Sec. 58.262. INFORMATION GIVEN TO CHILD REGARDING SEALING OF RECORDS. (a) When a child is referred to the juvenile probation department, an employee of the juvenile probation department shall give the child and the child's parent, guardian, or custodian a written explanation describing the process of sealing records under this subchapter and a copy of this subchapter.

(b) On the final discharge of a child, or on the last official action in the matter if there is no adjudication, a probation officer or official at the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, as appropriate, shall give the child and the child's parent, guardian, or custodian a written explanation regarding the eligibility of the child's records for sealing under this subchapter and a copy of this subchapter.

(c) The written explanation provided to a child under Subsections (a) and (b) must include the requirements for a record to be eligible for sealing, including an explanation of the records that are exempt from sealing under Section 58.252, and the following information:

(1) that, regardless of whether the child's conduct was adjudicated, the child has a juvenile record with the Department of Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation;

(2) the child's juvenile record is a permanent record unless the record is sealed under this subchapter;

(3) except as provided by Section 58.260, the child's juvenile record, other than treatment records made confidential by law, may be accessed by a police officer, sheriff, prosecutor, probation officer, correctional officer, or other criminal or juvenile justice official unless the record is sealed as provided by this subchapter;

(4) sealing of the child's records under Section 58.253 or Section 58.255, as applicable, does not require any action by the child or the child's family, including the filing of an application or hiring of a lawyer, but occurs automatically at age 18 or 19 as applicable based on the child's referral and adjudication history;

(5) the child's juvenile record may be eligible for an earlier sealing date under Section 58.256, but an earlier sealing requires the child or an attorney for the child to file an application with the court;

(6) the impact of sealing records on the child; and

(7) the circumstances under which a sealed record may be reopened.

(d) The Texas Juvenile Justice Department shall adopt rules to implement this section and to facilitate the effective explanation of the information required to be communicated by this section.

Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 746 (S.B. 1304), Sec. 18, eff. September 1, 2017.