each program in the process of evaluation. Each continuing education program, including self-study courses submitted for approval, must contain the following:
  (1) a copy of handout materials, if any, which will be available to participants;
  (2) inclusive length of time of the course stated in hours and minutes;
  (3) date, time, physical address, and city of presentation; or if unknown, agreement to provide two (2) weeks' notice of each date of presentation;
  (4) the number of CEUs to be awarded;
  (5) the category(ies) of CEU eligibility;
  (6) a detailed course outline which will indicate the scope of the course and learning objectives;
  (7) videotapes, slides, compact discs, DVDs, download links, or other media presentations, if applicable;
  (8) examination for electronic, online, or self-study courses, if applicable;
  (9) the course provider's name, physical address, telephone number, e-mail (if available), and company, organization, or institution of higher learning affiliation; and
  (10) additional information, as requested.
(b) Parts of courses which focus on promotion of products and/or policies or procedures of a company will not be considered as part of approved instruction time.
(c) Courses provided via webinar with a speaker presenting live and able to answer questions from attendees will be consider an in-person course. Applicants must mark their CEU applications to indicate the course will be given via webinar. Applicants must provide a link to join the webinar along with the course number to the department at least 72 hours prior to the webinar.
(d) A self-study course is limited to one (1) CEU in the general training or a specific category. A course may be approved as a self-study if it meets the following additional criteria:
  (1) the course taker must take an examination designed to verify the course taker's knowledge of the material provided in the course. The course provider must grade the examination and keep records for a minimum of two (2) calendar years after the calendar year in which the course was given; and
  (2) the course taker's grade on the examination must be at least 70% correct to obtain credit for the course.
(e) The minimum requirements to qualify as a speaker, course presenter, self-study course provider (collectively referred to as 'speaker') are:
  (1) a degree from a recognized institution of higher learning which pertains to the course being taught;
  (2) five (5) years' experience as an applicator certified by the department with a current license in the category to be taught;
  (3) verifiable proof of training and teaching experience within the preceding three (3) years; or
  (4) a combination of education, work related training, and teaching experience which would be equivalent to two (2) of the three (3) speaker qualification requirements, as determined by the department.
(f) Any person seeking approval of a continuing education course must submit the required information at least thirty (30) days prior to the first day of presentation or first offering of a self-study course. Any changes to approved courses must be submitted to the department thirty (30) days prior to the date of presentation. The department may waive this requirement due to extenuating circumstances.
(g) The department shall evaluate and recommend credits within thirty (30) days from the date received.
(h) At its discretion, the department may re-evaluate its approval of a course or speaker under the provisions this section.
(i) A certified applicator may request CEU credit by submitting the information required in subsections (a)(2), (a)(4) - (6), and (a)(9) of this section, and verification of attendance for any course attended by the certified applicator which was not previously approved by the department. The department will evaluate the request and notify the certified applicator of any CEUs awarded.
(j) The course provider is responsible for establishing procedures for:
  (1) verification of completion, including accurately recording participant attendance throughout the stated class length;
  (2) awarding course completion certificates;
  (3) testing to verify a participant's comprehension of the subject matter presented;
  (4) the qualifications, competence, and performance of the authors, speakers, presenters, or instructors who produce or present its courses; and
  (5) preparation and administration of a self-study course examination.
(k) If the course provided is required to make an unexpected change to an approved CEU course to include but not limited to the approved speaker, location, time, or date of course, the course provider must notify the department by email within 24 hours of the change.
(l) If an approved CEU course needs to be cancelled for any reason, the course provider must notify the department by email within seven (7) days of cancellation.
(m) The course provider must issue a certificate of completion within twenty-one (21) days of the course to each applicator completing the course. This document must include at a minimum the following information:
  (1) participant's name and license number;
  (2) name of course provider or sponsoring agency, company or organization;
  (3) course number;
  (4) number of CEUs awarded;
  (5) CEU category; and
  (6) date and location of training or date of completion for self-study course.
(n) The course provider must maintain course completion records for two (2) calendar years after the calendar year in which the course(s) were given and a list of participants must be forwarded to the department within twenty-one (21) days of completion of the training course on the electronic form prescribed by the department. The list must include the name of the course provider, course title and course number, number of CEUs awarded, speaker name, name and license number of participants.
(o) For purposes of this section, a continuing education course is defined as specific instruction in a category presented by any one (1) course provider, company, or organization.
(p) The department may monitor course providers, speakers, or course presentations, and is exempt from any fee charged for attending a CEU if department employees are monitoring the program as a part of the duties of their employment.
(q) Course providers who falsify information on course certificates provided to participants are subject to penalties, including and up to denial of department approval for future courses.

Source Note: The provisions of this §7.135 adopted to be effective January 9, 2018, 43 TexReg 42; amended to be effective January 16, 2023, 48 TexReg 129