Sec. 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 has reason to believe that the person is ineligible for the license and:

(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; or

(2) is an applicant for a 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999. Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1420, Sec. 14.123(a), eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 553, Sec. 1.018, eff. Sept. 1, 2003. Amended by: Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 999 , Sec. 8, eff. June 19, 2009.