Texas Register

TITLE 22 EXAMINING BOARDS
PART 23TEXAS REAL ESTATE COMMISSION
CHAPTER 535GENERAL PROVISIONS
SUBCHAPTER FREQUIREMENTS FOR EDUCATION PROVIDERS, COURSES AND INSTRUCTORS FOR QUALIFYING EDUCATION
RULE §535.61Approval of Providers of Qualifying Courses
ISSUE 05/24/2019
ACTION Proposed
Preamble Texas Admin Code Rule

(a)Application for approval.

  (1)Unless otherwise exempt under subsection (b) of this section, a person desiring to be approved by the Commission to offer real estate or real estate inspection qualifying courses shall:

    (A)file an application on the appropriate form approved by the Commission, with all required documentation;

    (B)submit the required fee under §535.101 or §535.210 of this title (relating to Fees);

    (C)submit the statutory bond or other security acceptable to the Commission under §1101.302 of the Act; and

    (D)maintain a fixed office in the state of Texas or designate a resident of this state as attorney-in-fact to accept service of process and act as custodian of any records in Texas which the provider is required to maintain by this Subchapter.

  (2) - (3)(No change.)

(b)Exempt Providers.

  (1)The following persons may submit real estate qualifying courses for approval for credit in [under] §535.62(i) of this subchapter (relating to Approval of Qualifying Courses) without becoming an approved provider of qualifying courses:

    (A)a person approved by a real estate regulatory agency to offer qualifying real estate courses in another state that has approval requirements for providers that are substantially equivalent to the requirements for approval in this state;

    (B)an accredited college or university in accordance with §535.66 of this subchapter (relating to Credit for Courses Offered by Accredited Colleges or Universities) where courses are offered in accordance with national or regional accreditation standards;

    (C)a post-secondary educational institution established in and offering qualifying real estate courses in another state;

    (D)a United States armed forces institute; and

    (E)a nationally recognized professional designation institute or council in the real estate industry.

  (2)The following persons may submit real estate inspector qualifying courses for approval for credit under §535.62(i) of this subchapter without becoming an approved provider of qualifying courses:

    (A)a provider approved by an inspector regulatory agency of another state that has approval requirements for providers that are substantially equivalent to the requirements for approval in this state;

    (B)an accredited college or university in accordance with §535.66 of this subchapter where courses are offered in accordance with national or regional accreditation standards;

    (C)a United States armed forces institute;

    (D)a unit of federal, state or local government;

    (E)a nationally recognized building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical or fire code organization;

    (F)a professional trade association in the inspection field or in a related technical field; or

    (G)an entity whose courses are approved and regulated by an agency of this state.

(c)Standards for approval. To be approved as a provider by the Commission, the applicant must meet the following standards:

  (1)the applicant must satisfy the Commission as to the applicant's ability to administer courses with competency, honesty, trustworthiness and integrity. If the applicant proposes to employ another person to manage the operation of the applicant, that person must meet this standard as if that person were the applicant;

  (2)the applicant must demonstrate that the applicant has sufficient financial resources to conduct its proposed operations on a continuing basis without risk of loss to students taking courses [from the approved provider]; and

  (3)that any proposed facilities will be adequate and safe for conducting courses.

(d) - (g)(No change.)

(h)Statutory bond or other security. An approved provider whose statutory bond or other security has been cancelled will be placed on inactive status until the bond or security is reinstated.

(i)[(h)] Payment of an annual operation fee.

  (1)An approved provider shall submit the Commission approved form and pay an annual operation fee prescribed by §535.101 of this title no later than the last day of the month of each anniversary [of the] date of the provider's approval.

  (2)An approved provider who fails to pay the annual operation fee as prescribed shall be placed on inactive status and notified in writing by the Commission.

  (3)The approved provider will remain on inactive status and unable to offer courses until the annual fee is paid.

  (4)The Commission will not give credit for courses offered [given] by a provider on inactive status.

(j)[(i)] Disapproval of application.

  (1)If the Commission determines that an applicant does not meet the standards for approval, the Commission will provide written notice of disapproval to the applicant.

  (2)The disapproval notice, applicant's request for a hearing on the disapproval, and any hearing are governed by the Administrative Procedure Act, Texas Government Code, Chapter 2001, and Chapter 533 of this title (relating to Practice and Procedure). Venue for any hearing conducted under this section shall be in Travis County.

(k)[(j)] Subsequent Approval.

  (1)A provider may not enroll a student in a course during the 60-day period immediately before the expiration of the provider's current approval unless the provider has submitted an application [Not earlier than 90 days before the expiration of its current approval, an approved provider may apply] for subsequent approval for another four year period not later than the 60th day before the date of expiration of its current approval.

  (2)Approval or disapproval of a subsequent application shall be subject to:

    (A)the standards for initial applications for approval set out in this section; and

    (B)whether the approved provider has met or exceeded the exam passage rate benchmark established by the Commission under subsection (l) of this section [(k)].

  (3)The Commission will not require a financial review for subsequent approval if the applicant has provided a statutory bond or other security acceptable to the Commission under §1101.302 of the Act, and there are no unsatisfied final money judgments against the applicant.

(l)[(k)] Exam passage rates and benchmark.

  (1)The exam passage rate for an approved provider shall be:

    (A)calculated for each license category for which the provider offers courses; and

    (B)displayed on the Commission website by license category.

   (2)A student is affiliated with a provider under this subsection if the student took the majority of his or her qualifying education with the provider in the two year period prior to taking the exam for the first time.

  (3)[(2)] The Commission will calculate the exam passage rate of an approved provider on a monthly basis, rounded to two decimal places on the final calculated figure, by:

    (A)determining the number of students affiliated with that approved provider who passed the examination on their first attempt in the two-year period ending on the last day of the previous month; and

    (B)dividing that number by the total number of students affiliated with that provider who took the exam for the first time during that same period.

   [(3)A student is affiliated with a provider under this subsection if the student took the majority of his or her hours of qualifying education with the provider in the two year period prior to taking the exam for the first time.]

  (4)For purposes of approving a subsequent application under subsection (j), the established exam passage rate benchmark for each license category is 80% of the average percentage of the total examinees for that license category who passed the examination on the first attempt in the two year period ending on the last day of the previous month.

  (5)If at the time the Commission receives a subsequent application from the provider requesting approval for another four year term [for a provider], the provider's exam passage rate does not meet the established benchmark for a license category the provider will be:

    (A)denied approval to continue offering courses [ disapproved] for that license category if the provider's exam passage rate is less than 50% of the average percentage of the total examinees for that license category who passed the examination on the first attempt in the two year period ending on the last day of the previous month; or

    (B)placed on probation by the Commission if the provider's exam passage rate is greater than 50% but less than 80% [or greater] of the average percentage of the total examinees for that license category who passed the examination on the first attempt in the two year period ending on the last day of the previous month.

  (6)The exam passage rate of a provider on probation will be reviewed annually at the time the annual operating fee is due to determine if the provider can be removed from probation, remain on probation or have its license revoked, based on the criteria set out in paragraph (5) of this subsection.

The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed the proposal and found it to be within the state agency's legal authority to adopt.

Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on May 8, 2019

TRD-201901371

Chelsea Buchholtz

General Counsel

Texas Real Estate Commission

Earliest possible date of adoption: June 23, 2019

For further information, please call: (512) 936-3177



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