(a) In compliance with Chapter 53 of the Occupations Code, the Council will provide criminal history evaluation letters.
(b) A person may request the Council provide a criminal history evaluation letter if the person is planning to enroll or is enrolled in an educational program that prepares the person for a license with this agency and the person has reason to believe that the person may be ineligible for licensure due to a conviction or deferred adjudication for a felony or misdemeanor offense.
(c) The requestor must submit to the Council a completed application form requesting an evaluation letter, the required fee, and certified copies of court documentation about all convictions, deferred adjudications, or other final dispositions which may form the basis for the person's ineligibility.
(d) Requestors must obtain a fingerprint criminal history record check after they have submitted an application for a criminal history evaluation letter.
(e) The Council has the authority to investigate a request for a criminal history evaluation letter and may require the requestor to provide additional information about the convictions and other dispositions.
(f) The Council will provide a written response to the requestor within 90 days of receipt of the request, unless a more extensive investigation is required or the requestor fails to comply with the Council's investigation.
(g) In the absence of new evidence known to but not disclosed by the requestor or not reasonably available to the licensing authority at the time the letter is issued, the Council's ruling on the request determines the requestor's eligibility with respect to the grounds for potential ineligibility set out in the letter.

Source Note: The provisions of this §882.41 adopted to be effective September 1, 2020, 45 TexReg 4759