Training Descriptions
Statewide training
Statewide training is available to all districts and ESCs in Texas and covers topics selected by us based on current trends and needs. Topic descriptions are listed below. Check the HR Services Training Calendar for scheduled workshops.
District training
Member districts can arrange virtual or local in-person training. The trainings listed below can be customized to meet the unique needs of your district. You can limit participation to your staff or serve as a host district by inviting other districts to participate and share the cost of consulting fees. For additional information or to schedule training for your district, contact HR Services at 800.580.7782 or hrservices@tasb.org.
HR Services and ESC partnerships
We work with education service centers (ESCs) to provide regional training for human resources staff, payroll and benefits staff, and supervisors.
The training offered in your region is chosen by your ESC from the list of topics below. If you’re interested in having a particular program presented, please contact your service center representative. For additional information, contact HR Services at 800.580.7782 or hrservices@tasb.org.
Training topics
Administering Pay Plans
This workshop takes a deeper dive into pay systems and covers complex compensation topics. Participants are given mock employee pay data and formulas for hands-on practice. This workshop is designed for staff with some compensation experience who administer pay, determine salaries, or explain compensation to employees or the board of trustees. Understanding Compensation in Schools is recommended as a prerequisite for staff with little to no prior compensation experience.
Topics covered:
- Evaluating pay systems
- Assessing policies and procedures
- Calculating salaries and pay increases
- ​Addressing common pay issues and problems
Determining Employment Status and Benefits
State and federal rules can make determining employment status and benefit entitlement complicated. Improper classification can carry hefty fines and penalties for school districts. Presenters will explain the various employment categories and how to classify employees correctly.
Topics covered:
- Understanding employment status—full- and part-time employees, independent contractor, temporary employee, and substitute
- Defining the terms of employment and contract entitlement
- Understanding benefit and leave entitlement
- Determining exemption status under the Fair Labor Standards Act
- Handling special cases, including employment of retirees and student workers
Get a Grip on the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Every leave request is unique, so how do you get a grip on all the rules for applying and processing family and medical leave? Using actual situations in exercises and case studies, participants will learn how to apply the FMLA regulations, identify potential problem areas, and develop procedures for administering family and medical leave. Scenarios related to standard FMLA, leave for qualifying exigency, and military caregiver leave will be used to discover answers to the most frequently asked family and medical leave questions.
Topics covered:
- Determining eligibility
- Understanding qualifying events
- Implementing administrative procedures
- Meeting employer obligation
- Communicating employee rights and responsibilities
Hiring Effective Teachers and Keeping Them
The key to improving student performance is making sure each classroom is staffed with an effective teacher. Selecting the right teacher involves using interview questions based on teaching competencies and knowing how to identify effective responses. Presenters also will discuss strategies for retaining top performers.
Topics covered:
- Identifying critical attributes of effective teachers
- Structuring interviews to identify candidate competencies
- Understanding teacher engagement and satisfaction
- Implementing strategies to retain highly effective teachers
HR for Campus Leaders
Effective principals are strong HR managers who need a strong understanding of HR concepts to successfully recruit, hire, manage, engage, and develop school staff. This workshop will help principals understand HR operations, employment law, leave administration, district policies, and best practices in human capital management. The training is appropriate for campus administrators or HR leaders who are developing local training.
Topics covered:
- Understanding the legal issues in the hiring process
- Implementing best practices for retention of staff
- Providing relevant professional development opportunities
- Resolving employee complaints
- Handling leave requests
- Understanding FLSA
Implementing Strategic HR Practices
Most HR departments are effective at implementing and maintaining HR administrative tasks and providing employees what they need on a basic level, but many HR professionals have the desire to be more strategic and play a bigger role in district planning and making an impact on student learning. This full-day training will help attendees identify the difference between transactional and strategic HR functions and how both elements are important to the department’s overall success.
Topics covered:
- Distinguishing between transactional and strategic HR functions
- Transforming your HR culture
- Establishing HR’s role in district planning and decision-making
- Identifying ways your department can be more strategic
- Implementing strategic improvements
Managing Personnel Records
Do you know what documents should be kept and for how long? This workshop will help you make sure your personnel records are complete and accurate. Presenters also will identify strategies to reduce the time, effort, and space required to manage paper and electronic records.
Topics covered:
- Managing and organizing personnel records
- Understanding the basics of the Texas Public Information Act
- Protecting confidentiality and ensuring security
- Retaining and storing records
- Understanding the basic principles of electronic recordkeeping
Managing State and Federal Leave
The challenges of leave administration include keeping up with who’s absent, what type of leave applies, and managing notifications and return-to-work processes. This workshop explains the various types of leave benefits for public school employees and how they interact. Strategies for communicating with departments and employees, coordinating leave and workers’ compensation benefits, and absence control strategies will be discussed.
Topics covered:
- Understanding state and federal leave benefits
- Defining local leave policy and benefits
- Administering leave effectively
Navigating Educator Certification
HR staff and campus administrators responsible for hiring must have a good understanding of the rules, requirements, and routes to ensure each campus is served by qualified educators. Currently, school districts are challenged with a limited applicant pool and must find creative solutions to fill vacancies. This workshop will cover certification basics and viable options for qualifying uncertified educators. Attendees will have the opportunity to apply knowledge to real-life scenarios and learn more about nontraditional routes to certification, types of certificates and permits, and criteria for meeting certification requirements.
