Continuing Education Provider Approval for Commercial Education Businesses

Application and Fee

To obtain approval as a commercial education businesses, submit the Sanitarian Continuing Education Provider Application (PDF) along with the required application fee of $100.

Provider approvals are valid for one year from the date of approval.

Curriculum Development

Continuing education activities must meet the following criteria to be considered acceptable:

• Course providers are required to offer courses with significant educational or practical content related to the fields of consumer health, environmental health, or sanitation.
• Courses must be based on relevant subject matters on current research, techniques, and resources to improve skills and maintain competency.
• Courses must have a record keeping procedure established by the course provider, which includes a register of who took the course and the number of continuing education hours earned.
• The course provider must include procedures for verifying participant attendance as well as comprehension of subject matter presented. These procedures may include, but are not limited to, examinations, post-activity questionnaires, field demonstrations, in-class workbooks or handout materials, and/or question and answer periods to assure participant understanding of the subject matter.
• Continuing education activities must be at least 50 minutes in length of actual instruction time. No credit will be given for time used to promote the sponsor or other non-relevant activities.
• The course provider must ensure the activity complies with all applicable federal and state laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements for access to activities.

Approved Activities

Acceptable continuing education activities in consumer health, environmental health, or sanitation include the following:

• Conferences
• Home-study training modules
  (including professional journals requiring successful completion of a test document)
• Lectures
• Panel discussions
• Seminars
• Accredited college or university courses
• Video or film presentations with live instruction
• Field demonstrations
• Teleconferences or online training

Instructor Credentials

Sponsors must ensure that all continuing education instructors have one of the following credentials or hold one of the following positions:

• Certification as a registered sanitarian by the department
• Instructor at the Texas Engineering Extension Service
• Faculty member at an accredited college or university
• Employee of the department or the Department of State Health Services
• Teaching or work experience determined by the sponsor to be sufficient

Record Keeping Requirements

At the conclusion of the training, continuing education providers must distribute certificates of completion to the individuals who have successfully completed the activity, which shall include the name of the sponsor, the date and name of the activity, and the continuing education hours earned.

Providers must also maintain student registration records for a minimum of five years.