| (a) "Training," as used in this section, means instruction,
teaching, or other education received by a commission employee that
is not normally received by all commission employees and that is designed
to enhance the ability of the employee to perform the employee’s
job. The term includes a course of study at an institution of higher
education, as defined by Texas Education Code §61.003(8), if
the commission spends money to assist the employee to meet the expense
of the course of study or pays salary to the employee to undertake
the course of study as an assigned duty. The term does not include
instruction, teaching, or other education that is required either
by state or federal law or that is determined necessary by the commission
and offered to all commission employees performing similar jobs.
(b) The commission may make public funds available
to its employees for training in accordance with the State Employees
Training Act, Texas Government Code §§656.041- 656.104.
The State Employees Training Act allows the commission to spend public
funds to pay the salary, tuition and other fees, travel and living
expenses, training stipend, expense of training materials, and other
necessary expenses of an instructor, student, or other participant
in a training program.
(c) Training paid for, in part or in whole, by the
commission, or training undertaken by an employee of the commission
as an assigned duty must be related to the duties or prospective duties
of the employee.
(d) Employees may be required to complete training
related to the employee’s duties or prospective duties.
(e) Requirements for eligibility and participation
in training shall be in accordance with this section and the commission’s
current employee handbook.
(f) Permission to participate in training, including
commission-sponsored training, shall not in any way affect an employee’s
at-will status or constitute a guarantee of continued employment,
nor shall it constitute a guarantee or indication of future employment
in a prospective position.
(g) Permission to participate in any training may be
denied or withdrawn at the discretion of the commission’s executive
director for any reason, including, but not limited to, a determination
that participation may negatively impact the employee’s job
duties or performance.
(h) Permission to participate in any training may be
contingent upon reasonable requirements set in writing in advance
by the employee’s supervisor. If pre-determined requirements
are not met:
(1) Permission to participate or continue participating
in the training may be denied or withdrawn; and/or
(2) The employee may be, at the discretion of the commission’s
executive director, required to repay the commission any amounts paid
toward the training.
(i) For an authorized training program offered by an
institution of higher education or a private or independent institution
of higher education:
(1) the commission shall only reimburse the tuition
expenses for a program course(s) successfully completed by the employee
at an accredited institution of higher education (including online
courses or courses not credited towards a degree); and
(2) the commission’s executive director must
authorize the tuition reimbursement payment before the employee may
be reimbursed.
(j) An employee who does not perform the employee’s
regular duties for three or more months as result of training paid
for by the commission must:
(1) work for the commission following the training
for at least one month for each month of the training period; or
(2) repay the commission for all the costs associated
with the training that were paid during the training period, including
any amounts of the employee’s salary that were paid for time
spent on training and were not accounted for as paid vacation or compensatory
leave, and any reasonable expenses the commission incurs in obtaining
restitution, including reasonable attorney’s fees.
(k) The commission’s executive director may require
an employee who requests full or partial payment or reimbursement
of tuition for training necessary to obtain a degree or certification
to agree in writing before payment or reimbursement is made to pay
the commission for any amounts paid if the employee voluntarily leaves
employment with the commission within one year after the training
is completed.
(1) Amounts paid by the commission shall be prorated
to credit any full calendar month of employment following completion
of the training.
(2) This subsection only applies to an employee to
whom subsection (j) of this section does not apply because the employee
either continued to perform the employee’s regular duties during
training or did not perform the employee’s regular duties for
a period of time during training that was less than three months.
(l) The commission may waive the requirements prescribed
under subsection (j) of this section by an order adopted in a public
meeting if the commission finds that such action is in the best interest
of the commission or is warranted because of an extreme personal hardship
suffered by the employee.
(m) Before an employee receives training that will
be paid for by the commission and during which the employee will not
be performing the employee’s regular duties for three months
or more, the employee must agree in writing to comply with the requirements
prescribed under subsection (j) of this section.
(n) All materials received by an employee through commission-funded
training are the property of the commission.
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