(a) If a program other than bilingual education must be used in kindergarten through the elementary grades, documentation for the exception must be filed with and approved by the agency.
(b) An application for an exception may be filed with the agency when a district is unable to hire a sufficient number of teachers with teaching certificates appropriate for bilingual education instruction to staff the required program. The application must be accompanied by:
(1) documentation showing that the district has taken all reasonable affirmative steps to secure teachers with teaching certificates appropriate for bilingual education instruction and has failed;
(2) documentation showing that the district has affirmative hiring policies and procedures consistent with the need to serve emergent bilingual students;
(3) documentation showing that, on the basis of district records, no teacher having a teaching certificate appropriate for bilingual instruction or emergency credentials has been unjustifiably denied employment by the district within the past 12 months; and
(4) a plan detailing specific measures to be used by the district to eliminate the conditions that created the need for an exception.

(c) An exception shall be granted under this section on an individual district basis and is valid for only one year. Application for an exception for a second or succeeding year must be accompanied by the documentation prescribed by Subsection (b).
(d) During the period for which a district is granted an exception under this section, the district must use alternative methods approved by the agency to meet the needs of its emergent bilingual students, including hiring teaching personnel under a bilingual emergency permit.