Texas DIR AI Training - Complete FAQ

Any employee of a Texas governmental body who uses a computer for 25% or more of their assigned duties is required to complete DIR-certified AI awareness training annually. The 25% threshold is based on the nature of the employee's total assigned duties - not just time spent at a desk or in an office.

"Governmental body" under Texas law is broadly defined and includes: state agencies, boards, and commissions; independent school districts; public universities and community colleges; cities and counties; special districts (water, utility, appraisal, hospital, transit); and other entities created by or operating under Texas statute using public funds.

There is no exemption based on employer size, budget, or geographic location. A small general law city and a major state agency are subject to the same requirement.

Yes. The requirement is not limited to state agencies. It extends to all Texas governmental bodies, which is an expansive category that includes local government at every level.

Local government entities subject to the mandate include: all Texas cities (home rule and general law), all 254 Texas counties, independent school districts, community college districts, public universities, municipal utility districts, water control and improvement districts, appraisal districts, hospital districts, metropolitan transit authorities, port authorities, and other entities created by Texas statute.

See our dedicated pages for school districts, cities and counties, and higher education institutions for sector-specific information.

The annual deadline is August 31 of each Texas fiscal year. The Texas fiscal year runs September 1 through August 31.

For the current FY 2025-2026 cycle, all applicable employees must complete DIR-certified AI awareness training by August 31, 2026. We recommend setting an internal agency deadline of July 31 to allow time to follow up with employees who have not yet completed training before the official DIR deadline.

The statute does not specify a per-violation penalty structure, but non-compliance with a statutory training requirement creates real legal and operational risk. Government entities that cannot document employee training completion may face scrutiny during legislative oversight hearings, state audits, or public information requests.

From a risk management perspective, an untrained employee who misuses an AI tool in a way that causes a data breach, a discriminatory outcome, or a public records problem may create greater liability for the entity than would have existed had the employee completed required training. Documented training is a recognized element of an effective compliance program.

Consult your agency's legal counsel or the Texas DIR for guidance on the specific consequences of non-compliance under current DIR enforcement policy.

Yes. Texas Government Code Section 2054.5193 establishes an annual training requirement. A certificate earned in FY 2025-2026 satisfies the requirement for that fiscal year only. The requirement resets on September 1, 2026 for the FY 2026-2027 cycle, with a new deadline of August 31, 2027.

The annual cycle makes practical sense: the AI landscape evolves rapidly, new tools emerge, new risks are identified, and government policies continue to develop. Annual training ensures employees stay current. Our platform retains your enrollment data so annual renewal is straightforward - returning employees simply log in and complete the updated course each year.

The training is entirely self-paced. There are no scheduled sessions, live webinars, or required start times. Employees can begin the course at any time after registering and completing account setup, including evenings and weekends if their agency permits off-hours training.

The platform saves progress automatically, so employees can stop in the middle of any module and pick up exactly where they left off. The final assessment must be completed in a single session within the 15-minute time limit, but all course content is available without time pressure.

The course is structured around the three topic areas required by the Texas DIR AI Training Program Certification Standards:

Module 1: Understanding AI in Government

• What AI is and how it works (plain-language explanation)
• AI tools and their current uses in Texas government
• Practical use cases for government employees
• Authorized use and how to comply with your agency's AI policy

Module 2: Risks, Limitations, and Legal Compliance

• AI hallucination and accuracy limitations
• Data quality, bias, and discriminatory outcomes
• Contextual and situational limitations of AI
• Risk classification: low, medium, and high risk uses
• Texas and federal legal compliance requirements

Module 3: Best Practices for Responsible AI Use

• Human oversight and the human-in-the-loop principle
• Privacy, data classification, and what not to put in AI tools
• Transparency and public trust considerations
• How to verify AI outputs before using them
• Accountability and building an ethical AI culture in your agency

All content uses Texas government scenarios and practical examples relevant to state and local government work.

A score of 80% or higher (8 out of 10 questions correct) is required to pass the Final Comprehensive Assessment and earn your certificate.

The assessment consists of 10 questions randomly selected from a 100-question bank covering all three modules. Questions are scenario-based and test application of the course concepts - not just recall of definitions. The time limit is 15 minutes per attempt.

