Monitoring the Session

SB 2431

bill requiring foreign language credit in study abroad programs

Became law, effective Sep 1, 2025

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Sen. Donna CampbellRSenate 25

Initial review · graded Oct 20, 2026 · Headline, summary and grade are analysis of the bill text, not a finding about any person · How we grade

Caption

relating to requiring foreign language credit opportunities for students enrolled in study abroad programs offered by certain institutions of higher education in this state.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

Study abroad in non-English-speaking places, earn language credit.

The bill requires Texas public colleges and private colleges that run study abroad programs in non-English-speaking places to offer students a way to earn foreign language credit as part of that program. It touches public and private universities with baccalaureate programs and the students who enroll in their study abroad trips. Starting with the 2025-2026 academic year, those programs must include a foreign language credit option, and the Coordinating Board may write rules to carry it out.

Labels

Labels: BUZZER BEATER. Final vote May 31, 2025: the Senate concurred in the House amendments. 2 days before the session ended Jun 2, 2025.CROSS-PARTY HANDOFF. Lead author Donna Campbell (R) in the Senate. Lead sponsor Donna Howard (D) in the House. Party as the Legislative Reference Library lists it for the 89th Legislature.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-SB2431 · 2025-03-13

SOLD BY

Sen. Donna CampbellRSenate 25

ITEM

relating to requiring foreign language credit opportunities for students enrolled in study abroad programs offered by certain institutions of higher education in this state.

WHAT IT DOES

Study abroad in non-English-speaking places, earn language credit.

The bill requires Texas public colleges and private colleges that run study abroad programs in non-English-speaking places to offer students a way to earn foreign language credit as part of that program. It touches public and private universities with baccalaureate programs and the students who enroll in their study abroad trips. Starting with the 2025-2026 academic year, those programs must include a foreign language credit option, and the Coordinating Board may write rules to carry it out.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version H · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version H · May 20, 2025

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

LBB published estimates · flow over the stated periods.

Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

HISTORY

  1. Received by the Secretary of the Senate
  2. Filed
  3. Read first time
  4. Referred to Education K-16
  5. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  6. Considered in public hearing
  7. Testimony taken in committee
  8. Left pending in committee
  9. Considered in public hearing
  10. Vote taken in committee
  11. Reported favorably w/o amendments
  12. Recommended for local & uncontested calendar
  13. Committee report printed and distributed
  14. Placed on local & uncontested calendar
  15. Laid before the Senate
  16. Read 2nd time & passed to engrossment
  17. Vote recorded in Journal
  18. Three day rule suspended
  19. Record vote
  20. Read 3rd time
  21. Passed
  22. Record vote
  23. Reported engrossed
  24. Received from the Senate
  25. Read first time
  26. Referred to Higher Education
  27. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  28. Considered in public hearing
  29. Committee substitute considered in committee
  30. Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
  31. Left pending in committee
  32. Considered in formal meeting
  33. Committee substitute considered in committee
  34. Reported favorably as substituted
  35. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  36. Committee report distributed
  37. Committee report sent to Calendars
  38. Considered in Calendars
  39. Placed on General State Calendar
  40. Read 2nd time
  41. Passed to 3rd reading
  42. Record vote RV#3795
  43. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  44. Read 3rd time
  45. Passed
  46. Record vote RV#3899
  47. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  48. House passage as amended reported
  49. House amendment(s) laid before the Senate
  50. Read
  51. Senate concurs in House amendment(s)
  52. Record vote
  53. Senate concurs in House amendment(s)-reported
  54. Reported enrolled
  55. Signed in the Senate
  56. Signed in the House
  57. Sent to the Governor
  58. Signed by the Governor
  59. Effective on 9/1/25
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 76 yea · 60 nay

Senate · 30 yea · 1 nay

Sources

House: Final passage · May 28, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate: Final passage · Apr 24, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

All floor motions and other positions below.

No flags

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

Donna Campbell

Donors

Donors report through Friends of Donna Campbell.

Not tied to this bill.

Sources

The author's campaign account only. Own money and internal transfers are separate on the member page.

Derived itemized flow · Oct 27, 2024 to Jun 30, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Money

Missing data does not establish zero giving. Display amounts are rounded.

Votes6

Senate May 31, 2025

Yea
29
Nay
2
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
0
Excused
0
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

Senate journal

Sources

Senator Campbell moved to concur in the House amendment to SB 2431. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 29, Nays 2.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 29 (published)
  • Nay: 2 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 0 (derived from named list)

Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

House May 28, 2025

Yea
76
Nay
60
Present, not voting
2
Absent
5
Excused
7
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

House journal

Sources

Record 3899

SB 2431 was passed by (Record 3899): 76 Yeas, 60 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 76 (published)
  • Nay: 60 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 5 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 7 (derived from named list)

House journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

House May 27, 2025

Yea
82
Nay
55
Present, not voting
1
Absent
9
Excused
3
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

House journal

Sources

Record 3795

CSSB 2431 was passed to third reading by (Record 3795): 82 Yeas, 55 Nays, 1 Present, not voting.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 82 (published)
  • Nay: 55 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 1 (published)
  • Absent: 9 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 3 (derived from named list)

House journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate Apr 24, 2025

Final passage

Yea
30
Nay
1
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
Not printed
Excused
Not printed
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

Senate journal

Names were not printed for yea. Only the named positions are included in member records.

