(a) Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(1) Accredited institution--A public or private elementary, secondary, or post-secondary institution whose education program has been evaluated and deemed accredited by a state department of education or recognized regional accrediting agency.

(2) Charter school--A charter school that has been authorized to operate under the Texas Education Code (TEC), Chapter 12, Subchapter D or E.

(3) Assignment--Refers to the actual duties a person has with a school district or other educational entity.

(4) Authorized leave--Leave granted under the state's former minimum sick leave program, leave granted under the state's current minimum personal leave program (which includes physical assault leave), or any leave granted under a local leave policy for which the employee is paid as if on regular duty.

(5) Certificate--A document issued by the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) authorizing the holder to teach in the public elementary and secondary schools of Texas.

(6) Certified--Status of a person who holds a valid Texas teaching certificate.

(7) Contractual year--The employment period between July 1 and the following June 30.

(8) Current valid certificate--A certificate that is or was valid at a given time, including the stipulation that after June 30, 1986, a Texas certificate is valid only if the certified person has successfully passed any certification requirement that was mandated by either the State Board of Education or the SBEC.

(9) Faculty status--Employment by a college or university as a member of the professional administrative or instructional staff, not as a graduate assistant, an assistant instructor, or an instructor on a fellowship. Teachers with a valid Texas Standard classroom teaching certificate completing a teacher fellows graduate program through an accredited Texas university and employed at a Texas public school as a classroom teacher beginning July 1, 2015, may be eligible for up to one year of service for salary increment purposes provided the minimum employment requirements specified in subsection (f) of this section are met.

(10) Full-time employment--Employment for 100% of an institution's normal work schedule.

(11) Full-time equivalency--The amount of time required of a staff member to perform a less than full-time assignment divided by the amount of time required in performing a corresponding full-time assignment. Full-time equivalency of assignment usually is expressed as a decimal fraction to the nearest tenth.

(12) Minimum salary--The minimum salary a classroom teacher, full-time librarian, full-time counselor, or full-time school nurse must be paid as prescribed in TEC, Chapter 21.

(13) Part-time employment--Employment for less than 100% of an institution's normal work schedule.

(14) Professional personnel--Teachers, full-time librarians, full-time counselors, full-time school nurses, other employees who are required to hold a certificate issued under TEC, Chapter 21, Subchapter B, and any other personnel reported by a school district to the Public Education Information Management System with a "professional" role-id.

(15) Regional accrediting agency--The recognized regional accrediting agencies are: (A) Southern Association of Colleges and Schools; (B) Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools; (C) North Central Association of Colleges and Schools; (D) New England Association of Schools and Colleges; (E) Western Association of Schools and Colleges; (F) Northwest Accreditation Commission; (G) Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities; (H) Commission on International and Trans-regional Accreditation; (I) International Baccalaureate Organization; (J) European Council of International Schools/Council of International Schools; and (K) National Council for Private School Accreditation.

(16) Salary increments--Increases in salary granted for teaching or work experience.

(17) School nurse--An educator employed to provide full-time nursing and health care services and who meets all the requirements to practice as a registered nurse (RN) pursuant to the Nursing Practice Act and the rules and regulations relating to professional nurse education, licensure, and practice, and who has been issued a license to practice professional nursing in Texas.

(18) Service--A term of employment measured in school years in an entity in which the employment is recognized for salary increment purposes.

(19) State school--A school that is funded by legislative action in the appropriations act. These schools include the Texas School for the Blind, the Texas School for the Deaf, and schools under the jurisdiction of the Texas Department of State Health Services (formerly the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation) and the Juvenile Justice Department (formerly known as the Texas Youth Commission).

(20) Substitute teacher--A certified teacher who works on call, does not have a full-time assignment, and provides instruction.

(21) Teacher service record--The official document used to record years of service and days used and accumulated under the state's former minimum sick leave program or the state's current personal leave program. A service record with a digital signature is only valid for the intended recipient as recorded on the service record. A digital version that includes information from previous employing districts is acceptable if the most recent school district is the designated recipient of the information from the previous districts. The digital service record will not be official if the recipient is the educator; however, upon request the district will provide a copy to the educator in accordance with the TEC, §21.4031(b).

(b) Required documentation. The following records on professional personnel must be readily available for review.

(1) credentials (certificate or license);

(2) service record(s) and any required attachments;

(3) contract;

(4) teaching schedule or other assignment record; and

(5) absence from duty reports.

(c) Credentials for professional personnel. The credentials for professional personnel are as follows.

(1) A current valid Texas certificate, a special assignment permit, a nonrenewable permit, a non-certified instructor's permit, an emergency teaching permit, or the appropriate licensure from the State of Texas.

