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TCOLE advisory group backs APA/AAPP‑aligned path for polygraph certificates and a 30‑hour biennial continuing‑education rule
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Summary
An advisory subcommittee to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement recommended drafting a rule that would tie polygraph examiner certificates to training accredited by the American Polygraph Association or recognized/approved by the American Association of Police Polygraphists, and a 30‑hour continuing‑education requirement every two years with a conference component.
The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement advisory working group moved toward a rulemaking recommendation to tie state polygraph examiner certificates to nationally recognized training and to set a continuing‑education standard for certificate maintenance.
A subcommittee reported it had drafted language that would "mirror the APA's current policy," and members coalesced around language that would require initial courses to be accredited by the American Polygraph Association (APA) or approved/recognized by the American Association of Police Polygraphists (AAPP). "The ultimate recommendation is that training must come from an APA accredited course in order to get the certificate," a committee member said during the discussion.
The group also recommended a continuing‑education requirement of 30 hours every two years, with a conference requirement drawn from a short list of accepted events. "Our recommendation is for 30 hours of continuing ed every 2 year unit with at least 1 training conference at the Texas Association of Law Enforcement Polygraph Investigators Conference, American Polygraph Association, American Association of Police Polygraphists, or the National Polygraph Association," a subcommittee representative said.
Staff described how the certificate and reporting process would work: applicants would obtain a PID number, submit documentation of APA/AAPP credentials or a school certificate, and TCOLE staff would vet out‑of‑state schools or maintain a list of approved training providers. For applicants who are not associated with an agency, staff said the commission would need to build or adapt reporting mechanisms so non‑agency civilians could be included in the public certificate lookup.
On grandfathering existing examiners, members discussed three practical verification paths: (1) accept current APA or AAPP membership as evidence of prior vetted training; (2) accept a certificate or roster from an approved school; or (3) accept an application with staff verification for out‑of‑state or nonmember examiners. Several members urged simplifying the process by relying on APA/AAPP verification where possible to reduce staff burden.
The committee debated how long a lapsed certificate should remain reactivatable versus when an examiner must restart basic training; proposals ranged from four to ten years. One working suggestion was to require make‑up hours for shorter lapses (for example, recovering missed units) and a full retraining cycle after a prolonged period of inactivity.
A committee member asked whether the group should also draft a model policy describing best practices for conducting examinations; staff said a model policy could be prepared and offered to agencies alongside rule language, but noted TCOLE could not directly enforce an agency's internal policy — adoption and enforcement of a model policy would remain with individual agencies.
No final rule was adopted at this meeting. Staff said they would draft rule text and a concise model policy for committee review and the group scheduled a follow‑up work session for April 24 at 10:00 to review drafts and prepare recommendations to present to the commissioners.
What’s next: TCOLE staff will prepare draft rule language, a short model policy, and a proposed grandfathering/verification approach for the April 24 follow‑up work session; commissioners would receive the committee’s final recommendations afterward.
