For school owners · Enforcement
What Distance Education Non-Compliance Costs
These are published ranges, not sentences. TDLR sets a band per violation class; what a school actually pays depends on the case, its history, and any settlement reached after a Notice of Alleged Violation. Nothing here predicts an outcome. It shows where each failure sits in TDLR's own schedule, with the citation, so you can check it.
Distance education is not a lighter-touch part of the rules. TDLR's enforcement schedule puts “failed to comply with distance education parameters” in Class D — the most severe band it publishes, alongside falsifying hours.
The four penalty classes
Class A
$500 – $1,500
Administrative Violations
Class B
$1,000 – $3,500
and/or up to one-year full suspension
Administrative and Records Violations
Class C
$2,000 – $5,000
and/or up to revocation
Unlicensed Violations
Class D
$3,500 – $5,000
and/or revocation
Violations
A school at exactly 50% can be inside the Class D band
“Failed to comply with distance education parameters” cites 16 TAC §83.120(c) and §83.202(e). §83.202(e) is the rule carrying the 50% cap — and TDLR's SHEARS manual splits that cap in two: no more than 350 distance hours inside the first 700 core hours, and no more than 150 inside the 300 specialty hours.
350 + 150 = 500, which is 50% of 1,000. But a school running all 500 distance hours inside the core 700 has met the overall percentage and breached the core ceiling. Nothing that tracks a single percentage would show it. How the split actually works.
Distance education violations
Every one of these exists only because a school offers distance education. A school that doesn't has no exposure to any of them.
| Violation, as TDLR words it | Class | Published range | What produces it |
|---|---|---|---|
Failed to comply with distance education parameters 16 TAC §83.120(c), §83.202(e) | D | $3,500 – $5,000and/or revocation | Exceeding the distance ceiling — including the 350-hour core limit or the 150-hour specialty limit, which is where a school at 50% overall can still breach. |
Taught the practical portion of the curriculum via distance education Tex. Occ. Code §1603.351(c), 16 TAC §83.72(f)(3) | C | $2,000 – $5,000and/or up to revocation | Any practical hour delivered remotely. There is no allowance and no partial credit — practical is in person or it is not earned. |
Failed to obtain department approval before offering distance education course 16 TAC §83.72(f)(1) | C | $2,000 – $5,000and/or up to revocation | Starting distance delivery before the course-approval application is granted. Approval is per course, not per school. |
Failed to have an instructor physically present or participating through distance education for theory curriculum 16 TAC §83.72(e) | C | $2,000 – $5,000and/or up to revocation | Self-paced theory with no instructor participation. This is the same requirement NACCAS states as instructor interaction validated by measurable participation. |
Failed to provide students with the educational materials necessary to fulfill course requirements via distance education 16 TAC §83.72(f)(2) | A | $500 – $1,500 | Approved for distance delivery without the materials to deliver it. |
Hours, attendance and records violations
These apply to every school — but distance education multiplies the surface, because the hours now come in two kinds that must be separately accounted for and separately reported.
