SB1786

Regular Session

Relating to public higher education.

CriticalImmediate action required

Medium Cost

Effective:2025-09-01

Enforcing Agencies

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) • Texas Education Agency (TEA) • Texas Workforce Commission (TWC)

Compliance Analysis

Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation

Implementation Timeline

Effective Date: September 1, 2025.
Compliance Deadline:
School Districts: Immediate implementation for the 2025-2026 school year regarding FAST program eligibility.
Employers: Contingent on TWC implementation. While the law is effective 9/1/2025, mandatory reporting will commence once TWC updates filing forms (anticipated mid-2026 to early 2027).
Agency Rulemaking:
THECB: Authorized for emergency rulemaking immediately to implement FAST changes by Sept 1, 2025.
TWC: Must adopt rules and update forms to capture new wage data. Watch for the comment period in late 2025/early 2026 to influence definitions of "remote work."

Immediate Action Plan

Immediate: Audit current employee data to identify gaps in "work location" records, specifically for hybrid/remote staff.
Q4 2024: Send a formal compliance inquiry to your payroll software vendor asking for their product roadmap regarding Texas SB1786 "Enhanced Wage Filing" support.
Q1 2025: School Districts must update enrollment workflows to capture "current year" economic disadvantage status for the upcoming academic year.
Ongoing: Monitor TWC rulemaking dockets for the definition of "Occupational Field" to prepare for necessary mass-updates to employee records.

Operational Changes Required

Contracts

Payroll & PEO Vendors: You must amend Master Service Agreements (MSAs) with providers (e.g., ADP, Paychex) to ensure they are contractually obligated to support SB1786 data fields by the effective date. If their software is not ready, your business bears the non-compliance liability.
Interlocal Agreements (ISDs/Colleges): School districts and higher education institutions must update MOUs to allow for the immediate transfer of "current year" economic disadvantage data for FAST eligibility.

Hiring/Training

HR Classification Audit: HR departments must assign a standardized "Occupational Field" (likely a Standard Occupational Classification or SOC code) to every existing employee, not just new hires.
Registrar Training: ISD staff must be retrained to verify FAST eligibility based on *current* year data rather than the previous four-year lookback period.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

Enhanced Wage Filings (Employers): The TWC quarterly report will require three new mandatory fields per employee:
1. County of Primary Employment: Where the work is physically performed (critical for multi-site ops).
2. Remote Work Status: A specific designation for off-site employees.
3. Occupational Field: Job classification code.
FAST Verification (ISDs): Districts using alternative methods to determine economic disadvantage must document the methodology and data used for TEA auditing.

Fees & Costs

Administrative Overhead: Expect medium-level one-time costs associated with payroll system reconfiguration and data auditing.
Tuition Waivers: Higher Education Institutions must absorb the administrative cost of processing mandatory FAST waivers, though formula funding is intended to offset this.

Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations

Definition of "Remote Work": The statute does not define the threshold for "remote status." TWC rulemaking will determine if this applies to hybrid employees (e.g., 3 days in/2 days out) or only fully remote staff. This definition has significant tax and labor market data implications.
Granularity of "Occupational Field": It is currently unclear if TWC will require broad job categories or specific 6-digit SOC codes. The latter would impose a heavy administrative burden on HR departments to classify unique roles.
"Self-Sufficient Wage" Threshold: The THECB has discretion to set the wage floor that determines if a degree program is funded. If set aggressively high, this could defund vocational programs in essential but lower-wage sectors.

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Legislative Timeline

This bill's path through the Texas Legislature

TopicsEducation Education--higher Education--higher--finance Education--higher--state Coordination Education--junior College Districts Education--primary & Secondary Education--primary & Secondary--private Purchasing Purchasing--state Education Agency, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Texas Technical Education Workforce Commission, Texas

Official Analysis

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BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 1786
89R4380 KJE-F	By: Creighton
	Education K-16
	3/26/2025
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Last session the Texas Legislature passed H.B. 8, which created an outcomes-based funding model that rewards credentials of value, dual credit completion, and successful transfers to public four-year institutions. S.B. 1786 seeks to address the feedback received heard from stakeholders and experts over the past two years since implementation of H.B. 8, including clarifications for implementation of the Financial Aid for Swift Transfer program and expansion of eligible institutions for four-year transfer under the performance tier of the funding model.

