FAQ: SHARS Parental Consent – Digital Signatures

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Can a digital signature be used for the one-time SHARS parental consent and/or service logs?

If certain conditions are met, an electronic signature is acceptable:

  • Prior to accepting an electronic signature, a state agency shall ensure that the level of security used to identify the signer of a message and to transmit the signature is sufficient for the transaction being conducted.” The district must verify that the document was digitally signed by the intended signer.
  • The signed document, along with its contextual records described above, must be maintained as required for record retention audit purposes

1Texas Administrative Code (TAC)§ 203.23(b)

1TAC§ 203.23(e)