| Violation, as TDLR words it | Class | Published range | What produces it |
|---|---|---|---|
Directly or indirectly granting or approving student hours not correctly accrued 16 TAC §83.72(k) | D | $3,500 – $5,000and/or revocation | "Indirectly" is the operative word. A process that awards hours the records cannot substantiate is inside this whether or not anyone intended it. |
Increased, decreased, or withheld for any reason the number of hours earned by a student Tex. Occ. Code §1603.2308(c) | D | $3,500 – $5,000and/or revocation | Any adjustment to a student's hours after the fact, for any reason. |
Failed to maintain a daily record of students' attendance Tex. Occ. Code §1603.2309(a), 16 TAC §83.72(h) | D | $3,500 – $5,000and/or revocation | Daily, not weekly and not reconstructable. This is the obligation the 10-business-day NACCAS rule is measured against. |
Failed to properly account for credit hours granted to each student 16 TAC §83.72(k) | D | $3,500 – $5,000and/or revocation | Per student, not in aggregate. |
Failed to keep required documents for 48 months after a student completes the curriculum standards, withdraws, or enrollment is terminated 16 TAC §83.72(k) | C | $2,000 – $5,000and/or up to revocation | Four years of retention per student, surviving staff turnover and system changes — counted from completion, withdrawal or termination. |
Failed to allow inspection of school's attendance records at any time Tex. Occ. Code §1603.2309(b) | C | $2,000 – $5,000and/or up to revocation | "At any time" — production on demand is the test, not existence. |
Failed to electronically submit a student's drop from course to the Department within 10 days of withdrawal or termination of enrollment 16 TAC §83.72(p) | B | $1,000 – $3,500and/or up to one-year full suspension | A ten-day clock that starts on an event nobody logs in real time. |
Failed to submit an electronic record of a student's accrued clock hours at least once per month 16 TAC §83.72(l) | A | $500 – $1,500 | The monthly SHEARS filing, missed or late. |
Awarded credit or provided instruction of more than 184 hours or equivalent credit hours per calendar month 16 TAC §83.72(w) | A | $500 – $1,500 | The ceiling that catches back-filling. A school reconstructing a term's hours in one filing hits it. |
Penalty and sanction are two different things
An administrative penalty is money paid to the State of Texas. A sanction acts on the licence itself — suspension, probation, written reprimand or revocation. The classes above carry both, which is why the range matters less than the “and/or revocation” beside it.
The process starts with a Notice of Alleged Violation, which may carry a settlement offer. An agreement becomes an Agreed Order, and that order can require the penalty, restitution, additional education, or simply producing the documentation that was missing in the first place.
Common Questions
What is the penalty for breaking Texas distance education rules?
TDLR's published schedule lists "Failed to comply with distance education parameters" (16 TAC §83.120(c), §83.202(e)) as a Class D violation, the most severe band, carrying $3,500 to $5,000 and/or revocation. Teaching the practical portion by distance education and offering distance education without approval are both Class C: $2,000 to $5,000 and/or up to revocation. These are the published ranges, not outcomes — an actual penalty depends on the case and any settlement reached after a Notice of Alleged Violation.
Can a school be at 50% distance hours and still be in violation?
Yes, and this is the trap. The rule caps distance education at 50% of course hours, but TDLR's SHEARS manual splits that into two ceilings: no more than 350 distance hours within the first 700 core hours, and no more than 150 within the 300 specialty hours. A school with 500 distance hours all inside the core 700 is at exactly 50% overall and has breached the core ceiling. "Failed to comply with distance education parameters" cites §83.202(e), which is the rule those parameters live in.
How long must a Texas school keep student records?
48 months after the student completes the curriculum, withdraws, or has enrolment terminated — 16 TAC §83.72(k). Failing to do so is a Class C violation at $2,000 to $5,000 and/or up to revocation. Separately, §1603.2309(b) requires the school to allow inspection of attendance records "at any time", which makes production on demand the test rather than mere existence.
What happens if hours are reported late or in a batch?
Two separate exposures. Failing to submit an electronic record of accrued clock hours at least monthly is Class A, $500 to $1,500. And awarding more than 184 hours in a calendar month is also Class A — which is what catches a school reconstructing a term's hours in a single filing, because the overflow has nowhere to go.
Is a school penalised for hours it granted in good faith?
It can be. "Directly or indirectly granting or approving student hours not correctly accrued" (§83.72(k)) is Class D — $3,500 to $5,000 and/or revocation — and "indirectly" is the operative word. A process that awards hours the records cannot substantiate falls inside it whether or not anyone intended the outcome.
Does an enforcement action always mean a fine?
No. TDLR issues a Notice of Alleged Violation which may contain a settlement offer; if agreed, an Agreed Order is issued. That order may require paying an administrative penalty, but can also require restitution, additional education, or simply providing the documentation that was missing. A sanction is separate from a penalty and acts on the licence itself — suspension, probation, written reprimand or revocation.