As proposed, S.B. 1786 amends current law relating to public higher education.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

Rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in SECTION 4 (Section 61.0275, Education Code) and SECTION 5 (Section 130A.005, Education Code) of this bill.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Sections 28.0095(c), (e), and (f), Education Code, as follows:

(1)� is enrolled:

(A)� in a grade level from 9 through 12, rather than in high school, in a school district or charter school; and

(B) makes no changes to this paragraph; and

(2)� was educationally disadvantaged at any time during:

(A)� the school year in which the student enrolls in the dual credit course described by Subdivision (1)(B) (relating to student enrollment in a dual credit course at a participating institution of higher education); or

(B) creates this paragraph from existing text and makes no further changes.

(e) Requires each school district or charter school to:

(1)� on the enrollment of a student in a grade level from 9 through 12, rather than on a high school student's enrollment, in a dual credit course, determine whether the student meets the criteria for the program under Subsection (c)(2); and

(2) makes no changes to this subdivision.

(f) Requires the Texas Education Agency to make available to school districts and charter schools the data necessary for making the determination required under Subsection (e)(1).

SECTION 2. Amends Subchapter D, Chapter 54, Education Code, by adding Section 54.215, as follows:

Sec. 54.215.� FINANCIAL AID FOR SWIFT TRANSFER (FAST) PROGRAM. Requires the governing board of an institution of higher education participating in the Financial Aid for Swift Transfer (FAST) program under Section 28.0095 (Financial Aid for Swift Transfer (FAST) Program) to exempt from the payment of tuition and required fees for a dual credit course, as defined by that section, a student who is eligible for the program.

SECTION 3. Amends Section 61.003(2), Education Code, to redefine "public junior college."

SECTION 4. Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 61, Education Code, by adding Section 61.0275, as follows:

Sec. 61.0275.� ADOPTION BY REFERENCE. Authorizes the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) to adopt by reference a manual or policy document as a rule.

SECTION 5. Amends Section 130A.005, Education Code, by adding Subsection (d), as follows:

(d) Authorizes THECB to use the emergency rulemaking procedures established under Section 2001.034 (Emergency Rulemaking), Government Code, to adopt rules necessary to align the funding formulas under Chapter 130A (Public Junior College State Finance Program) with appropriations or other legislative action. Provides that THECB is not required to make the finding described by Section 2001.034(a) (relating to authorizing a state agency to adopt an emergency rule without prior notice or hearing if certain criteria are met), Government Code, to adopt rules under this subsection.

SECTION 6. Amends Section 130A.101(c), Education Code, as follows:

(c) Provides that certain values are the measurable outcomes considered for purposes of performance tier funding, including the number of students who earn at least 15 semester credit hours or the equivalent at the junior college district and subsequently transfer to a private or independent institution of higher education, as that term is defined by Section 61.003, (Definitions) that offers four-year degree programs. Makes a nonsubstantive change.

SECTION 7. Provides that Section 28.0095, Education Code, as amended by this Act, applies beginning with the 2025�2026 school year.

SECTION 8. Provides that Section 54.215, Education Code, as added by this Act, applies beginning with tuition and required fees charged for the 2025 fall semester. Provides that tuition and required fees charged for an academic period before that semester are governed by the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 9. (a) Effective date, except as provided by Subsection (b) of this section: upon passage or September 1, 2025.

(b) Effective date, Section 130A.101(c), Education Code, as amended by this Act: September 1, 2025.

Senate Authors

Sen. Charles CreightonRepublican · Primary Author

Coauthors (3)

House Sponsors

Rep. Gary VandeaverRepublican · Primary Sponsor

Joint Sponsors

Cosponsors (6)

Bill Text(with markup)

