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Signed Into Law
Signed May 24, 2025Effective 2025-09-01
SB1418

Regular Session

Relating to the terminology used to refer to certain assessment instruments administered to public school students.

Government Affairs & Regulatory Compliance Analysis

SB1418: Government Affairs Overview

SB1418 mandates technical updates to student information systems and graduation tracking logic by replacing obsolete testing terminology (ACT-Plan) with current standards (PreACT) and removing SAT Subject Tests as valid End-of-Course (EOC) substitutions. This legislation primarily impacts EdTech vendors, school data officers, and compliance consultants managing Texas accountability data, requiring immediate database field mapping updates.

Sen. Donna Campbell·Senate Bill·Regular Session

Low
Low Cost
Effective:2025-09-01
Enforcing Agencies

Commissioner of Education • Texas Education Agency (TEA)

Business Impact

Who SB1418 Affects

This legislation has regulatory implications for the following Texas businesses and organizations:

Regulatory Priority: low

Standard regulatory changes (effective 2025-09-01). Review during normal business planning.

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Education

Affected business types:

  • School districts
  • Charter schools
  • Private schools
  • Education service providers
View all education legislation

Key Operational Considerations

  • 1Data Privacy: Ensure data definitions in privacy agreements are broad enough to encompass "PreACT" without requiring full contract renegotiation.
  • 2Counselor Training: Guidance counselors and registrars must be trained to stop accepting "SAT Subject Tests" for EOC substitution immediately.
  • 3IT/Product Teams: No new hiring, but development hours must be allocated to update backend data dictionaries and frontend user interfaces.

Estimated Cost Impact

lowMinimal cost impact anticipated.

Enforcing Agencies

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SB1418
Low
Relating to the terminology used to refer to certain assessment instruments administered to public school students.
Low Compliance Urgency
Requires routine attention
Cost Impact
Low
Effective
2025-09-01
Enforcing Agencies
Commissioner of EducationTEA
Primary Author: Sen. Donna Campbell
89th Texas Legislature
jdkey.com
01

Compliance Analysis

Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation

Implementation Timeline

  • Effective Date: September 1, 2025
  • Compliance Deadline: August 1, 2025 (Systems must be updated prior to the start of the 2025-2026 academic year to prevent data ingestion errors).
  • Agency Rulemaking: The Commissioner of Education must adopt rules determining the method for using PreACT scores to satisfy EOC requirements. Expect these technical specifications (cut scores) between June and August 2025.

Immediate Action Plan

  • 1. Audit Data Fields: Immediately identify all database instances of "ACT-Plan" and "SAT Subject Tests."
  • 2. Update Logic: Program systems to route "PreACT" data through existing college readiness and EOC substitution workflows.
  • 3. Halt Ingestion: Configure input validation to reject new "SAT Subject Test" data entries effective immediately.
  • 4. Monitor TEA: Set a Google Alert for "Commissioner of Education PreACT rulemaking" to catch the specific cut-score requirements this summer.

Operational Changes Required

Contracts

  • Vendor MSAs: Review Master Service Agreements with school districts. If your Scope of Work explicitly lists "ACT-Plan" data support, execute a technical addendum to reflect the statutory change to "PreACT."
  • Data Privacy: Ensure data definitions in privacy agreements are broad enough to encompass "PreACT" without requiring full contract renegotiation.

Hiring/Training

  • Counselor Training: Guidance counselors and registrars must be trained to stop accepting "SAT Subject Tests" for EOC substitution immediately.
  • IT/Product Teams: No new hiring, but development hours must be allocated to update backend data dictionaries and frontend user interfaces.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

  • Data Dictionary Updates:
  • Deprecate "SAT Subject Tests" as an active field for new EOC substitutions.
  • Map "PreACT" to the logic flows previously used for "ACT-Plan."
  • Standardize nomenclature for "PSAT," "SAT," and "ACT" across all reporting dashboards.
  • Transcript Audits: Ensure historical transcripts retain legacy "ACT-Plan" labels where appropriate, while forcing "PreACT" for all future entries.

Fees & Costs

  • No State Fees: There are no new statutory fees.
  • Operational Costs: Costs are limited to internal IT labor for system reconfiguration and testing.

Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations

  • PreACT Cut Scores: The bill changes the test name, but the Commissioner sets the performance standard. There is a risk that the TEA may establish a different "passing" standard for the PreACT than was used for the ACT-Plan. Do not hard-code legacy passing scores into your new PreACT logic until the Commissioner publishes the concordance tables.
  • Legacy SAT Subject Tests: The bill removes SAT Subject Tests from the statute without an explicit grandfather clause for students who took them prior to discontinuation (2021) but have not yet graduated. Until TEA issues guidance, flag these records for manual review rather than automatic rejection.

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Information presented is for general knowledge only and is provided without warranty, express or implied. Consult qualified government affairs professionals and legal counsel before making compliance decisions.

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Legislative Timeline

This bill's path through the Texas Legislature

Filed
Feb 19, 2025
Passed Senate
Apr 24, 2025
Passed House
May 10, 2025
Signed
May 24, 2025
Effective
Sep 1, 2025
TopicsEducationEducation--higherEducation--higher--admission & AttendanceEducation--primary & SecondaryEducation--primary & Secondary--testingEducation, Commissioner of
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Senate Authors

Sen. Donna CampbellRepublican · Primary Author

House Sponsor

Rep. Trent AshbyRepublican · Primary Sponsor

Bill Text(with markup)

View bill text in multiple formats on Texas Legislature website

Fiscal NoteView Original

Related Legislation

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More from Sen. Donna Campbell

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Related by Topic

View more Education legislation
Quick Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about SB1418

Q

What does Texas SB1418 do?

SB1418 mandates technical updates to student information systems and graduation tracking logic by replacing obsolete testing terminology (ACT-Plan) with current standards (PreACT) and removing SAT Subject Tests as valid End-of-Course (EOC) substitutions. This legislation primarily impacts EdTech vendors, school data officers, and compliance consultants managing Texas accountability data, requiring immediate database field mapping updates.

Q

Who authored SB1418?

SB1418 was authored by Texas Senator Donna Campbell during the Regular Session.

Q

When was SB1418 signed into law?

SB1418 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on May 24, 2025.

Q

Which agencies enforce SB1418?

SB1418 is enforced by Commissioner of Education and Texas Education Agency (TEA).

Q

How significant are the changes in SB1418?

The regulatory priority for SB1418 is rated as "low". Businesses and organizations should review the legislation to understand potential impacts.

Q

What is the cost impact of SB1418?

The cost impact of SB1418 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.

Q

What topics does SB1418 address?

SB1418 addresses topics including education, education--higher, education--higher--admission & attendance, education--primary & secondary and education--primary & secondary--testing.

Q

What are the key dates for SB1418?

Key dates for SB1418: Effective date is 2025-09-01. Consult with legal counsel regarding applicability.

Need Strategic Guidance on This Legislation?

JD Key Consulting is an Austin, Texas-based government affairs firm led by James Dickey, former Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas. We specialize in Texas regulatory compliance and legislative strategy for data centers, energy, banking, and manufacturing.

Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: January 11, 2026