Relating to measures to accelerate the award of bachelor's degrees, including the establishment of the general education curriculum advisory committee, and to the number of semester credit hours required for the core curriculum for certain bachelor's degree programs at a public institution of higher education.
SB 2847 allows Texas public universities to seek state board approval for core curricula with fewer than 42 credit hours for specific bachelor's degree programs, if it accelerates completion of workforce-aligned credentials. It requires public institutions to accept core curriculum credits from other Texas public universities, simplifying transfers and eliminating redundant coursework. The bill directly affects all public universities in Texas and students pursuing bachelor's degrees, particularly those transferring between institutions. It aims to reduce time-to-degree without lowering academic standards, focusing on aligning coursework with workforce needs.
Bill status
passed
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
Senate Passage
May 2025
House Passage
Governor
Introduced Mar 14, 2025
Last action May 25, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Introduced
→
Engrossed
·
5 edits
·
May 14, 2025
MODERATE
This bill introduces a new General Education Curriculum Advisory Committee to study ways to reduce the number of core courses required at Texas universities and to identify methods for condensing general education requirements. It also allows the State Board of Education to approve core curricula with fewer than 42 semester credit hours for bachelor's degree programs if doing so would help students complete workforce-aligned credentials faster. The committee must submit a report by November 2026, and the bill expires in September 2027.
Scope change
The bill adds a temporary advisory committee with specific duties and timelines, and modifies the existing Education Code to allow for more flexible core curriculum requirements under certain conditions.
REQUIREMENT
Establishes a new General Education Curriculum Advisory Committee to review and recommend changes to general education curriculum requirements at institutions of higher education.
Amends the Education Code to allow the board to approve core curricula with fewer than 42 semester credit hours for bachelor's degree programs if it would accelerate student completion of workforce-aligned credentials.
TIMELINE
Sets specific deadlines for the advisory committee to submit a report by November 1, 2026, and for the board to submit recommendations to the legislature by December 31, 2026.
Makes the advisory committee and this section of the bill expire on September 1, 2027.
DEFINITION
Defines 'Advisory committee' and 'General education curriculum' for the purposes of this new section.
Floor votes · Senate May 13, 2025
How they voted
22–8
Passed
Total votes 30
May 13, 2025
D
Democratic10
80% Nay
R
Republican20
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
35
Key actions
11
Committee
9
Amendments
3
May 25, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
May 25, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
May 23, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably as substituted
lower
May 16, 2025
Committee
Referred to Higher Education
lower
May 16, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
May 14, 2025
Introduced
Received from the Senate
lower
May 14, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed
upper
May 13, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed to engrossment as amended
upper
May 13, 2025
Upper · Passed
Amended
upper
May 13, 2025
Introduced
Amendment(s) offered
upper
May 13, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (22-8)
senate
May 7, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee report printed and distributed
upper
May 7, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendments
upper
May 6, 2025
Upper · Passed
Vote taken in committee
upper
Apr 24, 2025
Upper · Passed
Left pending in committee
upper
Apr 7, 2025
Committee
Referred to Education K-16
upper
Apr 7, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
upper
2 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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