SB1401

Regular Session

Relating to the creation of the Texas Mental Health Profession Pipeline Program by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

Q: What does Texas SB1401 do?

SB1401 establishes a statutory framework for the "Texas Mental Health Profession Pipeline Program," creating a binding pathway from junior colleges to post-graduate licensure. While participation is voluntary, institutions that opt in face strict mandates: they must accept transfer students with zero credit loss and grant automatic admission to master’s or doctoral programs for qualified pipeline graduates, fundamentally altering admissions discretion and curriculum management. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Compliance Deadline: September 1, 2025 (Institutions must have articulation agreements and capacity metrics ready by this date to accept the first cohort).

Q: Who authored SB1401?

SB1401 was authored by Texas Senator Royce West during the Regular Session.

Q: When was SB1401 signed into law?

SB1401 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.

Q: Which agencies enforce SB1401?

SB1401 is enforced by Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

Q: How urgent is compliance with SB1401?

The compliance urgency for SB1401 is rated as "moderate". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.

Q: What is the cost impact of SB1401?

The cost impact of SB1401 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.

Q: What topics does SB1401 address?

SB1401 addresses topics including education, education--higher, education--higher--health institutions, education--junior college districts and health care providers.

ModeratePlan for compliance

Low Cost

Effective:2025-09-01

Enforcing Agencies

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

Compliance Analysis

Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation

Implementation Timeline

Effective Date: September 1, 2025
Compliance Deadline: September 1, 2025 (Institutions must have articulation agreements and capacity metrics ready by this date to accept the first cohort).
Agency Rulemaking: The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) is required to adopt rules "as soon as practicable" after the effective date.
*Regulatory Gray Zone:* Between Sept 1, 2025, and final rule adoption (likely Spring 2026), institutions are exposed to liability if they deny admission without objective, data-backed capacity justifications.

Immediate Action Plan

Immediate: Audit current transfer equivalencies for Psychology, Social Work, and Nursing to identify any courses currently resulting in credit loss.
Q1 2025: Draft "Capacity Statements" for all relevant post-graduate programs, linking enrollment caps directly to faculty counts and clinical site contracts.
Q2 2025: Update Student Information Systems (SIS) to tag "Pipeline Students" upon entry to prevent accidental rejection during the post-grad application cycle.
Q3 2025: Finalize MOUs with feeder Junior Colleges ensuring their curriculum maps strictly to your upper-division requirements.

Operational Changes Required

Contracts

Articulation Agreements (MOUs): Participating universities must execute or amend agreements with Public Junior Colleges. These contracts must explicitly guarantee acceptance of "Field of Study" curricula without credit loss.
Clinical Affiliation Agreements: You must renegotiate agreements with hospitals and clinics to secure specific "pipeline" slots. The statute allows you to cap enrollment based on "availability of clinical placements," so your third-party contracts now directly dictate your admissions liability.

Hiring/Training

Admissions Staff: Must be retrained to identify "Pipeline" applicants. These students have a statutory right to automatic admission if criteria are met; they cannot be rejected based on subjective "holistic review."
Academic Advisors: Must be trained on rigid degree mapping to ensure transfer students can mathematically complete their baccalaureate degree in two years or less.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

New Annual Report: Compliance teams must aggregate and validate the following data for the THECB:
1. Zero-Loss Verification: Count of students transferring without losing credits.
2. Speed Metrics: Count of students completing degrees in <2 years.
3. Financial Allocation: Accounting of resources (scholarships, faculty time) spent on the pipeline.
4. Capacity Documentation: If you deny admission, you must have a paper trail proving you reached capacity (student-to-faculty ratios or clinical site limits).

Fees & Costs

Budget Impact: No new state fees are imposed, but institutions must absorb the administrative cost of curriculum re-mapping and specialized advising.
Revenue Risk: "Zero credit loss" mandates may reduce tuition revenue derived from requiring transfer students to retake similar lower-division courses.

Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations

1. Definition of "Capacity"

The statute allows institutions to deny automatic admission based on "capacity," but does not define the formula.

