(a) Except as provided by Subsection (e), a person may not be appointed as a county jailer, except on a temporary basis, unless the person has satisfactorily completed a preparatory training program, as required by the commission, in the operation of a county jail at a school operated or licensed by the commission. The training program must consist of at least eight hours of mental health training approved by the commission and the Commission on Jail Standards.
(b) A county jailer appointed on a temporary basis who does not satisfactorily complete the preparatory training program before the first anniversary of the date that the person is appointed shall be removed from the position. A county jailer appointed on a temporary basis shall be enrolled in the preparatory training program on or before the 90th day after their temporary appointment. A temporary appointment may not be renewed, except that the sheriff may petition the commission to extend the temporary appointment for a period not to exceed six months.

(b-1) A person who has previously been appointed on a temporary basis as a county jailer and separated from that position may be subsequently appointed on a temporary basis as a county jailer under Subsection (b) at the same or a different county jail only if the person was in good standing at the time the person separated from the position.
(b-2) A person who has cumulatively served as a county jailer on a temporary basis under Subsection (b) for two years may continue to serve for the remainder of that temporary appointment, not to exceed the first anniversary of the date of the most recent appointment. The person is not eligible for an extension of that appointment or for a subsequent appointment on a temporary basis as a county jailer under that subsection at the same or a different county jail until the first anniversary of the date the person separates from the temporary appointment during which the person reached two years of cumulative service.
(b-3) A person whose county jailer license has become inactive may be appointed as a county jailer on a temporary basis under Subsection (b).
(c) A county jailer serving under permanent appointment before September 1, 1979, regardless of whether the person’s employment was terminated before that date because of failure to satisfy standards adopted under Chapter 511, Government Code, is not required to meet a requirement of this section as a condition of continued employment or promotion unless:
(1) in an attempt to meet the standards the person took an examination and failed or was not allowed to finish the examination because the person acted dishonestly in regard to the examination;
(2) the person forged a document purporting to show that the person meets the standards; or
(3) the person seeks a new appointment as a county jailer on or after September 1, 1984.
(d) A county jailer serving under permanent appointment before September 1, 1979, is eligible to attend training courses in the operation of a county jail, subject to commission rules.
(e) A person trained and certified by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to serve as a corrections officer in that agency’s correctional institutions division is not required to complete the training requirements of this section to be appointed a part-time county jailer. Examinations under § 1701.304 and psychological examinations under § 1701.306 apply.
(f) A county jailer appointed on a temporary basis may not be promoted to a supervisory position in a county jail.