Legal Question in Criminal Law in Texas

I have an old misdemeanor (1997) and it is causing me a problem with attending clinicals in nursing school. It is showing on my background check as a misdemeanor theft by check.

In 1997 I left Texas suddenly when a parent suffered a heart attack, it was a weekend and instead of closing my account properly at the bank, I wrote a check for the amount that I thought I had in the bank. I moved back to Indiana for a few years. I returned to Texas and still not knowing that I had a bounced check, I tried to cash a check at Kroger and found out about the bad check. I went to the Montgomery count clerk�s office and paid it along with fines and fees. I signed a paper saying that I was guilty to avoid going to court to say that I was guilty. I didn�t see any other option because I was guilty of bouncing a check. I didn't know, and was not informed otherwise at the clerk�s office that there were any other options. I also didn't know that this would be called theft by check and stay on my record. If I had been informed of any of this, I would have declined to sign anything until I spoke to a lawyer.

My question is, is there anything that can be done now to expunge, seal, or dismiss this to get it off of my background check? If not, are there any limits to which a consumer reporting agency can report this? Or can anything be done because of the fact that I wasn�t properly informed of my options and didn�t understand the severity of the situation and how it would affect my life 13 years later? Can this case be reopened/appealed since I wasn�t aware of my options? What type lawyer would I need to see, criminal, employment, or consumer?

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