*Risk:* If you set an arbitrary cap (e.g., "50 students") without objective justification (e.g., "We only have 50 clinical stations"), you risk administrative appeals. Watch for THECB rules to standardize this calculation.

2. "Minimum Academic Standards"

Institutions retain the right to set standards for auto-admission.

*Opportunity:* You must define these standards *before* the program launches. If the standards are vague, rejected students may claim they met the requirements.

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Legislative Timeline

This bill's path through the Texas Legislature

TopicsEducation Education--higher Education--higher--health Institutions Education--junior College Districts Health Care Providers Mental Health & Substance Abuse Nurses & Nurse Aides Professional Counselors Psychologists Social Work & Social Workers Transfer Students Higher Education Coordinating Board, Texas Education--higher--institutions & Programs Marriage & Family Counseling & Counselors

Official Analysis

View HRO Analysis View All Bill Documents

BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 1401
89R8153 MM-F	By: West
	Education K-16
	3/26/2025
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Texas' mental healthcare workforce is currently underdeveloped and requires prompt action to accommodate a growing mental health crisis in this state. According to the Health and Human Services Commission Health Profession Shortage Area maps, 246 out of 254 counties in Texas are designated as mental health professional shortage areas. The mental health profession workforce shortage is expected to grow in the next decade; based on projections from the Health Professions Resource Center supply and demand report, the mental health profession shortage could grow from 11,449 in 2023 to 33,558 in 2036. Current legislative efforts to address the shortage may require additional non-financial resources to ensure the state can reverse this trend.

The legislature has provided financial incentives to develop this critical workforce area. For example, the Mental Health Loan Repayment Program (MHLRP), under Section 61.101 of the Texas Education Code, provides loan repayment for select mental health professionals. Six of the eight professions eligible for loan repayment, however, require graduate education to become licensed.

Texas is also poised to provide financial support to schools to expand the mental health professional pipeline; established under Texas Education Code, Subchapter RR, the Behavioral Health Innovation Grant would support institutional development. If funded, this grant program would be awarded to programs that would, among other characteristics, enhance or leverage existing programs graduating professionals who are eligible for the MHRLP or partner with another institution to develop a joint program.

While the legislature may develop loan repayment programs or incentivize institutions to expand their mental health-related programs, the pathway to becoming a licensed mental health professional has become no easier. The legislature must ensure students can successfully move through mental health related programs in minimal time and with maximum efficiency to address a growing and ongoing mental health crisis.

S.B. 1401 directs the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) to create the Texas Mental Health Professional Pipeline Program (pipeline program). A participating four-year institution will provide clear, guided pathways for public junior college students to pursue the degrees required to be licensed as a mental health professional.

Under the bill, the eligible mental health professions include a psychologist, a licensed professional counselor, an advanced practice registered nurse who holds a certification in psychiatric mental health care, a licensed master social worker, a licensed specialist in school psychology, and a licensed marriage and family therapist.

A participating four-year institution developing a pipeline program will be required to partner with one or more public junior colleges to develop a guided program of study. The participating institution will ensure that a transferring public junior college student will be able to:

�Transfer to the four-year institution with zero credit loss;

�Graduate with a bachelor's degree within two years of transferring;

�Be automatically admitted into a graduate degree program; and

�Automatic admissions will be contingent on the student meeting minimum academic requirements set by the institution and on the institution's instructional capacity based on applicable state, federal, accrediting organization, or institutional policy and the availability of clinical placements.

THECB will designate programs that qualify as Texas Mental Health Professional Pipeline Programs. THECB will post on its website information that clearly displays a list of each pipeline program, a list of each participating institution, a map displaying the location of each pipeline program, and the data listed below.

Each participating institution will be required to submit to THECB an annual report including:

�The total number of students in the institution's pipeline program, the number of students in the program who transferred with zero credit loss;

�The number of students who earned their bachelor's degree within two years of transferring;

�The capacity of the institution to include more students in the pipeline program;

�The financial resources allocated by the institution to increase the number of students who can participate in the pipeline program; and

�The average time for a student to complete the program from the date they begin in community college to the date they graduate from a graduate degree program.

