Texas Administrative Code
Title 19 - EDUCATION
Part 2 - TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY
Chapter 157 - HEARINGS AND APPEALS
Subchapter D - INDEPENDENT HEARING EXAMINERS
Section 157.41 - Certification Criteria for Independent Hearing Examiners
Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a) License required. An individual who is certified as an independent hearing examiner must be licensed to practice law in the State of Texas.
(b) Representations prohibited. An independent hearing examiner, and the law firm with which the independent hearing examiner is associated, must not serve as an agent or representative of:
(c) Moral character and criminal history. An independent hearing examiner must:
(d) Status as a licensed attorney. An independent hearing examiner must:
(e) Experience. During the three years immediately preceding certification, an independent hearing examiner must have devoted a minimum of 50% of the examiner's time practicing law in some combination of the following areas, with a total of at least one-tenth or 10% of the independent hearing examiner's practice involving substantial responsibility for taking part in a contested evidentiary proceeding convened pursuant to law in which the independent hearing examiner personally propounded and/or defended against questions put to a witness under oath while serving as an advocate, a hearing officer, or a presiding judicial officer:
(f) Continuing education. During each year of certification, an independent hearing examiner must receive credit for ten hours of continuing legal education, with three hours in the area of school law and seven hours in the area of civil trial advocacy and legal writing skills, which must include any combination of course work in evidence, civil procedure, and legal writing skills, during the period January 1 to December 31 of each year of certification.
(g) Sworn application. In order to be certified as an independent hearing examiner, an applicant must submit a sworn application to the commissioner of education. The application shall contain the following acknowledgments, waivers, and releases.
(h) Assurances as to position requirements. In the sworn application, the applicant must:
(i) Voluntary evaluations. The commissioner may solicit voluntary evaluations from parties to a case regarding their observations of the independent hearings process.
(j) Insufficient examiners in a region. In the event that insufficient numbers of independent hearing examiners are certified for any geographic region of the state, the commissioner may assign an independent hearing examiner whose office is within reasonable proximity to the school district.
(k) Annual recertification.
(l) Action against certification. The commissioner, after providing notice and an opportunity to respond, may take action against the certificate of an independent hearing examiner if it is determined that the independent hearing examiner or the law firm with which the independent hearing examiner is associated, during the time the independent hearing examiner has been certified, has: