1. (a) Beginning on the first day of the 2011-2012 school year and thereafter:

   1. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection, a member must work in a TRS eligible position and be paid or receive paid leave from a TRS eligible position at least 90 days during the school year to receive a year of service credit.
   2. (2) A substitute as defined in §25.4 of this title (relating to Substitutes) will be qualified for membership and granted a full year of service credit by working 90 or more days as a substitute in a school year, receiving pay for that work, and verifying the work as provided in §25.121 of this title (relating to Employer Verification) and §25.47 of this title (relating to Deadline for Verification) and paying the actuarial cost for the work as provided in §25.43 of this title (relating to Cost for Unreported Service or Compensation).
   3. (3) In the last school year of service before retirement, a member serving in an eligible position, other than a position described by subsection (c) of this section, who worked and was paid for that work or received paid leave for less than 90 days in the school year but worked and was paid for that work or received paid leave for a full fall semester in accordance with the employer's calendar will receive a year of service credit. If the employer's calendar does not provide for semesters, a member must work and be paid for work in an eligible position or receive paid leave from an eligible position for at least 90 days in order to receive a year of service credit for the school year before retirement.
   4. (4) Days that the employer is scheduled to be closed for business are not included in the 90 days of work required to receive a year of service credit unless the day(s) are paid holidays by the employer or the employee was charged with paid leave during the closing. Holidays that are not included in the required number of work days for an employee are not counted as paid holidays or days of paid leave.

2. (b) For school years prior to the 2011-2012 school year:

   1. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), (3), or (4) of this subsection, a member must serve at least 4 1/2 months in an eligible position during the school year to receive credit for a year of service.
   2. (2) A member who served less than four and one-half months in a school year but served a full semester of more than four calendar months will receive credit for a year of service.
   3. (3) A substitute as defined in §25.4 of this title will be qualified for membership and granted a full year of service credit by rendering 90 or more days of service as a substitute in a school year and verifying the service as provided in §25.121 of this title and §25.47 of this title and paying deposits and fees for the service as provided in §25.43 of this title.
   4. (4) An employee who enters into an employment contract or oral or written work agreement for a period which would qualify the employee for a year of service credit under the other provisions of this section but who actually renders only the amount of service specified in §25.4 of this title will receive credit for a year of service credit.
3. (c) Beginning on the first day of the 2025-2026 school year, a member who is serving in a membership eligible position and who, under the member's contract or work agreement, is regularly scheduled to work fewer than five days per week for at least two weeks per month may, in lieu of the requirements in subsection (a) of this section and except as provided by subsection (e) of this section, establish a year of service credit by working and receiving pay for that work or using paid leave for four and one-half months.
4. (d) Except as provided by subsection (e) of this section, the four and one-half month period described by subsection (c) of this section must include four full calendar months in which the member renders service and is paid or the member uses paid leave, for at least eight days and an additional five days of service rendered and for which the member is paid or paid leave used in another calendar month or months that do not include the four full calendar months.
5. (e) Beginning on the first day of the 2025-2026 school year, a member who is serving in a membership-eligible position described by subsection (c) of this section for an employer that provides for semesters in its calendar may, in the last school year before retirement, receive a year of service credit if the member worked and was paid for that work or received paid leave for a full fall semester in accordance with the employer's calendar.
6. (f) For the purposes of subsection (e) of this section, a member who is regularly scheduled to work fewer than five days per week for at least two weeks per month and otherwise meets the requirements of subsection (e) will be considered to have worked a full fall semester in accordance with the employer's calendar if the member works and is paid for that work or receives paid leave for each day the member was required to work during that semester even if the employer's calendar includes additional workdays on which the member was not required to work.
7. (g) Beginning on the first day of the 2015-2016 school year and ending on the last day of the 2024-2025 school year, in lieu of the requirements in subsection (a) of this section, a member who is serving in a membership-eligible position and who is regularly scheduled to work fewer than five days per week, may establish a year of service credit by working and receiving pay for that work or using paid leave, for four and one-half months. The four and one-half month period must include four full calendar months in which the member renders service and is paid or the member uses paid leave, for at least eight days and an additional five days of service rendered and for which the member is paid or paid leave used in another calendar month or months but not to include the four full calendar months.
8. (h) Except as otherwise provided in this section regarding service credit granted in the school year in which the member retires, in no event may a member receive a year of service credit earlier than December 31.

Source Note:The provisions of this §25.131 adopted to be effective January 1, 1976; amended to be effective June 15, 1999, 24 TexReg 4459; amended to be effective March 12, 2003, 28 TexReg 2099; amended to be effective March 8, 2007, 32 TexReg 1079; amended to be effective April 1, 2011, 36 TexReg 1835; amended to be effective December 23, 2014, 39 TexReg 10023; amended to be effective January 1, 2016, 40 TexReg 9727; amended to be effective June 8, 2023, 48 TexReg 2859; amended to be effective September 1, 2025, 50 TexReg 5343.