Texas Board Of Nursing Background

So here's the deal, I was WRONGFULLY arrested on charges over four years ago, those charges never made it to indictment and my "case" was dropped. I never ran into the law in my entire life. So what I'm trying to ask is will this hinder my future of becoming a RN? I see that they conduct an FBI background check. Will my arrest affect me ever becoming a nurse? Any insight would be great. Thank you!

It might be a good idea to run specifics by the Texas BON before you invest time or money in nursing education. Every experience is different, and this isn't the sort of thing that you want to "guess" about.

Are you in nursing school yet? I believe in Texas, when you apply to school they make you do a background check through the board and if you have something then you do a declaratory order.

That at way you will know the boards decision and if they will grant you a license that is free and clear or one with any stipulations before you go through all of nursing school.

Because you were arrested, it's really in your best interest to go ahead and prepare a Declaratory Order. You'll need to include a signed statement with ALL pertinent details as well as original copies of any court documentation showing that the charges were dropped. Make copies of everything and track the package/get a signature to make sure it arrives at the TxBON office.

I'm going through something similar - I had a simple traffic citation go to warrant because I went into premature labor and spent a week in the hospital with my infant (and the ticket lapsed). I was never arrested, spoke to the judge, and got a reduced fine and deferred adjudication once I explained the circumstances. Apparently, Failure to Appear is considered a criminal offense! I've assembled and submitted a big packet of several pages including my signed statement, hospital records, birth certificate, court documents, city documents etc. etc. It's a huge pain.

It's my (limited!) understanding that, if you DON'T report an offense and it's found through the background check, it could be considered "deception" and could be grounds for delay or even denial of your license, so it's best to be up front about anything in your past. Also, the sooner you start the better. I'm biting my nails in worry because I might end up having to delay my plans to enter Nursing School until NEXT FALL over this (trying not to cry!) after working so hard to get all of my pre-req's and HESI testing done. I had no idea how this simple mishap could seriously affect my nursing school plans and wish I had known sooner .

I am in IL and my situation is a little different. I had an arrest from when I was 16 that I did not report because I didn't know I needed to. I got an email after passing the NCLEX that I need to submit documents. I went to the court house and they couldn't find anything. I had them print off a background check (which just said "no records found"), stamped it with the seal, and turned it in with a letter explaining what happened and why I didn't tell them about it the first time. I received my license 5 business days later.

I had a friend who was wrongfully arrested at 14. The charges were dropped but it still showed up on the background check. She also got an email asking her to explain this situation. She did the same thing as me and got her license a few days later.

I don't know what the Texas BON wants you to report, but from my experience I would report it. Get any documents from the court house, write a letter explaining what happened, and send it in with your application. From what I learned, if you were fingerprinted for any reason, no matter what the outcome was, the BON will see it. At least in IL. You can always call your BON and ask. You don't have to give them your name or any info. Good luck!

I'm following up for future searches. I've had a LOT of questions about this process (and the legal counsel at the school I'm applying to stopped answering my questions weeks ago lol) so I finally spent several hours and days of my life making phone calls to the Tx BON. The line is almost always busy, sometimes the line is never picked up and other times, there's a message that no one can take your call and there is no option to even leave a message - very busy! I've had the best luck early in the morning, midweek, but have also managed to reach people at random hours during the day (likes I said, lots of questions!). In my case I fall under the "expunged and sealed offenses" note that's on the Declaratory Order - such a relief! I have all my classes and paperwork in order to apply to the nursing school program and as soon as I have a free day I'm applying :). So, my advice is to call (and call and call!) and ask questions to get specific advice for you situation. Best of luck to you!!