Topics covered:
- Navigating certification rules and requirements
- Identifying routes to certification
- Evaluating candidate qualifications
- Qualifying an uncertified educator
- Solving common certification challenges
Providing Exceptional Customer Service (TASB Online Learning Center)
Providing Exceptional Customer Service is the first online, on-demand course offered by HR Services through the TASB Online Learning Center.
TASB HR Services’ Providing Exceptional Customer Service can help with improving all district staff’s interactions and ability to effectively serve internal and external customers. The course is self-paced, can be completed in approximately an hour and a half, and allows participants to:
- Gain an understanding of the different aspects of serving their customers
- Think in a customer-friendly focused way
- Improve communications and relationship building skills
- Implement strategies to help deal with difficult customer service situations
Members should log in with their myTASB login; nonmembers will be prompted to create a nonmember login. If you have any difficulties creating an account, reach out to onlinelearning@tasb.org.
Recruiting and Retaining School Employees
Employee turnover is a major problem in all industries, including public schools, and organizations are struggling to recruit and retain employees. This workshop will explore the challenges of finding and keeping employees and provide strategies to attract and retain quality employees. Attendees will be provided with opportunities to use knowledge and resources for developing an effective recruitment and retention plan.
Topics covered:
- Developing a marketing strategy
- Optimizing compensation and benefits
- Collaborating with supervisors and principals
- Supporting mental health
- Implementing flexible work arrangements
Service Record Management
Maintaining service records and determining creditable service creates challenges for HR departments. The Commissioner’s Rules on Creditable Service dictate how to determine an individual’s years of experience. This workshop will provide detailed guidance on evaluating an individual’s creditable service, determining how service is calculated for different creditable service entities, identifying best practices for maintaining service records (FIN-115), and recording state sick and personal leave. Common scenarios will be discussed to better understand application of the commissioner’s rules.
Topics covered:
- Creating compliant service records
- Calculating creditable service
- Maintaining service records
- Recording and calculating state sick and personal leave
- Identifying creditable service entities
Spending Wisely: The Intersection of Staffing and Pay
Salaries and benefits make up about 80 percent of most districts’ budgets. While we often think about the impact of compensation decisions on the “people” portion of district budgets, we don’t always connect the financial impact of staffing decisions. This workshop will help attendees identify how staffing allocations and compensation can work together to achieve district goals.
Topics covered:
- Using staffing benchmarks by job group
- Comparing staffing levels against peers
- Understanding pay structure fundamentals
- Using job market analysis
- Understanding and setting teacher staffing and pay
Supervisor's Guide to Managing Employee Performance
This session helps supervisors develop skills to handle personnel situations and coach employees so they give their best performance. Strategies for handling and documenting performance problems will also be addressed. Information on basic HR laws will be given to help supervisors avoid complaints, grievances and claims of discrimination, retaliation, and unfair treatment.
Topics covered:
- Motivating and managing employees
- Communicating performance expectations
- Identifying and addressing common performance problems
- Understanding state and federal employment laws
Understanding Compensation in Community Colleges
Understanding the strategy and architecture behind the organization’s compensation plan is critical to recruiting and retaining top-notch staff and controlling costs. This workshop is designed for anyone who administers pay, recommends salaries, or explains compensation to employees or the board of trustees. Key components of pay administration will be covered including pay strategies, pay structures, pay adjustments, and placement for new or promoted employees.
Topics covered:
- Understanding fundamentals of pay strategies and pay structure
- Conducting job market analyses
- Adjusting pay plans
- Establishing and determining employee pay
Understanding Compensation in Schools
Understanding the strategy and architecture behind the organization’s compensation plan is critical to recruiting and retaining top-notch staff and controlling costs. This workshop is designed for anyone who administers pay, recommends salaries, or explains compensation to employees or the board of trustees. Key components of pay administration will be covered including pay strategies, pay structures, pay adjustments, and placement for new or promoted employees.
Topics covered:
- Understanding fundamentals of pay strategies and pay structure
- Conducting job market analyses
- Adjusting pay plans
- Establishing and determining employee pay
Understanding Wage and Hour Law
Understanding the basic components of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) can reduce the district’s risk of wage and hour complaints and costly penalties. This hands-on workshop will help HR and payroll staff understand the federal regulations and learn how to properly calculate nonexempt employee pay.
Topics covered:
- Determining exemption status
- Identifying compensable time
- Recognizing when overtime occurs
- Compensating and managing overtime
Writing Effective Job Descriptions
This workshop reveals how to write functional, low-maintenance job descriptions that support administrative decisions related to hiring, pay classification, exemption status, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance, performance management, fitness to return to work, and more.
Topics covered:
- Creating complete and practical job descriptions
- Organizing and coordinating the writing and updating process
- Defining “level-cutters” that distinguish skills and responsibilities
- Distinguishing exempt and nonexempt jobs
- Using job descriptions in performance management