TX SB1726

Texas would join the Social Work Licensure Compact, an interstate agreement allowing licensed social workers to practice across member states without obtaining separate licenses in each state

The compact creates three categories of multistate licenses: clinical, master's, and bachelor's level social workers, each requiring specific educational credentials from accredited programs and passage of qualifying national exams

Clinical license applicants must complete at least 3,000 hours or two years of supervised postgraduate clinical practice; all applicants must submit fingerprints for FBI background checks

The Social Work Licensure Compact Commission would be established as a joint government agency to administer the compact, with authority to collect fees, promulgate rules, and maintain a data system tracking licensee information and disciplinary actions

The compact becomes effective when seven states enact it; member states retain authority to take adverse actions against licensees practicing within their borders and may withdraw by repealing the statute with 180 days notice