The training requirements went into effect on January 1, 2015.
Trustees and administrators have two avenues in which they may receive credit for training; either by completing training from an accredited sponsor or by attending training that has been approved to receive credit with the Individual Course Approval Application (ICAA). The ICAA may be used by either the sponsoring organization or by the system on the behalf of the trustees or system administrator. The form should be sent into the PRB 30 days prior to the course date; however, exceptions to this rule may be made on a case-by-case basis. In addition to the avenues above the PRB is developing online training to be offered in the near future.
In a new trustee or administrator’s first year of service, they must take 7 hours of training from the core topic areas, which include: Fiduciary Matters, Governance, Ethics, Investments, Actuarial Matters, Benefits Administration, and Risk Management. In their subsequent years of service, all trustees and administrators can take their required 4 hours during every 2-year continuing education cycle in either the core areas or the non-core, which include: Compliance, Legal and Regulatory Matters, Pension Accounting, Custodial Issues, Plan Administration, Texas Open Meetings Act, and Texas Public Information Act. The Curriculum Guide for the Minimum Educational Training Program provides more guidance on what may be covered under each topic area.
Accredited sponsors do not have to also apply for approval of each individual course they offer. This path is designed to meet the needs of frequent educational providers. Sponsors who do not wish to become accredited or who offer fewer or less frequent courses must apply for approval of each individual course they would like to offer. Please see the sponsor webpage for more information.
Yes, online training from accredited sponsors, as well as approved online courses from non-accredited sponsors, will be accepted. The PRB offers Core Online Training. Successful completion of all 7 online modules satisfies the MET Core requirement.
The PRB 2000 form was developed for systems to report their trustees’ and administrator’s training hours. Systems must submit a PRB-2000 every September 1st for training completed August 1st of the previous year through July 31st.
Systems providing in-house training can either apply to become an accredited sponsor or can submit individual course offerings to the PRB for approval. Please visit the sponsor webpage for more information.
Trustees with even-numbered term-lengths (2, 4, 6 years, etc.) will be exempt from continuing education requirements during the last year of their term. If they are reappointed or re-elected, they will begin a new 2-year continuing education cycle on the first day of service of their new term.
For example, if a new trustee has a 2-year term, he or she must complete the core during their first year and then will not have to complete continuing education during their second and last year of that term. If reappointed or re-elected to a new term, the trustee will begin their 2-year continuing education cycle on the first day of the new term and continue on a 2-year continuing education cycle for each subsequent term.
A reappointed or re-elected trustee does not have to repeat the core and will instead continue on 2-year continuing education cycles until their service ends unless more than two years have passed since the last day of their last term of service. If more than two years have passed since the last day of the trustee’s last term, he or she must repeat the core as a new trustee. System administrators who are rehired must follow these same rules.
Systems may apply for an exemption from the system administrator training requirement if the system has designated an outside entity (bank or financial institution) as the system administrator or if the system does not have an administrator that meets the statutory definition and affirms that a trustee performs this role and will be subject to the training. In both cases, a system is required to submit to the Board a request for exemption on a form provided by the Board.
Systems that have Trustees and administrators who wish to attend training from non-accredited sponsors may apply to have the course count for credit hours with the Individual Course Approval Application.
Trustees and administrators may not receive credit for Continuing Education training during the time they are completing the core requirement. On January 1, 2017, all current trustees and system began their Continuing Education cycle, and Continuing Education training topics are now accepted for credit hours. New trustees and administrators (those starting after 1/2/2015) will have a year from the date they began their service to complete the core requirement and may not have non-core training topics count for credit hours during that time. After their first year of service, the core training requirement will be completed and non-core hours will count for credit.
An accredited PRS may offer training to trustees and administrators from other systems for credit hours. The accredited sponsor is responsible for all of the same statutory requirements as any other accredited sponsor.
Applications are currently being accepted and may be submitted at any time.
The rules for potential sponsors are located in Subchapter C of Title 40 of Chapter 607 of the Texas Administrative Code and can be found here.
An accredited sponsor will need to be re-accredited 2 years after the initial accreditation. After the initial 2 years, the sponsor will need to reapply for accreditation every 4 years.
No, however; all accredited sponsors must keep records for 5 years following the completion of the course. These records must include the following information: an agenda or outline that describes the course content; the name and title of the instructor(s) for each topic area; time devoted to each topic; each date and location of presentation; and finally, a record of participation that reflects the credit hours earned by the trustees or administrator and the number of non-trustee/non-administrator attendees.
The PRB is accepting applications and will process them as received. If further documentation is required, the applicant will be notified as soon as possible.
