Section 1.69 - Continuing Education Requirements(a) For the purposes of this Section, the following definitions shall apply: (1) Approved Subject Areas--The following are the Approved Subject Areas for qualifying continuing education: (A) Construction and Evaluation--Areas related to construction contract administration and post-occupancy evaluation of projects. Acceptable topics include, but are not limited to: Construction Contract Administration; Bidding and Negotiation; Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE); and Building Commissioning. (B) Practice Management--areas related to the management of architectural practice and the details of running a business. Acceptable topics include, but are not limited to: Applicable Laws and Regulations; Ethics; Insurance to Protect Owner and Public; Business Management; Risk Management; Information Management; Design for Community Needs; and Supervisor Training. (C) Programming and Analysis--Areas related to the evaluation of project requirements, constraints, and opportunities. Acceptable topics include, but are not limited to: Land-Use Analysis; Programming; Site Selection; Historic Preservation; Adaptive Reuse; Codes, Regulations, and Standards; Natural Resources; Environmental Impact and Ecosystem Risk Assessment; Hazardous Materials; Resilience to Natural and Human Impacts; Life Safety; and Feasibility Studies. (D) Project Development and Documentation--Areas related to the integration and documentation of building systems, material selection, and material assemblies into a project. Acceptable topics include, but are not limited to: Construction Documents; Materials and Assemblies; and Fixtures, Furnishings, & Equipment. (E) Project Management--areas related to the management of architectural projects through execution. Acceptable topics include, but are not limited to: Project Delivery Methods; Contract Negotiation; Pre-Design Services; Site and Soils Analysis; Consultant Management; Project Scheduling; Quality Control (QA/QC); Economic Assessment; and Value Engineering. (F) Project Planning and Design--areas related to the preliminary design of sites and buildings. Acceptable topics include, but are not limited to: Building Systems; Urban Planning; Master Planning; Building Design; Site Design; Safety and Security Measures; Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation of a Changing Climate; Energy Efficiency and Positive Energy Design; Sustainability; Indoor Air Quality; Ergonomics; Lighting; Acoustics; Accessibility; Construction Systems; and Budget Development. (2) Health, Safety, or Welfare--Those aspects of professional practice that improve the physical, emotional, and social well-being of occupants, users, and any others affected by buildings and sites; those aspects of professional practice that protect occupants, users, and any others affected by buildings or sites from harm; and those aspects of professional practice that enable equitable access, elevate the human experience, encourage social interaction, and benefit the environment. (3) Structured Course Study--Courses of study relevant to the Practice of Architecture, taught or otherwise provided by qualified individuals or organizations, delivered by direct, in-person contact or through distance learning methods, the completion of which results in the issuance of a certificate or other record of attendance to the Architect by the provider. (4) Self-Directed Study--Time spent by an Architect developing knowledge and skills relevant to the Practice of Architecture that does not qualify as Structured Course Study. (b) During each calendar year between January 1 and December 31, an Architect shall complete a minimum of 12 qualifying continuing education program hours (CEPH) according to the requirements of this section. Each hour of continuing education applied to this requirement shall directly relate to Health, Safety, or Welfare. (c) Of the 12 qualifying CEPH, each Architect shall complete a minimum of one CEPH relating to Barrier-Free Design and one CEPH relating to Sustainable or Energy-Efficient Design. (d) Of the 12 qualifying CEPH, each Architect shall complete a minimum of eight CEPH in Structured Course Study. (1) Each hour of Structured Course Study shall address one or more Approved Subject Areas and at least 45 minutes of every hour of CEPH shall directly relate to Health, Safety, or Welfare. (2) Examples of Structured Course Study include the following: (A) Attendance at continuing education courses dealing with technical architectural subjects related to the Architect's profession, ethical business practices, or new technology. (B) The completion of college or university credit courses addressing architectural subjects, ethical business practices or new technology. Each semester or quarter credit hour shall equal one CEPH. (e) Of the 12 qualifying CEPH, each Architect may claim a maximum of four hours of Self-Directed Study. Examples of Self-Directed Study may include the following: (1) Reading written material or reviewing audio, video, or digital media that develops knowledge and skills relevant to the Practice of Architecture but does not qualify as Structured Course Study; (2) Time spent in architectural research for publication or formal presentation to the profession or public; (3) Time spent in professional service to the general public that draws upon the Architect's professional expertise, such as serving on planning commissions, building code advisory boards, urban renewal boards, code study committees, or educational outreach activities; (4) Time spent preparing to teach or teaching architectural courses. An Architect may not claim credit for preparing for or teaching the same course more than once; and (5) One CEPH may be claimed for attendance at one full-day session of a meeting of the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners. (f) An Architect may be exempt from continuing education requirements for any of the following reasons: (1) An Architect shall be exempt upon initial registration and upon reinstatement of registration through December 31st of the calendar year of his/her initial or reinstated registration; (2) An inactive or emeritus Architect shall be exempt during any calendar year in which the Architect's registration is in inactive or emeritus status, but all continuing