(2) For special education related service teachers, the credential must be appropriate licensure from the State of Texas.

(3) For those special education related service personnel who do not require Texas certification or licensure, proper credentials as described in §89.1131 of this title (relating to Qualifications of Special Education, Related Service, and Paraprofessional Personnel) are required.

(d) Teacher service record. The basic document in support of the number of years of professional service claimed for salary increment purposes and both the state's sick and personal leave program data for all personnel is the teacher service record (form FIN-115) or a similar form containing the same information. It is the responsibility of the issuing school district or charter school to ensure that service records are true and correct and that all service recorded on the service record was actually performed.

(1) The service record must be validated by a person designated by the school district or charter school to sign service records.

(2) Supporting documents are required for service in out-of-state private schools, foreign public and private institutions, the military, and colleges and universities. The type of supporting documentation for each particular entity is prescribed by subsection (h) of this section.

(3) If a person is employed by more than one school district or charter school during the same school year, a service record from each employing district or charter school is required.

(4) For personnel employed in a year-round school system, the actual dates of employment during that school's calendar must be indicated on the service record. The dates may not necessarily conform to the contractual year as defined by subsection (a) of this section.

(5) The service record shall be kept on file at the school district or charter school. When employment with the district or charter school is terminated, the original service record, verified by the employee shall be given to the employee upon request or sent to the next employing school district or charter school. The local school district or charter school must maintain a legible copy for audit purposes. A scanned version of the original service record may be considered official if sent directly from one employing district to another employing district.

(6) Cooperative personnel employed by a fiscal agent/manager and itinerant personnel of a cooperative shall be considered to be employees of the fiscal agent/manager and the service record shall be the fiscal agent/manager's responsibility. Personnel employed by a member of a cooperative and assigned to the member are employees of the member and the service record shall be the member's responsibility.

(7) Work experience claimed by career and technology education personnel for salary increment purposes as prescribed by subsection (i) of this section must be recorded on a service record.

(8) State sick leave balances, days earned, and days used by personnel under the former state's minimum sick leave program and the state's current personal leave program must be recorded on the service record or another similar form containing the same information. State sick leave and state personal leave accumulated in Texas public elementary and secondary schools are transferable among these schools. State personal leave accrued by an employee of a Texas regional education service center, not to exceed five days per each year of employment, is transferable to a Texas public elementary and secondary school. State sick leave and state personal leave accrued by an employee of Harris County Department of Education and Dallas County Schools are transferable to Texas public elementary and secondary schools in accordance with the TEC, §22.003(a). Local leave accrued under the policy of any entity recognized for creditable service under subsection (g) of this section may be transferred to a Texas public elementary or secondary school at the discretion of the employing school district. The service record shall separately state the number of accumulated state days for which the employee is paid, if any, upon separation from the employing district.

(9) State days used to purchase additional years of service from the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) for retirement purposes must be deducted from the balance reflected on the service record.

(10) The issuing school district or charter school must submit the service record to the Texas Education Agency upon request.

(e) General provisions for years of creditable service. All service claimed for salary increment purposes must meet the requirements in subsections (f)-(h) of this section. The service record and any other required supporting documents must meet the requirements for such records and documentation in this section. All service shall be based on the contractual year (July 1-June 30). No more than one year of experience may be acquired in any one contractual year.

(f) Minimum requirements. The table in this subsection indicates the minimum number of days required to earn and receive credit for a year of experience.

Attached Graphic

(1) For service performed through the 1989-1990 school year, minimum days at less than 100% or at full-time equivalency are applicable only to service in Texas public schools, Texas education service centers, and, beginning in 1978-1979, Texas public colleges and universities.

(2) Beginning with service performed during the 1990-1991 school year or any year thereafter, employment at less than 100% of the day is recognized in all entities where full-time employment is recognized, provided that documentation is presented to the employing district which verifies that the employment was for not less than three and one-half hours each day.

(3) The 90 days required at 100% of the day for years prior to 1972-1973 may be equivalent to four and one-half months, a full semester, or three six-weeks. Where the school year was less than 180 days for any year prior to 1972-1973, a minimum of 175 days at 50-99% of the day will be accepted, provided that the 175 days constituted two full semesters or six six-weeks.

(4) For experience from the 1978-1979 through the 1987-1988 school years, full-time equivalent days equal the total number of days employed at 100% of the day plus days employed at 50-99% of the day divided by two.

(5) Beginning with the 1988-1989 school year, full-time equivalent days equal the total number of days employed multiplied by the percent of day actually worked.

Cont'd...