2021-22 Annual Fingerprinting Certification and Statement of Compliance

Chapter 22, Subchapter C, of the Texas Education Code (TEC) requires school entities to ensure that certain individuals are fingerprinted to undergo a national criminal history records review and that other individuals undergo a name-based criminal history record information review. In addition, superintendents of school districts and chief operating officers of open-enrollment charter schools are required to certify annually that the district or charter school has complied with TEC, §22.085. The deadline for this submission is Friday, November 19, 2021.

If an educator knows or should have known, through a criminal history record information review, that an employee or applicant has been convicted of certain offenses, as set forth in TEC, §22.085(a), and the educator retains the employee or hires the applicant, the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) may impose a sanction on the educator.

Districts and charter schools that fail to certify and return the attached form by the deadline may be subject to:

1. Inclusion in a permanent public notice that lists all districts and charter schools that have failed to certify compliance with fingerprinting and background check requirements;
2. A special accreditation investigation as defined under TEC, §39.003; and
3. An investigation of the superintendent or chief operating officer who has violated TEC, §11.201(d)(13), or 19 Texas Administrative Code §249.15 by failing to complete the certification as required.

Accordingly, please sign, notarize, and submit your completed 2021-2022 Annual Fingerprinting Certification and Statement of Compliance via email to FingerprintingCompliance@tea.texas.gov by Friday, November 19, 2021.    

If you have any questions regarding this letter, please submit your inquiry through the Fingerprinting Help Desk.

Sincerely,

Emily Garcia
Associate Commissioner
Educator Preparation, Certification, and Enforcement