As proposed, S.B. 1401 amends current law relating to the creation of the Texas Mental Health Profession Pipeline Program by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

Rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in SECTION 1 (Section 61.070, Education Code) of this bill.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, by adding Section 61.070, as follows:

Sec. 61.070.� TEXAS MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSION PIPELINE PROGRAM.� (a)� Defines "participating institution."

(b) Requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) to establish the Texas Mental Health Profession Pipeline Program (pipeline program) and encourage participating institutions to develop pipeline programs for the purpose of providing a clear, guided program of study for public junior college students to transfer to a participating institution to pursue a baccalaureate degree or a postbaccalaureate degree or certificate leading to licensure and practice as certain licensed mental health professionals.

(c)� Requires a participating institution that develops a pipeline program under Subsection (b) to:

(1)� partner with one or more public junior colleges to create a guided program of study for public junior college students; and

(2)� ensure that a public junior college student who transfers to the participating institution:

(A)� does not lose any credits earned before transferring;

(B) can earn a baccalaureate degree in less than two years following the transfer; and

(C)� after earning a baccalaureate degree, is automatically admitted to a postbaccalaureate degree or certificate program at the participating institution if certain requirements are met.

(d) Requires THECB to designate a program of study that meets the requirements of Subsection (c) as a pipeline program.

(e) Requires THECB to maintain on THECB's Internet website information that clearly displays certain information about the institutions participating in the pipeline program.

(f) Requires each participating institution to submit an annual report to THECB that includes certain information about the students and institutions participating in the pipeline program.

(g) Requires THECB to adopt rules consistent with this section as necessary to implement this section, including rules for designating pipeline programs as described by Subsection (d).

SECTION 2.� Requires THECB to adopt rules as required by Section 61.070(g), Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 2025.

Senate Authors

Sen. Royce WestDemocrat · Primary Author

House Sponsors

Rep. Aicha DavisDemocrat · Primary Sponsor

Joint Sponsors

Bill Text(with markup)