S.B. No. 1786

View bill text in multiple formats on Texas Legislature website

Fiscal NoteView Original

	AN ACT
	relating to public higher education.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Section 28.0095(a), Education Code, is amended
	by adding Subdivision (5) to read as follows:
	(5) "School district" includes the Windham School
	District.
	SECTION 2. Sections 28.0095(c), (e), and (f), Education
	Code, are amended to read as follows:
	(c) A student is eligible to enroll at no cost in a dual
	credit course under the program if the student:
	(1) is enrolled:
	(A) in a grade level from 9 through 12 [~~high~~
	~~school~~] in a school district or charter school; and
	(B) in a dual credit course at a participating
	institution of higher education; and
	(2) was educationally disadvantaged at any time
	during:
	(A) the school year in which the student enrolls
	in the dual credit course described by Subdivision (1)(B); or
	(B) the four school years preceding the student's
	enrollment in the dual credit course described by Subdivision
	(1)(B).
	(e) Each school district or charter school shall:
	(1) on the [~~a high school student's~~] enrollment of a
	student in a grade level from 9 through 12 in a dual credit course,
	determine whether the student meets the criteria for the program
	under Subsection (c)(2); and
	(2) notify the institution of higher education that
	offers the dual credit course in which the student is enrolled of
	the district's or school's determination under Subdivision (1).
	(f) A school district or charter school may make the
	determination under Subsection (e)(1) based on the district's or
	school's records, the agency's records, or any other method
	authorized by commissioner or coordinating board rule. If the
	district or school bases the determination on a method other than
	the agency's records, the district or school shall report the
	method used and the data on which the method is based to the agency
	for purposes of verification. The agency shall make available to
	school districts and charter schools any available and relevant
	data for making the determination required under Subsection (e)(1).
	SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 56, Education Code, is
	amended by adding Section 56.0035 to read as follows:
	Sec. 56.0035. RULES. (a) The Texas Higher Education
	Coordinating Board may adopt rules necessary to carry out the
	purposes of this chapter, including any rules necessary to
	administer federal financial aid or grant programs or provide
	federal money to institutions of higher education under Title IV of
	the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Section 1070 et seq.) or
	another federal law or program.
	(b) Notwithstanding Section 61.0331, the Texas Higher
	Education Coordinating Board is not required to use negotiated
	rulemaking to adopt rules necessary to administer federal financial
	aid or grant programs or provide federal money to institutions of
	higher education under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965
	(20 U.S.C. Section 1070 et seq.) or another federal law or program.
	SECTION 4. Section 61.003(2), Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(2) "Public junior college" means any junior college
	associated with a junior college district described by Subchapter
	J, Chapter 130 [~~listed as a public junior college in accordance with~~
	~~Section 61.063~~].
	SECTION 5. Subchapter B, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
	amended by adding Section 61.0275 to read as follows:
	Sec. 61.0275. ADOPTION BY REFERENCE. The board may adopt by
	reference a manual or policy document as a rule.
	SECTION 6. Section 130A.005, Education Code, is amended by
	adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
	(d) The coordinating board may use the emergency rulemaking
	procedures established under Section 2001.034, Government Code, to
	adopt rules necessary to align the funding formulas under this
	chapter with appropriations or other legislative action. The
	coordinating board is not required to make the finding described by
	Section 2001.034(a), Government Code, to adopt rules under this
	subsection.
	SECTION 7. Section 130A.101(c), Education Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	(c) The measurable outcomes considered for purposes of
	performance tier funding are:
	(1) the number of credentials of value awarded, as
	determined by the coordinating board based on analyses of wages and
	costs associated with the credential, including degrees,
	certificates, and other credentials from credit and non-credit
	programs that equip students for continued learning and greater
	earnings in the state economy, with an additional weight for
	placement of students who earn that credential in a high-demand
	occupation, as defined by coordinating board rule, or an
	appropriate proxy determined by the coordinating board based on
	available data;
	(2) the number of students who earn at least 15
	semester credit hours or the equivalent at the junior college
	district and:
	(A) subsequently transfer to:
	(i) a general academic teaching
	institution, as that term is defined by Section 61.003; or
	(ii) a private or independent institution
	of higher education, as that term is defined by Section 61.003, that
	offers four-year degree programs; or
	(B) are enrolled in a structured co-enrollment
	program, as authorized by coordinating board rule; and
	(3) the number of students who complete a sequence of
	at least 15 semester credit hours or the equivalent for dual credit
	or dual enrollment courses, as defined by coordinating board rule,
	that apply toward academic or workforce program requirements at the