You can retake the assessment immediately with no waiting period and no limit on the number of attempts. This is intentional: the goal is to ensure every applicable government employee completes the training, not to create barriers to compliance.

After each attempt, the platform shows you which questions you answered incorrectly along with the correct answers and explanations. Reading these explanations before retaking the assessment significantly improves the chance of passing on the next attempt.

Each new attempt presents a fresh randomly selected set of 10 questions from the 100-question bank, so the questions will be different from your previous attempt. Your best score across all attempts is recorded in your profile and on your certificate.

After passing the Final Comprehensive Assessment, your certificate is immediately available in your account. Log in, go to your dashboard, and click "My Certificates." From there you can view, print, and download your certificate.

To save the certificate as a PDF, use your browser's print function (Ctrl+P or Cmd+P) and select "Save as PDF" or "Microsoft Print to PDF" as the destination. The certificate is formatted to print correctly on standard letter-size paper. Your certificate is permanently stored in your account and can be accessed again at any time in the future.

Any employer, HR department, supervisor, or auditor can verify a certificate at our public certificate verification page - no login or account required.

Enter the certificate ID (TX-AI-YYYY-XXXXXX) found on the printed certificate or provided by the employee. The verification page instantly confirms whether the certificate is valid and displays the employee's name, completion date, and course title. The QR code on printed certificates links directly to the verification page with the certificate ID pre-filled.

Yes. This course is an officially certified training program under the Texas DIR AI Training Program Certification Standards. The certification number is #26, valid through August 31, 2026. Certificates issued by this course satisfy the annual training requirement under Texas Government Code Section 2054.5193 for FY 2025-2026.

The certification is reviewed and renewed annually. The FY 2026-2027 certification will be applied for before September 1, 2026 to ensure uninterrupted coverage for the next cycle. Agencies that need documentation of the certification for procurement purposes can contact us to request a copy of the DIR certification letter.

Plan	Employees	Price per Person	Includes
Individual	1-2	$24.95	Course, certificate, assessment
Team	2-50	$17.95	+ Enrollment link, compliance dashboard, CSV export
Agency	51-500	$11.95	+ Dedicated entity page, branded reports, priority support
Enterprise	501+	Custom	+ Dedicated account manager, system-level reporting

Contact us to receive a formal quote. We can provide a quote letter on letterhead for procurement purposes and support purchase order payments for qualifying entities.

Yes. When setting up your organization's bulk enrollment, you can request domain restriction. This means that only employees who register with an email address from your official government domain - such as @cityofaustin.gov, @harriscountytx.gov, or @austinisd.org - can access your enrollment link.

Domain restriction serves two purposes: it prevents unauthorized users from consuming your purchased seats, and it ensures your compliance dashboard and CSV export reflect only actual employees of your organization. If your employees use multiple email domains (for example, a system with multiple component agencies), we can configure multiple allowed domains for your enrollment.

The compliance dashboard is available 24/7 to your designated compliance contacts. It shows real-time data: total employees enrolled, total completed, completion percentage, and individual completion records.

To generate a formal report, click the CSV export button from the dashboard. The CSV file includes the following fields for each employee:

• Full name
• Email address
• Department and job title (if provided at registration)
• Enrollment date
• Completion date (or "Not completed" if incomplete)
• Certificate ID
• Assessment pass score

This CSV is suitable for board reporting, legislative inquiries, HR file documentation, and DIR audit responses. Agency and Enterprise plan customers can also request a signed compliance summary letter on Evolve AI Institute letterhead at no additional charge.

SCORM export is available as an add-on for Agency and Enterprise customers. A SCORM 1.2-compatible package can be generated for import into Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, Cornerstone OnDemand, Saba, or any other LMS that supports the SCORM 1.2 standard.

The SCORM package delivers the full course content and transmits completion and score data back to your LMS. Certificate generation, however, occurs on the Evolve AI Institute platform - employees who complete the SCORM package will receive an email with their certificate access link.

Note that most organizations find the native compliance dashboard meets all their reporting needs without requiring LMS integration. The CSV export covers the same data fields that most LMS completion reports provide. Contact us to discuss SCORM integration and any associated setup requirements.