1. (a) Boards shall ensure that TRS assessors and mentors meet the minimum education requirements as follows:

   1. (1) Bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university in early childhood education, child development, special education, child psychology, educational psychology, elementary education, or family consumer science;
   2. (2) Bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university with at least 18 credit hours in early childhood education, child development, special education, child psychology, educational psychology, elementary education, or family consumer science with at least 12 credit hours in child development; or
   3. (3) Associate's degree in early childhood education, child development, special education, child psychology, educational psychology, elementary education, or family consumer science with two years of experience as a director in an early childhood program, with preference given to experience with a provider that is accredited or TRS certified.
2. (b) The Commission may grant a waiver of no more than two years of the minimum education requirements in subsection (a) of this section if a Board can demonstrate that no applicants in its local workforce development area meet the minimum education requirements.
3. (c) Boards shall ensure that TRS assessors and mentors meet the minimum work experience requirements of one year of full-time early childhood classroom experience in a child care, Early Head Start, Head Start, or prekindergarten through third-grade school program.
4. (d) Boards shall ensure that if an individual performs the duties of both an assessor and a mentor, the individual providing TRS mentoring services to a provider does not act as the assessor of that same provider when determining TRS certification.
5. (e) Boards shall ensure that TRS assessors and mentors are required to complete annual professional development and continuing education consistent with the TRS annual minimum training hours requirement for a TRS-certified child care center director.
6. (f) Boards shall ensure that TRS assessors and mentors meet the background check requirement consistent with Chapter 745 of this title.

7. (g) Boards shall ensure that TRS assessors and mentors demonstrate:

   1. (1) knowledge of best practices in early childhood education; and
   2. (2) understanding of early childhood evaluations, observations, and assessment tools for both teachers and children.

Source Note:The provisions of this §809.134 adopted to be effective February 16, 2015, 40 TexReg 708; amended to be effective January 8, 2019, 44 TexReg 114.