	postsecondary level.
	SECTION 8. Subchapter C, Chapter 130A, Education Code, is
	amended by adding Section 130A.102 to read as follows:
	Sec. 130A.102. CREDENTIALS OF VALUE. (a) For purposes of
	Section 130A.101(c)(1), the coordinating board shall designate a
	credential as a credential of value if the credential:
	(1) provides a positive return on investment for a
	student who received the credential, as measured by earning or
	being expected to earn cumulative wages at least equal to the
	cumulative median earnings for high school graduates in this state
	and earning at least the individual self-sufficient wage, as
	defined by coordinating board rule, during the period specified by
	coordinating board rule but not more than 10 years after the date on
	which the credential is received; and
	(2) allows a student who received the credential to
	recoup the net cost of attendance at a public junior college,
	including opportunity cost, where:
	(A) the net cost of attendance is the net cost of
	attendance used for purposes of financial aid at the college less
	any aid received by the student; and
	(B) opportunity cost is the difference between
	cumulative median earnings for high school graduates in this state
	and cumulative median earnings for students while enrolled in the
	certificate or degree program leading to the credential for:
	(i) a period of two years for an associate
	degree program;
	(ii) a period of four years for a
	baccalaureate degree program; and
	(iii) a period determined by coordinating
	board rule based on the program's design for a certificate or degree
	program not described by Subparagraph (i) or (ii).
	(b) The coordinating board shall calculate the return on
	investment for a credential under Subsection (a)(1) using the most
	current data available to the coordinating board from:
	(1) the integrated postsecondary education data
	system maintained by the National Center for Education Statistics;
	(2) wage records obtained from the Texas Workforce
	Commission;
	(3) the American Community Survey by the United States
	Census Bureau;
	(4) the coordinating board's data reporting systems;
	or
	(5) other data sources selected by the coordinating
	board.
	(c) In adopting a definition of individual self-sufficient
	wage for purposes of Subsection (a)(1), the coordinating board
	shall ensure the definition is correlated with the statewide median
	of the self-sufficient wage determined under Section 2308A.012,
	Government Code.
	(d) The coordinating board may designate a credential in
	education or health care as a credential of value regardless of
	whether the credential meets the criteria under Subsection (a) if
	the coordinating board determines the designation is necessary to
	ensure the workforce needs of this state are met in those fields.
	(e) The coordinating board shall adopt rules as necessary to
	implement this section in alignment with the long-range master plan
	for higher education in this state developed under Section
	61.051(a-1).
	SECTION 9. Chapter 2308A, Government Code, is amended by
	adding Section 2308A.0115 to read as follows:
	Sec. 2308A.0115. COORDINATION OF GRANT PROGRAMS FOR
	SECONDARY AND POSTSECONDARY CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
	PROGRAMS. (a) For the establishment, implementation, and expansion
	of secondary and postsecondary career and technical education
	programs that are aligned with the state workforce development
	goals, the agency, coordinating board, and commission shall
	coordinate the competitive grant programs for those programs,
	including:
	(1) the Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) Grant
	Program under Chapter 134, Education Code;
	(2) the grant program established under the Pathways
	in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) program under
	Section 29.556, Education Code;
	(3) the Texas Reskilling and Upskilling through
	Education (TRUE) Program established under Subchapter T-2, Chapter
	61, Education Code; and
	(4) federal career and technical education grant
	programs, including grant programs under the Carl D. Perkins Career
	and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. Section 2301 et
	seq.).
	(b) In coordinating grant programs under Subsection (a),
	the agency, coordinating board, and commission shall jointly:
	(1) address career and technical education program
	startup and delivery costs by aligning two or more grant funding
	streams;
	(2) identify and work to reduce duplication in grant
	programs across the agency, coordinating board, and commission;
	(3) identify opportunities to structure grant funding
	for career and technical education projects that support
	secondary-to-postsecondary career pathways, including by providing
	for career and technical education dual credit or the attainment of
	postsecondary credentials by secondary students;
	(4) identify opportunities to structure grant funding
	for career and technical education projects that are:
	(A) aligned with the attainment of credentials of
	value, as designated by the coordinating board for purposes of
	Section 130A.101(c)(1), Education Code; and
	(B) designed to meet state workforce needs in
	high-demand fields; and
	(5) to the extent possible, prioritize comprehensive
	funding of facilities, equipment, instructional materials, and
	faculty and staff for program development and delivery to best meet
	the state workforce development goals.
	SECTION 10. Section 204.0025, Labor Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 204.0025. ADDITIONAL WORKFORCE DATA REPORTING. The
	commission shall [~~It is the intent of the legislature that the~~
	~~commission, subject to the availability of federal funding or other~~
