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Texas Occupations Code - Section 301.257. Declaratory Order Of License Eligibility

Legal Research Home > Texas Laws > Occupations Code > Texas Occupations Code - Section 301.257. Declaratory Order Of License Eligibility

§ 301.257. DECLARATORY ORDER OF LICENSE ELIGIBILITY.  (a) 
A person may petition the board for a declaratory order as to the 
person's eligibility for a license under this chapter if the 
person:
		(1)  is enrolled or planning to enroll in an 
educational program that prepares a person for an initial license 
as a registered nurse or vocational nurse;  and
		(2)  has reason to believe that the person is 
ineligible for the license.   
	(b)  The petition must state the basis for the person's 
potential ineligibility.
	(c)  The board has the same powers to investigate the 
petition and the person's eligibility that it has to investigate a 
person applying for a license.
	(d)  The petitioner or the board may amend the petition to 
include additional grounds for potential ineligibility at any time 
before a final determination is made.
	(e)  If the board determines that a ground for ineligibility 
does not exist, instead of issuing an order, the board shall notify 
the petitioner in writing of the board's determination on each 
ground of potential ineligibility.  If the board proposes to find 
that the petitioner is ineligible for a license, the petitioner is 
entitled to a hearing before the State Office of Administrative 
Hearings.
	(f)  The board's order must set out each basis for potential 
ineligibility and the board's determination as to eligibility.  In 
the absence of new evidence known to but not disclosed by the 
petitioner or not reasonably available to the board at the time the 
order is issued, the board's ruling on the petition determines the 
person's eligibility with respect to the grounds for potential 
ineligibility set out in the written notice or order.
	(g)  The board may require an individual accepted for 
enrollment or enrolled in an educational program preparing a 
student for initial licensure as a registered nurse or vocational 
nurse to submit information to the board to permit the board to 
determine whether the person is aware of the conditions that may 
disqualify the person from licensure as a registered nurse or 
vocational nurse on graduation and of the person's right to 
petition the board for a declaratory order under this section.  
Instead of requiring the person to submit the information, the 
board may require the educational program to collect and submit the 
information on each person accepted for enrollment or enrolled in 
the program.
	(h)  The information required under Subsection (g) must be 
submitted in a form approved by the board.
	(i)  If, as a result of information provided under Subsection 
(g), the board determines that a person may not be eligible for a 
license on graduation, the board shall notify the educational 
program of its determination.

Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 388, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.  Amended 
by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1420, § 14.123(a), eff. Sept. 1, 
2001;  Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 553, § 1.018, eff. Sept. 1, 
2003.

Last modified: August 11, 2007