2020-2021 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 districts and chief operating officers of 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 November 20, 2020. 

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 open-enrollment charter schools that have failed to certify compliance with fingerprinting and background check requirements; 
2. A special accreditation investigation as defined under TEC, §39.057; 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 2020-2021 Annual Fingerprinting Certification and Statement of Compliance via email to FingerprintingCompliance@tea.texas.gov by November 20, 2020. 

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

Sincerely, 

Ryan Franklin 
Associate Commissioner 
Educator Leadership and Quality