education credits for each period of inactive or emeritus registration shall be completed before the Architect's registration may be returned to active status; (3) An Architect who is not a full-time member of the Armed Forces shall be exempt for any calendar year during which the Architect serves on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States for a period of time exceeding 90 consecutive days; (4) An Architect who has an active architectural registration in another jurisdiction shall be exempt from mandatory continuing education program requirements in Texas for any calendar year during which the Architect satisfies the other jurisdiction's continuing education program requirements, provided that the other jurisdiction's continuing education requirements are substantially equivalent to Texas requirements. Notwithstanding this exemption, the Architect shall complete one CEPH relating to Barrier-Free Design and one CEPH relating to Sustainable or Energy-Efficient Design; or (5) An Architect who is, as of September 1, 1999, a full-time faculty member or other permanent employee of an institution of higher education, as defined in § 61.003, Education Code, and who in such position is engaged in teaching architecture. (g) An Architect shall maintain a detailed record of the Architect's continuing education activities, including all course completion certificates documenting completion of Structured Course Study and a record of Self-Directed Study including a date and description of the claimed activity, for a period of five years after the end of the calendar year for which credit is claimed. (h) When renewing his/her annual registration, an Architect shall complete an attestation regarding the Architect's compliance with minimum continuing education requirements. An Architect may attest to compliance and shall be considered compliant with continuing education requirements if: (1) The Architect fulfilled minimum continuing education program requirements during the immediately preceding calendar year according to the requirements of this Section; or (2) The Architect failed to fulfill minimum continuing education program hours during the immediately preceding calendar year, but prior to renewing his/her registration in the current calendar year, the Architect: (A) Completed sufficient qualifying CEPH to correct any deficiency for the prior calendar year (which will be applied to the previous calendar year and cannot be applied to the current calendar year requirement); and (B) Completed 12 hours of qualifying CEPH to be applied to the current calendar year requirement. (i) Upon written request, the Board may require an Architect to produce documentation to prove that the Architect has complied with the minimum continuing education program requirements. (1) Board staff will review an Architect's response to such a request to determine whether the Architect is in compliance with this Section. (2) If an Architect fails to provide acceptable documentation of compliance within 30 days of a request, the Architect will be presumed to have not complied with minimum continuing education requirements. (3) The Board has final authority to determine whether to award or deny credit claimed by an Architect for continuing education activities. (j) Violations of continuing education requirements and administrative penalties: (1) Falsely attesting to compliance with minimum continuing education requirements shall be subject to an administrative penalty in the amount of $500; (2) Failure to timely complete minimum continuing education requirements shall be subject to an administrative penalty in the amount of $100 for every hour of deficiency per calendar year; (3) Failure to maintain a detailed record of continuing education activities shall be subject to an administrative penalty of $100 for every hour of claimed continuing education for which an Architect is unable to provide proof of compliance; and (4) Failure to timely respond to or comply with a continuing education audit or verification shall be subject to an administrative penalty of $250 per failure. (k) The administrative penalties identified in subsection (j) of this section are considered appropriate for a first-time violation of continuing education requirements. If an Architect was previously found to have violated the Board's continuing education requirements in a warning or Order of the Board, the Board may increase the penalty up to a factor of two for a second or subsequent violation, in addition to consideration of suspension or revocation of registration under §1.232 of the Board's rules. (l) The administrative penalties identified in subsection (j) of this section are to be applied to each individual violation of the Board's continuing education requirements. If an Architect has committed multiple violations, the Architect shall be subject to a separate administrative penalty for each violation. (m) If an Architect is registered to practice more than one of the professions regulated by the Board and the Architect completes a continuing education activity that is directly related to more than one of those professions, the Architect may submit that activity for credit for all of the professions to which it relates. The Architect must maintain a separate detailed record of continuing education activities for each profession. (n) An Architect may receive credit for up to 24 CEPH earned during any single calendar year. A maximum of 12 CEPH that is completed in excess of the continuing education requirements for a calendar year may be carried forward to satisfy the continuing education requirements for the next calendar year. (o) As the term is defined in §1.29(a) of the Board's rules, a military service member is entitled to two years of additional time to complete any CEPH requirements.22 Tex. Admin. Code § 1.69
The provisions of this §1.69 adopted to be effective October 10, 2001, 26 TexReg 7840; amended to be effective April 3, 2008, 33 TexReg 2690; amended to be effective April 17, 2012, 37 TexReg 2628; amended by Texas Register, Volume 39, Number 46, November 14, 2014, TexReg 9007, eff. 11/23/2014; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 41, Number 12, March 18, 2016, TexReg 2159, eff. 3/22/2016; Adopted by Texas Register, Volume 46, Number 12, March 19, 2021, TexReg 1738, eff. 4/1/2021