The journal row lists three votes in order: passage to engrossment, suspension of the three-day rule, and final passage. This entry records final passage. Repeated tallies belong to separate votes.

Sources

SB 2431 (Campbell) Relating to requiring foreign language credit opportunities for students enrolled in study abroad programs offered by certain institutions of higher education in this state. (viva voce vote) (30-1) "Nay" West (30-1) "Nay" West

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 30 (published)
  • Nay: 1 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: Not printed
  • Excused: Not printed

Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate Apr 24, 2025

Suspension of the three-day rule

Yea
30
Nay
1
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
Not printed
Excused
Not printed
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

Senate journal

Names were not printed for yea. Only the named positions are included in member records.

The journal row lists three votes in order: passage to engrossment, suspension of the three-day rule, and final passage. This entry records suspension of the three-day rule. Repeated tallies belong to separate votes.

Sources

SB 2431 (Campbell) Relating to requiring foreign language credit opportunities for students enrolled in study abroad programs offered by certain institutions of higher education in this state. (viva voce vote) (30-1) "Nay" West (30-1) "Nay" West

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 30 (published)
  • Nay: 1 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: Not printed
  • Excused: Not printed

Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate Apr 24, 2025

Passage to engrossment

Yea
Not printed
Nay
Not printed
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
Not printed
Excused
Not printed
Names

Senate journal

Names were not printed. No individual positions are inferred.

The journal row lists three votes in order: passage to engrossment, suspension of the three-day rule, and final passage. This entry records passage to engrossment. Repeated tallies belong to separate votes.

Voice vote. No numeric tally or individual yeas are inferred.

Sources

SB 2431 (Campbell) Relating to requiring foreign language credit opportunities for students enrolled in study abroad programs offered by certain institutions of higher education in this state. (viva voce vote) (30-1) "Nay" West (30-1) "Nay" West

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: Not printed
  • Nay: Not printed
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: Not printed
  • Excused: Not printed

Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Witnesses4
For
3
Against
0
On
1
Names

For

  • Alamo Colleges District1 registration
  • Self2 registrations

On

  • Texas higher education coordinating board1 registration
Sources

4 parsed registrations across the loaded witness lists.

Derived stock of witness registrations. Repeated appearances count separately. Organizations and self-representation appear as printed.

House witness list. Source snapshot 2026-10-20, Central time.

Senate witness list. Source snapshot 2026-10-20, Central time.

Fiscal

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version H · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version H · May 20, 2025

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

LBB published estimates · flow over the stated periods.

Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

How this was graded

Analysis of text version I by claude-opus-5-5, Oct 20, 2026, against the published rubric.

Sources

Texas Senate · Filed Mar 13, 2025

06/20/2025 E Effective on 9/1/25

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced · Senate Committee Report · Engrossed · House Committee Report · Enrolled

Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 4:20 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

Sponsors
Donna HowardDHouse 48

House committee · Higher Education · Committee vote 10 aye, 1 nay · Out of committee

Senate committee · Education K-16 · Committee vote 10 aye, 0 nay, 1 absent · Out of committee

Subjects

Education--Higher--Institutions & Programs

EDUCATION--HIGHER--CURRICULUM

HIGHER EDUCATION COORDINATING BOARD, TEXAS

Text

The text as introduced · 260 words

89R9002 CMO-D

By: Campbell
S.B. No. 2431

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to requiring foreign language credit opportunities for

students enrolled in study abroad programs offered by certain

institutions of higher education in this state.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter F, Chapter 51, Education Code, is

amended by adding Section 51.313 to read as follows:

Sec. 51.313. STUDY ABROAD: FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY.

(a) In this section, "institution of higher education" and

"private or independent institution of higher education" have the

meanings assigned by Section 61.003.

(b) For the purpose of providing the opportunity for

students to gain proficiency in a foreign language, an institution

of higher education or a private or independent institution of

higher education that, through any baccalaureate degree program,

offers a study abroad program in a location where a language other

than English is primarily spoken shall provide an option that

allows a student enrolled in the study abroad program to earn

foreign language credit as part of that program.

(c) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board may

establish procedures and adopt rules to implement this section.

SECTION 2. Section 51.313, Education Code, as added by this

Act, applies beginning with the 2025-2026 academic year.

SECTION 3. 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.