| March 14, 2002
TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED: Subject: Government Code, Subchapter G, §824.602: Provisions Related to the Employment of Retired Educators In a letter dated August 8, 2001, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) provided districts with information related to changes that were made to §824.602 of the Government Code during the 77th Texas Legislature. These changes concerned the employment of individuals who have retired from service with a Texas public school. To assist districts in their recruiting and staffing efforts, the information and attachments to the August 2001 letter have been updated for the 2002-03 school year. The updated information is reflected in the enclosed documents, labeled Attachment I and Attachment II. In general, §824.602 of the Government Code allows retired educators to return to full employment with Teacher Retirement System (TRS) covered employers without experiencing restrictions to, or loss of, benefits as long as certain conditions are met. However, there are different conditions that must be met depending on whether the individual retired before or after January 1, 2001. These conditions are summarized in Attachment I, Conditions of Employment of Retired Individuals. A key component concerning individuals who retired after January 1, 2001 relates to areas of acute teacher shortage. One of the provisions of §824.602 of the Government Code requires the board of trustees of a school district to determine (by rule) acute areas of teacher shortage in the district. The local board of trustees' determination must be based on guidelines adopted by the commissioner of education. These guidelines are contained in Attachment II. If you have questions related specifically to retirement issues, please check the TRS website at www.trs.state.tx.us or contact TRS by phone at 1-800-223-8778. If you have questions concerning the guidelines related to acute areas of teacher shortage, please contact Nolan Wood or Bobby West at (512) 475-2160. Sincerely yours, Jim Nelson Attachment I: Conditions of Employment
of Retired Individuals-Updated for the 2002-03 School Year |