S.B. No. 1401

View bill text in multiple formats on Texas Legislature website

Fiscal NoteView Original

	AN ACT
	relating to the creation of the Texas Mental Health Profession
	Pipeline Program by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
	amended by adding Section 61.070 to read as follows:
	Sec. 61.070. TEXAS MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSION PIPELINE
	PROGRAM. (a) In this section, "participating institution" means a
	general academic teaching institution or a private or independent
	institution of higher education that offers baccalaureate degree
	programs and postbaccalaureate degree and certificate programs.
	(b) The board shall establish the Texas Mental Health
	Profession Pipeline Program and encourage participating
	institutions to develop pipeline programs for the purpose of
	providing a clear, guided pathway for public junior college
	students to transfer to a participating institution to pursue a
	baccalaureate degree or a postbaccalaureate degree or certificate
	leading to licensure and practice as:
	(1) a psychologist, as defined by Section 501.002,
	Occupations Code;
	(2) a licensed professional counselor, as defined by
	Section 503.002, Occupations Code;
	(3) an advanced practice registered nurse, as defined
	by Section 301.152, Occupations Code, who holds a nationally
	recognized board certification in psychiatric or mental health
	nursing;
	(4) a licensed master social worker or a licensed
	clinical social worker, as defined by Section 505.002, Occupations
	Code;
	(5) a licensed specialist in school psychology, as
	defined by Section 501.002, Occupations Code; or
	(6) a licensed marriage and family therapist, as
	defined by Section 502.002, Occupations Code.
	(c) A participating institution that develops a pipeline
	program under Subsection (b) shall:
	(1) partner with one or more public junior colleges to
	create a guided pathway for public junior college students; and
	(2) ensure that a public junior college student who
	completes a field of study curriculum or is awarded a "Texas Direct"
	associate degree under Section 61.834 and transfers to the
	participating institution:
	(A) does not lose any credits earned before
	transferring;
	(B) can earn a baccalaureate degree in less than
	two years following the transfer; and
	(C) after earning a baccalaureate degree in an
	appropriate program as determined by the participating
	institution, is automatically admitted to a postbaccalaureate
	degree or certificate program at the participating institution if:
	(i) the student meets the minimum academic
	requirements, as determined by the participating institution; and
	(ii) the postbaccalaureate degree or
	certificate program has the capacity to admit new students based
	on:
	(a) student-to-faculty ratios
	required by state law, federal law, the appropriate accrediting
	organization, or institutional policy; and
	(b) the availability of clinical
	placements and the faculty or preceptors that supervise those
	placements.
	(d) The board shall determine:
	(1) the existing field of study curricula that a
	participating institution may accept for purposes of Subsection
	(c)(2); and
	(2) any additional field of study curricula that a
	participating institution may develop to enable a public junior
	college student to fulfill the undergraduate curricular
	requirements relevant for specialties described by Subsection (b).
	(e) The board shall promote the program and maintain on the
	board's Internet website information that clearly displays:
	(1) information described by Subsection (d);
	(2) a list of each pipeline program operating in this
	state;
	(3) a list of each participating institution that has
	established a pipeline program;
	(4) a map displaying the location of each
	participating institution that has established a pipeline program;
	and
	(5) data regarding each pipeline program based on
	information provided to the board under Subsection (f).
	(f) Each participating institution shall submit an annual
	report to the board that includes:
	(1) the total number of students in the participating
	institution's pipeline program;
	(2) the number of students in the participating
	institution's pipeline program who have transferred from a public
	junior college to the participating institution without losing any
	credits previously earned at the public junior college;
	(3) the number of students in the participating
	institution's pipeline program who in the preceding academic year
	earned a baccalaureate degree from the participating institution
	that was completed in two years or less;
	(4) the capacity of the participating institution's
	pipeline program to prepare more students for licensure and
	practice as mental health professionals in specialties described by
	Subsection (b);
	(5) the financial resources allocated by the
	participating institution to increase the number of students who
	are able to complete their targeted degree or certificate program
	under the participating institution's pipeline program; and
	(6) the average time for a student to complete the
	student's targeted degree or certificate program under the
	participating institution's pipeline program from the date the
	student enrolls in a public junior college to the date of the
	student's graduation from the degree or certificate program.
	(g) The board shall adopt rules consistent with this section
	as necessary to implement this section, including rules for making
	determinations under Subsection (d).
	SECTION 2. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
	shall adopt rules as required by Section 61.070(g), Education Code,
	as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after the effective
	date of this Act.
	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 89TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION


March 26, 2025

TO:	Honorable Brandon Creighton, Chair, Senate Committee on Education K-16

FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board

IN RE:	SB1401 by West (Relating to the creation of the Texas Mental Health Profession Pipeline Program by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.), As Introduced

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would require the Higher Education Coordinating Board to establish the Texas Child Mental Health Professions Pipeline Program and encourage participating institutions to develop pipeline programs for the purpose of providing a clear, guided program of study for public junior colleges to transfer to a participating institution to pursue a baccalaureate degree or a postbaccalaureate degree or certificate leading to licensure and practice in certain mental health professions. It is assumed any costs associated with implementing the program by participating institutions or the Higher Education Coordinating Board would be implemented within existing resources.

Local Government Impact

No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Source Agencies:

710 Texas A&M University System Administrative and General Offices, 717 Texas Southern University, 720 The University of Texas System Administration, 758 Texas State University System, 768 Texas Tech University System Administration, 781 Higher Education Coordinating Board, 783 University of Houston System Administration

LBB Staff:

JMc, FV, LBO, GO

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about SB1401

What does Texas SB1401 do?

SB1401 establishes a statutory framework for the "Texas Mental Health Profession Pipeline Program," creating a binding pathway from junior colleges to post-graduate licensure. While participation is voluntary, institutions that opt in face strict mandates: they must accept transfer students with zero credit loss and grant automatic admission to master’s or doctoral programs for qualified pipeline graduates, fundamentally altering admissions discretion and curriculum management. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Compliance Deadline: September 1, 2025 (Institutions must have articulation agreements and capacity metrics ready by this date to accept the first cohort).

Who authored SB1401?