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TCOLE outlines risk-based oversight, deactivation options for under-staffed agencies and a task force on academy performance
Summary
Executive staff described a risk-based matrix for agency audits and said TCOLE has begun collaborative deactivation of agencies that cannot sustain minimum standards; staff also formed a task force to evaluate why some academies succeed and others do not.
Executive Director Greg Stevens and enforcement staff reported that TCOLE is re-focusing oversight toward a risk-based approach under post‑sunset minimum standards.
Stevens said the agency is using a risk-based matrix to vary oversight frequency: agencies without findings may remain on a five-year cycle while agencies with repeat findings would be audited sooner and moved to shorter follow-up intervals. Stevens told commissioners that the new minimum standards (effective June 1 for existing agencies) require review of sustainable funding sources, written policies and documentation of essential equipment and training; where agencies cannot meet those standards, TCOLE may pursue collaborative deactivation or formal dissolution of the agency.
"We will look at that process of, if it's a municipality, if it's not constitutionally elected agency of actually turning that agency or deactivating that agency," Stevens said, adding that the agency has already worked with several jurisdictions that voluntarily closed under-staffed or unsustainable operations.
Nut graf: TCOLE is emphasizing collaboration but acknowledged the statutory authority to deny establishment or to deactivate agencies that cannot meet minimum standards. Enforcement staff said they are building a task force to examine academy performance and to identify points of intervention for academies with high attrition or where graduates fail licensing at higher rates.
Supporting details: - Stevens said several agencies have voluntarily closed after conversations with field service agents because they had not been staffed in years and therefore did not provide a public benefit. - Enforcement staff described plans for a task force of field service agents and enforcement officers to collect data on academy outcomes and identify practices of successful academies to replicate across the state. - Commissioners asked for clearer communication to agencies about the risk matrix and the potential for administrative actions; commissioners also discussed the use of administrative penalties as a tool to correct repeat audit deficiencies.
Ending: Enforcement and field services will continue to refine the risk‑based matrix, visit agencies with identified risks and seek collaborative outcomes where possible. Commissioners asked staff to report back with progress and remediation metrics at future meetings.
