Blog : Texas Professional License Defense Law Firm : Bertolino LLP

May 22, 2020 Posts

Protect Your License to Teach

You worked hard to become a teacher. You earned your bachelor’s degree from an institution accredited by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. You completed an Educator Preparation Program. You passed your certification exams. You applied with the state after ensuring you met all of the requirements to do so. You even got your fingerprints taken as part of a national criminal background check, which, naturally, you passed. And you’ve been active in your chosen...

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May 21, 2020 Posts

Teachers Must Maintain Student Confidentiality

In the course of performing their duties, teachers must adhere to certain standards of behavior and a large number of rules in order to maintain their career. Among these rules are particular regulations relating to the maintenance of student confidentiality. The student-teacher relationship is important on various levels. There is, of course, the purely educational element. But as many teachers we work with inform us, they become privy to a great deal of information about...

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May 20, 2020 Posts

When a Teacher is Accused of Misappropriating School Funds

Licensed teachers in Texas have dedicated their time and energy to becoming practitioners of among of the most vital of professions to our state’s future well-being. Among the many challenges a teacher in Texas may face in the course of their chosen profession is the occasional allegation of improper behavior before the Texas State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC). Any such complaint may be considered to threaten their license. We consider it absolutely imperative that...

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May 19, 2020 Posts

Teachers May Not Accept a Gift That Impairs Personal Judgment

Teachers in Texas face numerous challenges in the course of practicing their chosen profession. Licensed educators have dedicated themselves to one of the most important—and, sometimes, thankless—of professions in our society. So when teachers find themselves facing allegations of impropriety that threatens their license, which in turn puts them at threat of losing both work and income, it is absolutely imperative that they hire an experienced professional license attorney to give them the best change...

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May 18, 2020 Posts

Explaining a Criminal Conviction to the Texas Board of Nursing

The Texas Board of Nursing has the power and the jurisdiction to consider criminal convictions of applicants and acting nurses as a part of its mandate to regulate the practice of the nursing profession. The scenarios for applicants and for already-licensed nurses is quite different, and the situations under which the Board of Nursing is likely to accept an explanation of a criminal conviction is therefore altered in kind. When the Board is considering permitting...

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May 17, 2020 Posts

Informal Settlement Conferences Before the Texas Board of Nursing

The Texas Board of Nursing does not always permit an Informal Settlement Conference for a nurse whose license is under review due to a complaint. These conferences are most often set aside for cases in which credibility is one of the primary issues at question, or for nursing practice cases or issues of advanced practice. Yet, in circumstances where such a Conference would be beneficial to a nurse’s case, an experienced professional license defense attorney...

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May 16, 2020 Medical License Defense

Contending with an Investigation by the Texas Board of Nursing

The Texas Board of Nursing is charged with protecting the public by establishing and maintaining quality in the selection of and maintenance of those individuals who may be permitted to practice nursing within the state. As such, among the Board’s primary functions is investigating complaints made against the licenses of nurses. The Board will, therefore, investigate any issue relating to the practice of nursing. Among the more common subjects of these investigations are allegations of...

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May 15, 2020 Posts

TMB Sunset Review Provided New Pathways to Physician Licensure

The Texas Medical Board went under Sunset Review in 2015, and emerged in 2017 with certain recommendations to take up—among them a number of new pathways to physician licensure. Some of these recommendations were adopted soon after the report was made (though surprisingly an emergency session had to be called to continue TMB’s existence for two additional years), but many (including a longer-term 12 years extension of TMB’s mandate) were not made until 2019. Among...

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May 14, 2020 Posts

New Rules in Texas For When a Physician’s Abortion Attempt is Unsuccessful

The topic of abortion is a sticky one—it is among the most acrimonious points of conflict in the political “culture war” in our nation. Texas finds itself no exception to this—groups such as the ACLU claim our laws make it more difficult for those desiring an abortion to receive one than in most other states. This makes the performance of such procedures a hot-point for doctors, and often brings the practices of such medical professionals...

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May 13, 2020 Posts

Dealing with the Formal Investigation Phase of a Medical License Complaint

After performing a preliminary review of a complaint against a medical professional, during which a licensee sometimes may submit a response to an initial complaint letter, the Texas Medical Board will pass forward a complaint that is determined to both have probable cause and over which the Board determines itself to have jurisdiction. This is when the complaint enters its formal investigation phase. This phase, according to Board Rule 179.6, is supposed to conclude within...

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