The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) adopts amendments to 22 TAC §535.61, Approval of Providers of Qualifying Courses, and §535.65, Responsibilities and Operations of Providers of Qualifying Courses, in Chapter 535, General Provisions, as published in the May 24, 2019, issue of the Texas Register (44 TexReg 2568) and will not be republished.

The amendments to §535.61 add clarifying terms or timeframes for greater understanding and compliance. This will offer greater protection for students who enroll in courses near the end of a provider's approval term and give providers a way to avoid any business disruption when applying for a subsequent approval. The Education Standards Advisory Committee looked at the passage rate calculation rule and related statute as directed by the Commission and concluded that the current calculation is appropriate and able to be readily calculated. They also concluded that displaying the passage rates on the website is helpful to consumers. Therefore, no changes were made to the passage rate section except to add how many decimal points are used for the figures.

The amendments provide that a provider cannot enroll students in a course 60 days before the expiration of the provider's approval, unless they have submitted an application for a subsequent approval at least 60 days prior to the expiration of the current approval

The amendments to §535.65 ensure that the consumers can verify the most current passage rate figures and related information for any or all providers. In addition, §535.65 was updated to reflect the changes made to §535.63 due to the Sunset Advisory Commission Report directive that instructors of courses be approved by providers and not licensed by the Commission, but retain the ability of the Commission to set qualifications and standards of instructors for TREC approved courses.

The amendments add that a provider must provide a hyperlink or URL to the TREC website when displaying exam passage rates in any advertisement. In addition, amendments to §535.65 eliminate the waiting period before retesting for students who fail a course exam, leaving the decision as to remedial course work before the retest to the providers.

No comments were received on the amendments as published.

The amendments are adopted under Texas Occupations Code §1101.151, which authorizes the Texas Real Estate Commission to adopt and enforce rules necessary to administer Chapters 1101 and 1102.