Texas State Board of Vocational Nurse Examiners:

An Inventory of Minutes at the Texas State Archives, 1951-2003

Agency History

The Texas State Board of Vocational Nurse Examiners, established in 1951 after the passage of the Vocational Nurse Act (House Bill 47, 52nd Legislature, Regular Session), examines and issues licenses to vocational nurses, establishes minimum educational standards for such nurses, issues licenses by endorsement and examination, renews licenses, and approves vocational nursing programs in hospitals and institutions. A nurse consultant surveys programs biennially to ensure that curricula are educationally sound and that appropriate clinical experiences are being provided to the students. The board also consults with those individuals and institutions initiating new programs for approval, examines qualifications of applicants seeking licensing by examination and by endorsement, and distributes information regarding vocational nurse education.

The board issues licenses to applicants who pass the national licensure examination (approximately 74,000 LVNs in Texas as of January 1, 2000), and renews licenses biennially (for which the board requires 20 hours of continuing education). The board regulates programs in approximately 120 schools in Texas that offer vocational nurse education (community colleges, hospitals, proprietary (private), and military schools). In addition, the board meets four times per year to review complaints and cases as part of its disciplinary role.

The policy-making body of the agency is a 15-member board (raised from 12 members in 1993), appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate for overlapping six-year terms. Seven members must be licensed vocational nurses who have been practicing in Texas for at least five years before appointment. Three others must be health professionals with the following credentials: one, a registered nurse actively teaching, administrating, or supervising in a state-approved vocational nursing program; one, a licensed physician who has practiced medicine in Texas for at least five years but is not a hospital administrator; and one, a hospital administrator who has at least five years' experience at a general hospital but who is neither a licensed nurse nor a physician. Five members must represent the general public.

In 2003 the agency was organized into four divisions: Administration, Education, Licensing, and Enforcement. At that time it had a staff of 24 FTE employees.

As a result of legislation passed in 2003 (House Bill 1483, 78th Legislature, Regular Session), the Texas Board of Vocational Nurse Examiners is abolished, and its functions will be absorbed by the Texas Board of Nurse Examiners, effective February 2004. This new Texas Board of Nurse Examiners will be expanded to thirteen members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate, including: six nurses (one advanced practice nurse, two registered nurses, and three vocational nurses), three nurse faculty members of schools of nursing (one each from schools offering a bachelor's degree, an associate degree, and a vocational nursing program), and four public members.

(Sources of information: Guide to Texas State Agencies, 11th edition; agency website)

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Scope and Contents of the Records

These records contain minutes, orders, reports, agenda, correspondence, memoranda, and other documents. They comprise the minutes (with some supporting documentation) for meetings of the Texas State Board of Vocational Nurse Examiners, dating 1951-2003. Some are photocopies, but most are the original minutes of the board, and usually contain the original signature of either the Secretary-Treasurer or the Executive Secretary (later the Executive Director).

Minutes document the work accomplished at each board meeting (and a few committee meetings in the early years), including examining and issuing licenses to vocational nurses, establishing minimum educational standards for such nurses, approving vocational nursing programs in hospitals and institutions, and enforcing the Texas Vocational Nurse Law by reprimanding, suspending, and revoking licenses of LVNs.

Content of the minutes varies over time, but typically minutes document the following: the Executive Director's report, the Division of Education report (examination results, accreditation, list of schools, reports on "30% failure" visits, etc.), site surveys to schools with vocational nursing programs (both annual surveys and consultation meetings), meetings/conferences attended, actions on rules, licensure problems, etc. Minutes of the 1950s and 1960s contain Committee reports (from the Examination Committee, Waiver Committee, Reciprocity Committee, Promotional Committee, plus various ad hoc committees). In fact, some of the minutes (dating 1955-1968) are actually from committee meetings, especially the Examination Committee, but also the Budget Committee, Procedure Manual Committee, Screening Committee, Curriculum Committee, and Forms, Personnel and Policies Committee.

For the years 1951-1958, each fiscal year's minutes are preceded by a folder containing lists of members of the board, officers of the board, committees, office personnel, and attendance reports. For a limited time period (February 1982-December 1984), the files also contain supporting documentation. These include the following: Division of Education agenda, reports of visits to schools with vocational nursing programs, reports of conferences and conventions, memoranda, correspondence (mainly between nursing schools and the board), proposed rule changes, petitions for amendment of board rules, an education update, statistical reports on exam results, a case summary of an applicant for examination, summaries of comments on public hearings, resolutions from the National Federation of Licensed Practical Nurses, Inc., amendments to the Texas Vocational Nurse Act, newspaper clippings, etc.

The results of administrative hearings take up the majority of space in the minutes from the beginning. And for the past decade, a list of Agreed Orders/Voluntary Surrenders for Board Endorsement is placed after each meeting's minutes (September 1991-December 2001). These orders give the name, LVN number, and case number of the respondent/applicant, the nature of the informal disposition, and the details of the action of the board (e.g. "Suspended, suspension stayed and placed on probation for a period of 18 months," with stipulations listed; or "Reprimanded;" or "Revoked/voluntary surrender;" or "Allowed to write the examination for licensure; upon obtaining a passing score, applicant shall be issued a license with said license suspended, suspension stayed and placed on probation for a period of 2 years").

To prepare this inventory, the described materials were cursorily reviewed to delineate series, to confirm the accuracy of contents lists, to provide an estimate of dates covered, and to determine record types.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

None.

Restrictions on Use

None.

Technical Requirements

None.

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Related Material

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item), Minutes, Texas Board of Vocational Nurse Examiners. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Accession Information

Accession numbers: 1998/203, 1999/017, 2000/138, 2001/119, 2002/128, 2003/116, 2004/067, 2004/068

These records were transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by the Texas Board of Vocational Nurse Examiners on July 7, 1998; September 29, 1998; April 11, 2000; April 5, 2001; April 11, 2002; January 31, 2003; and November 24, 2003; and by the Texas Legislative Reference Library on November 25, 2003.

Processing Information

Tony Black, August 2001, December 2003

Other Formats for the Records

The Texas Board of Vocational Nurse Examiners has imaged their minutes, which are available to the public for viewing in that format at the agency's offices. Presumably they will be available at the offices of the Texas Board of Nurse Examiners after the merger.

As of December 2003, minutes of the past five board meetings were mounted on the agency's web site, at http://www.bvne.state.tx.us/BoardMinutes.htm.

Location of Originals

Although the Texas Board of Vocational Nurse Examiners considers the imaged minutes the record copy, most (but not all) of the minutes in the Texas State Archives (described in this finding aid) are the paper originals, with original signatures.

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Detailed Description of the Records

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