September 2025 Texas LPC Board Meeting Recap: What LPCs Need to Know
September 19, 2025 LPC Board Meeting Recap
The Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors (TSBEPC) met on September 19, 2025, and the meeting covered a wide array of significant topics for licensed professional counselors (LPCs), Supervisors, and Associates.
This summary highlights rulemaking updates, legislative developments, and pressing ethical concerns raised during public comment.
Key Rule Proposals
1. Rules §681.91 (LPC Associate License) & §681.93 (Supervisor Requirements)
These rules were initially proposed in June, advanced to BHEC, and opened for public comment (which closed September 7th). Today, the board withdrew both rules and returned them to the Rules Committee for substantive revision.
Highlights of the proposals include:
Clarifying that Associates may own a private practice only while under active supervision.
Requiring Associates to submit forms when changing/adding a supervisor and notify all current supervisors of changes.
Mandating Associates notify supervisors of pending complaints.
Adding provisions that:
Both Associates and Supervisors may face discipline for violations during supervised practice.
Associates must share any remediation plans with current/future supervisors.
Requiring Supervisors to document session duration and associate practice locations.
Takeaways from today’s discussion that ultimately led to the board not approving the rules at this time:
Board members acknowledged strong public concern about documentation burdens for supervisors.
They emphasized the importance of aligning supervision rules across BHEC boards but keeping requirements realistic.
The remediation plan sharing requirement drew extended debate, with members weighing its potential to support accountability versus creating unintended barriers for Associates.
Members agreed that adopting piecemeal changes now (only to revisit in 3–6 months as related rules shift) could confuse licensees.
What happens next? Expect revised drafts after further review and input from upcoming surveys of Associates and Supervisors. Once substantial revisions are made, they will return to the board for proposed adoption.
2. Proposed Amendments – Moving Forward
Two additional rules were taken up as proposals (not adoption) in order to meet recent statutory updates:
§681.53 Child Custody, Adoption, and Contested Adoption Evaluations
Updates refine qualifications, clarify scope of practice, and set clearer standards for high-risk evaluations.§681.114 Licensing of Military Service Members, Veterans, and Spouses
Streamlines licensure pathways for military-affiliated applicants, aligning with state reciprocity laws and reducing barriers.
What happens next? These proposals will move to the Texas Register for publication and public comment before any adoption.
3. Petition for Rulemaking – Increased Supervision Regulation
A petition submitted by La’Nika Graham, LPC-Associate (Supervised by Dr. Joy-Del Snook, Ph.D., LPC-S), voiced concerns that Associates face financial and ethical barriers during required supervision. She emphasized that while supervision is a mandatory step toward licensure, there are currently no safeguards to ensure affordability, fairness, or ethical business practices in the supervision process.
Although the detailed petition itself was not read into the record during the meeting, I followed up with Ms. Graham afterward. She generously shared her full proposal with me (linked here) so that I could highlight it here. Below is a summary of her requested amendments to Rules §681.92 (Experience Requirements) and §681.93 (Supervisor Requirements):
Make-Up Plan for Missed Supervision Hours (§681.92 — Experience Requirements)
If the four-hour monthly supervision minimum is not met, the Associate and Supervisor must create a written make-up plan.
Hours would not be forfeited if the plan is followed and completed before full licensure application.
Supervision Contracts – Required Submission (§681.93 — Supervisor Requirements)
Require a written supervision contract (outlining scope, frequency, fees, termination, rights/responsibilities) to be submitted with the LPC Associate Supervision Agreement.
Ethical Oversight of Supervisory Business Practices (§681.93 — Supervisor Requirements)
Establish standards for transparency, fair fees, grievance procedures, confidentiality, and prohibiting exploitative practices.
Violations could result in disciplinary review.
Supervisor Termination Protocols (§681.93 — Supervisor Requirements)
Require supervisors to provide 30 days’ written notice before ending supervision (with exceptions for ethical/safety/just cause concerns).
Notice must include termination date, general reason, confirmation of final log submission, and transition support.
Compensation and Supervision Cost Guidelines (§681.93 — Supervisor Requirements)
Require fees to be fair, reasonable, disclosed in writing, and submitted with the supervision agreement.
Prohibit supervisors from charging for supervision when Associates are employed or contracted in the same practice.
Address potential conflicts when Associates are paid below-market rates while also charged supervision fees.
Allow the Board to monitor complaints and set fee guidelines if needed.
The petition was denied; however, the board referred its core issues to the Rules Committee for further study. Board members noted that many of the petition’s concerns will also be addressed in an upcoming LPC Associate and Supervisor survey, and emphasized their intent to consider those results alongside the petition themes.
What happens next? The Rules Committee will review the petition’s suggestions in combination with survey feedback, with the goal of developing more balanced and actionable rule proposals for future consideration.
Other Notes of Interest
A Staff Report was provided:
Application processing times are now 2.5 weeks (down from 6+ months years ago).
A reminder that supervisors must submit Supervised Experience Documentation within 30 days of ending supervision.
NBCC is developing Spanish-language exams (NCE soon; NCMHCE later).
New LPC Associate and Supervisor survey in development, modeled on LMFT feedback project.
Public Comment Highlights:
TACES (Carrie Proctor): Invited the board to keynote at the 2026 Midwinter Conference; raised supervision rule concerns.
TCA (Angela Bowles): Thanked board for presenting at the upcoming November TCA Conference.
Others who participated in-person and virtually added their thoughts and comments: Criticized counseling education and training programs, urging an oral exam requirement; inked political climate/free speech concerns to counseling ethics; asked for CE clarification; praised faster application processing; supported supervision reform.
Counselor Compact: Staff reiterated that joining the Counseling Compact (an agreement between U.S. states to allow eligible counselors licensed in a participating state to provide mental health services in another participating state) requires legislative action. With the next opportunity during the 2027 legislative session. Board encouraged licensees to advocate by contacting legislators. If you wish to support the compact, you can do so by contacting your senator, representatives, and committees - SB 498 (Business & Commerce Committee) and HB 1537 (Human Services Committee), respectively.
Presentation – Here For Texas (Grant Halliburton Foundation): Kevin Hall introduced Here For Texas, a free mental health provider database and navigation line serving North Texas. The foundation responded rapidly after the Kerr County flooding, providing tailored trauma resources within 24 hours. The board discussed possibilities for promoting it as a scalable, statewide resource.
CE Broker Rollout - Jason Grubb from CE Broker presented:
The system is now live, with ~5,000 LPCs (15% of licensees) already registered.
Starting January 1, 2026, CE reporting through CE Broker is mandatory for license renewal.
Free accounts meet board requirements (premium upgrades are optional).
Two more webinars scheduled in order to support licensees in the transition to the platform:
October 29, 2025 – Register here
December 10, 2025 – Register here
Board members who’ve used or tested the system reported it was easy to use, especially for multi-state licensees. Staff emphasized: no renewal will process without CE uploaded after Jan 2026.
Final Notes
Key Takeaways for Clinicians
LPC Associates and Supervisors:
No immediate rule changes — however several rules are still under active review.
Watch for the board’s survey and make sure to add your voice.
All licensees: Stay engaged. This is a chance to help shape supervision policies that are both ethical and practical.
How You Can Engage — Stay Informed. Stay Empowered.
Submit written public comment for proposed rule changes (usually due by 5 pm CST the day prior to the meeting) to the board for any issue affecting your professional practice.
Join the board’s Leadership Listening Hour Sessions, which are aimed at deepening stakeholder engagement.
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