	~~resources for the purpose,~~] work with employers to enhance the
	reporting of employment and earnings data by employers to the
	commission as part of an employer's routine wage filings under this
	subtitle or commission rule and consistent with federal law and
	regulations. The enhanced wage filings must include information
	related to wage, industry, occupational field, full-time and
	part-time status, county of primary employment, remote work status,
	[~~occupation~~] and other important employment information necessary
	to conduct the assessment required under Section 302.0205 [~~that~~
	~~would improve the state's labor market information~~].
	SECTION 11. Subchapter A, Chapter 302, Labor Code, is
	amended by adding Section 302.0205 to read as follows:
	Sec. 302.0205. REGIONAL LABOR DEMAND ASSESSMENT. (a) In
	this section, "institution of higher education" has the meaning
	assigned by Section 61.003, Education Code.
	(b) The commission shall conduct a biennial assessment of
	available regional labor demands across this state using the best
	available state and federal labor market data, as determined by the
	commission, to allow institutions of higher education to better
	align educational programs with workforce needs. The assessment
	must:
	(1) analyze current and projected workforce needs in
	each region of this state over a 10-year period, disaggregated to
	the extent possible by wage, industry, occupational field,
	full-time and part-time status, county of primary employment, and
	remote work status; and
	(2) identify for each region and county of this state
	the industries and occupations that lead to an individual
	self-sufficient wage, as defined by Texas Higher Education
	Coordinating Board rule in accordance with Section 130A.102,
	Education Code.
	(c) The commission may coordinate with other state
	agencies, including the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
	and the Texas Education Agency, to conduct the assessment under
	this section.
	(d) In conducting the assessment under this section, the
	commission may:
	(1) obtain any data the commission is authorized by
	law to obtain from a state or federal agency or institution of
	higher education at no cost to the commission;
	(2) obtain expedited access at no cost to the
	commission to data available through a center for education
	research established under Section 1.005, Education Code; and
	(3) contract with a state agency or institution of
	higher education to conduct or assist in conducting the assessment.
	(e) If the commission contracts with an institution of
	higher education to conduct or assist in conducting the assessment
	under Subsection (d)(3), the Texas Higher Education Coordinating
	Board and the Texas Education Agency shall enter into a data sharing
	agreement with the institution to provide to the institution any
	data necessary to conduct the assessment.
	(f) Not later than March 1 of each odd-numbered year, the
	commission shall provide the results of the assessment to:
	(1) the governor;
	(2) the lieutenant governor;
	(3) the speaker of the house of representatives;
	(4) the standing legislative committees with primary
	jurisdiction over higher education;
	(5) the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board;
	(6) the Texas Education Agency;
	(7) institutions of higher education; and
	(8) public schools.
	SECTION 12. Section 28.0095, Education Code, as amended by
	this Act, applies beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.
	SECTION 13. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
	may identify rules required by the passage of Section 56.0035,
	Education Code, as added by this Act, that must be adopted on an
	emergency basis for purposes of the 2025-2026 academic year and may
	use the procedures established under Section 2001.034, Government
	Code, for adopting those rules. The coordinating board is not
	required to make the finding described by Section 2001.034(a),
	Government Code, to adopt emergency rules under this section.
	SECTION 14. Not later than December 1, 2026, the Texas
	Higher Education Coordinating Board shall evaluate the data
	available under Section 204.0025, Labor Code, as amended by this
	Act, to identify the effects of transitioning to a county-by-county
	definition of individual self-sufficient wage for purposes of
	Section 130A.102, Education Code, as added by this Act.
	SECTION 15. (a) Section 130A.102, Education Code, as added
	by this Act, applies to associate degrees awarded by a public junior
	college beginning with the 2025-2026 academic year. That section
	applies to other degrees and certificates awarded by a public
	junior college beginning with the 2027-2028 academic year.
	(b) Not later than August 1, 2027, the Texas Higher
	Education Coordinating Board, in consultation with the standing
	advisory committee established under Section 130.001, Education
	Code, shall adopt rules implementing Section 130A.102, Education
	Code, as added by this Act, for each certificate program offered by
	a public junior college.
	SECTION 16. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
	section, this Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of
	two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by
	Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not
	receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes
	effect September 1, 2025.
	(b) Section 130A.101(c), Education Code, as amended by this
	Act, and Section 130A.102, Education Code, as added by this Act,
	take 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:	SB1786 by Creighton (Relating to public higher education.), As Introduced

Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for SB1786, As Introduced: a negative impact of ($26,754,063) through the biennium ending August 31, 2027.

The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.

General Revenue-Related Funds, Five- Year Impact:

Fiscal Year	Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds
2026	($13,353,181)
2027	($13,400,882)
2028	($11,529,686)
2029	($9,687,426)
2030	($7,873,738)

All Funds, Five-Year Impact:

Fiscal Year	Probable (Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1
2026	($13,353,181)
2027	($13,400,882)
2028	($11,529,686)
2029	($9,687,426)
2030	($7,873,738)

Fiscal Analysis

The bill would expand student eligibility for the Financial Aid for Swift Transfer (FAST) program from only students who were educationally disadvantaged at any time during the four school years preceding enrollment in a dual credit course to include students who were educationally disadvantaged in the school year in which the student enrolls in the dual credit course. The bill would clarify for purposes of eligibility that a student be enrolled in a grade level from 9 through 12, rather than high school, in a school district or charter school. The bill would require the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to make data related to the FAST program available to school districts and charter schools and would prescribe the accounting method for the FAST program at the institutions.

The bill would exempt the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) from certain rulemaking procedures to adopt rules necessary to align the community college funding formulas with appropriations or other legislative actionand would authorize community colleges to receive formula funding for student transfers to private or independent four-year institutions of higher education.

Methodology

The estimated costs related to the changes to student eligibility for the FAST program cannot be determined due to a lack of data on the number of students to whom these provisions of the bill would apply.

THECB estimated the number of student transfers to private or independent four-year institutions of higher education that would receive community college formula funding by using a forecast model based on historical actual certified data from 2018 to 2024 and assuming the fiscal year 2025 funding weights and rates remain constant through fiscal year 2030. The forecasted weighted transfer outcomes are estimated to be 3,815 in fiscal year 2026 and 3,829 in fiscal year 2027 followed byan expected downward trend through fiscal year 2030.The total number of such weighted student transfer outcomes multipliedby the fiscal year 2025 transfer outcome funding rate of $3,500 would result in an estimated cost of $13,353,181 in fiscal year 2026 and $13,400,882 in fiscal year 2027.

Local Government Impact

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

Source Agencies:

701 Texas Education Agency, 710 Texas A&M University System Administrative and General Offices, 717 Texas Southern University, 719 Texas State Technical College System Administration, 720 The University of Texas System Administration, 758 Texas State University System, 768 Texas Tech University System Administration, 769 University of North Texas System Administration, 781 Higher Education Coordinating Board, 783 University of Houston System Administration, 966 Howard College, 978 San Jacinto College

LBB Staff:

JMc, FV, LBO, AO, NV

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about SB1786

What does Texas SB1786 do?

SB1786 introduces a critical, universal mandate for all Texas employers to overhaul wage reporting data submitted to the state, requiring granular tracking of remote work status and specific occupational classifications. While the bill primarily restructures community college funding based on "Credentials of Value" and expands the FAST dual-credit program, the hidden operational burden falls on HR and payroll departments to comply with these new "enhanced wage filing" requirements. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: September 1, 2025.

Who authored SB1786?

SB1786 was authored by Texas Senator Charles Creighton during the Regular Session.

When was SB1786 signed into law?

SB1786 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on May 27, 2025.

Which agencies enforce SB1786?

SB1786 is enforced by Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), Texas Education Agency (TEA) and Texas Workforce Commission (TWC).

How urgent is compliance with SB1786?

The compliance urgency for SB1786 is rated as "critical". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.

What is the cost impact of SB1786?

The cost impact of SB1786 is estimated as "medium". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.

What topics does SB1786 address?

SB1786 addresses topics including education, education--higher, education--higher--finance, education--higher--state coordination and education--junior college districts.

Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025

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