Texas Administrative Code › Title 19 - EDUCATION › Part 2 - TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY › Chapter 153 - SCHOOL DISTRICT PERSONNEL › Subchapter CC - COMMISSIONER'S RULES ON CREDITABLE YEARS OF SERVICE › Section 153.1021 - Recognition of Creditable Years of Service

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(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).