1. (a) The commission may, at the discretion of the executive director, enter into a contract with a law enforcement agency, a law enforcement association, alternative delivery trainer, or proprietary training contractor to conduct training for licensees.

2. (b) Any such contract is limited to those terms expressly included in the contract or incorporated by reference and must be dated:

   1. (1) on the currently prescribed commission format;
   2. (2) signed by the executive director;
   3. (3) signed by the chief administrator or head of the sponsoring organization; and
   4. (4) signed by the training coordinator responsible for the administration of that training.
3. (c) A contract may approve a specific course(s) and the number of times it will be offered. These contracts are for a stated period of time, or five years, whichever is less, but may be terminated within 10 days by written notice on the part of either party to the contract. A contract may incorporate by reference a law, rule, or any other document, however, any waiver, exception, or deletion must be expressed.

4. (d) A contract to provide distance education courses may be approved if the contractual training provider:

   1. (1) submits a request in accordance with the commission's Distance Education Guidelines before the course is offered. The commission may charge a cost recovery fee for reviewing these submissions.
   2. (2) ensures that each course will have one or more sponsors assigned, who shall be responsible both for the conduct of the course, and for proctoring any examination during the course.
   3. (3) ensures that the student, without the use of deceitful means, completes each required unit, and receives a passing grade on any examination, course work, or evaluation required by the lesson guide or learning objectives.
   4. (4) ensures that the student's assigned work is corrected, graded, and reviewed by qualified instructors. Corrected assignments are returned to the student via an exchange that provides a personalized student-teacher relationship.
5. (e) The executive director may terminate a contract if no training is conducted within each calendar year unless the chief administrator has petitioned the executive director for a waiver, and the waiver has been granted. The executive director may suspend a contract, until compliance, for any violation of its terms or of any commission rule or law. Any party may terminate, upon written notice to all other parties, received by either the executive director, the coordinator, or any other named person or office.

6. (f) The applicant for a training provider contract must provide a comprehensive needs assessment to the executive director justifying the need for a contract. The needs assessment must include at a minimum:

   1. (1) the names of the licensed academies located in the council of governments or regional planning commission area of the applicant;
   2. (2) a description of the existing law enforcement training programs in the area;
   3. (3) what specific training need(s) are to be addressed by the proposed contract; and
   4. (4) the number and types of courses that will be offered during the first quarter of the executed contract;

7. (g) If the commission determines that the needs assessment justifies a contract, the chief administrator of the contractual training provider must:

   1. (1) appoint and maintain an advisory board as required by law and rule;
   2. (2) follow the current requirements set by its advisory board;
   3. (3) select a training facility that meets any inspection requirements identified in §215.3, as determined by the commission;
   4. (4) select any instructional material, equipment, or resources necessary for the course(s);
   5. (5) forward for approval, upon the executive director's request, at least one copy of the learning objectives of each course covered by the contract;
   6. (6) appoint and maintain the appointment of a training coordinator;
   7. (7) ensure the training coordinator discharges any responsibilities required by law, rule, or contract, including §215.9; and

   8. (8) report in writing to the commission within 30 days:

      1. (A) any change in chief administrator;
      2. (B) any change in training coordinator;
      3. (C) any substantial failure to meet commission rules and standards;
      4. (D) any rule violation by it or by its training coordinator, instructors, or advisory board;
      5. (E) when non-compliance with ADA or any other federal or state requirements is discovered; or
      6. (F) any change in provider name, physical location, mailing address, electronic mail address, or telephone number.

8. (h) By entering into any such contract the commission approves specific training which will be fully credited to each licensee, unless:

   1. (1) the training was not conducted in compliance with the contract; or
   2. (2) the advisory board, training coordinator or instructor substantially failed to discharge any responsibility required by commission rule; or
   3. (3) the credit was claimed by deceitful means.
9. (i) Once the contract has been executed, the contractual trainer may be evaluated periodically by the commission as determined by the executive director. The evaluation may be accomplished by commission staff or by training professionals selected and trained by the executive director.
10. (j) The effective date of this section is March 1, 2008.

Source Note:The provisions of this §215.5 adopted to be effective March 1, 2001, 26 TexReg 224; amended to be effective March 1, 2002, 26 TexReg 11039; amended to be effective June 1, 2004, 29 TexReg 3810; amended to be effective June 1, 2006, 31 TexReg 2874; amended to be effective March 1, 2008, 33 TexReg 281.