| (a) Course provider responsibilities. Course providers
shall be responsible for original and duplicate uniform certificates
of course completion in accordance with this subsection.
(1) The course provider of a driving safety or specialized
driving safety course shall ensure that each instructor completes
the verification of course completion document approved by the department.
The verification of course completion document shall contain a statement
to be signed by the instructor that states: "Under penalty of law,
I attest to the fact that the student whose name and signature appear
on this document has successfully completed the number of hours as
required under Texas Education Code, Chapter 1001, and that any false
information on this document will be used as evidence in a court of
law and/or administrative proceeding." This verification of course
completion document shall be returned to the course provider upon
completion of each driving safety class and maintained for no less
than three years.
(2) The course provider shall implement and maintain
a policy which effectively ensures protective measures are in use
at all times for securing original and duplicate uniform certificates
of course completion and course completion certificate numbers. The
records and unissued or unnumbered original and duplicate uniform
certificates of course completion shall be readily available for review
by representatives of the department.
(3) The course provider shall maintain electronic files
with data pertaining to all course completion certificate numbers
purchased from the department. The course provider shall make available
to the department upon request an ascending numerical accounting record
of the numbered uniform certificates of completion issued. The course
provider shall ensure security of the data.
(4) The course provider shall ensure that effective
measures are taken to preclude lost data and that a system is in place
to recreate electronic data for all certificate numbers, whether used
or not used, and all certificates that have been issued.
(5) Course providers shall issue uniform certificates
of course completion only to students who have successfully completed
all elements of the course provider's approved driving safety or specialized
driving safety course taught by department-licensed instructors in
department-approved locations as indicated on the verification of
course completion document or student footprint.
(6) Course providers shall ensure that adequate training
is provided regarding course provider policies and updates on course
provider policies to all driving safety schools and instructors offering
their approved driving safety or specialized driving safety course.
(7) Course providers shall report all unaccounted original
and duplicate course completion certificate numbers or unissued certificates
or duplicates to the department within five business days of the discovery
of the incident. In addition, the course provider shall be responsible
for conducting an investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding
the unaccounted items. A report of the findings of the investigation,
including preventative measures for recurrence, shall be submitted
for approval to the department within thirty (30) days of the discovery.
(8) Each unaccounted or missing original or duplicate
course completion certificate number or blank or unissued original
or duplicate uniform certificate of completion may be considered a
separate violation. This may include lost, stolen, or otherwise unaccounted
original or duplicate course completion certificate number or blank
or unissued original or duplicate uniform certificates of course completion.
(9) Course providers shall issue all original and duplicate
uniform certificates of course completion using first-class or enhanced
postage, equivalent commercial delivery method, or department approved
electronic issuance method.
(10) Course providers shall not transfer course completion
certificate numbers to a course other than the course for which the
certificates were ordered from the department.
(11) No course provider or employee shall complete,
issue, or validate a uniform certificate of course completion to a
person who has not successfully completed all elements of the entire
course as verified by a department-licensed instructor.
(12) No course provider or employee shall issue, transfer,
or transmit an original or duplicate uniform certificate of course
completion bearing the serial number of a certificate or duplicate
previously issued.
(13) Course providers shall sequentially number original
uniform certificates of course completion from the block of numbers
purchased from the department.
(14) When a duplicate uniform certificate of course
completion is issued by a course provider, the duplicate certificate
shall bear a serial number from the block of numbers purchased from
the department by the course provider. The duplicate certificate of
course completion shall clearly indicate the number of both the duplicate
and the original serial number of the certificate being replaced.
(15) Any item on a duplicate uniform certificate of
course completion that has different data than that shown on the original
certificate must clearly indicate both the original data and the replacement
data; for example, a change in the date of course completion must
show the correct date and "changed from XX," where "XX" is the date
shown on the original uniform certificate of course completion.
(16) The fee for a duplicate uniform certificate of
course completion shall not exceed $10. If the student requests a
duplicate within thirty (30) days of the date of issue of the original
certificate because the original was not received or was damaged so
as to be unusable or was issued with errors due to no fault of the
student, the course provider shall issue the duplicate at no cost
to the student. Course providers shall ensure that schools endorsed
to offer the approved course are aware of this rule and shall include
this information in the student enrollment contract.
(17) Course providers shall implement and maintain
methods for efficiently issuing original uniform certificates of course
completion so that issuance of duplicate certificates is kept at a
minimal rate.
(b) School owner responsibilities. In order to prevent
misuse of uniform certificates of course completion, driving safety
school owners shall ensure that:
(1) the course provider policies are followed and communicated
to all instructors and employees of the school; and
(2) all records are returned to the course provider
in a timely manner as set forth by the course provider.
(c) Instructor responsibilities. In order to prevent
misuse of uniform certificates of course completion, driving safety
and specialized driving safety instructors shall ensure that:
(1) all records are returned to the driving safety
school to be forwarded to the course provider within the time allowed
by course provider policy;
(2) the verification of course completion document
provided by the course provider is signed by the instructor who conducted
the class upon completion of the class;
(3) the entire course is completed prior to signing
the verification of course completion document;
(4) the court information is obtained from each student
taking the driving safety or specialized driving safety class for
the purposes of Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 45.051 and
45.0511; and
(5) the instructor adheres to the school and course
provider policies.
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