| (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 |
