Rule 7.1. All Courts

(a) Court Confidentiality Policy Required. . A court, including an appellate, district, statutory county, business, statutory probate, constitutional county, justice, and municipal court, must adopt a policy governing court confidentiality.

(b) Policy Contents. The policy must:

(1) define who the policy applies to;

(2) define confidential information;

(3) impose a duty of confidentiality on all court staff that continues after employment at the court ends;

(4) address when, if ever, the disclosure of confidential information is authorized;

(5) provide the language of relevant laws, including section 21.013 of the Texas Government Code and section 39.06 of the Texas Penal Code;

(6) address negligent or accidental disclosure of confidential information;

(7) warn of potential penalties for the unauthorized disclosure of confidential information, including:

(A) referral to relevant law enforcement agencies for investigation and prosecution;

(B) termination of employment;

(C) for attorneys, referral to the State Bar of Texas for discipline;

(D) for law students, referral to the Texas Board of Law Examiners for consideration in determining eligibility to practice law in Texas; and

(8) require all court staff to acknowledge receipt of the policy in writing.

(c) Distribution and Training Required. The court must:

(1) for all new court staff members, provide the policy and train on it before the new staff member begins any substantive work for the court;

(2) provide the policy to all existing court staff at least once every other year.