The Education Standards Advisory Committee (ESAC) convened on October 6, 2025, to address several developments, including the introduction of a new member, updates on the forthcoming Real Estate and Appraiser License Management (REALM) Portal, and legislative changes affecting education requirements for real estate licensing in Texas.
Jean Mitchell was welcomed as the newest member of ESAC, replacing Kandi Luensmann, who has transitioned to the Broker-Lawyer Committee.
The committee discussed the upcoming launch of the REALM Portal, which is expected to enhance the efficiency of licensing application submissions and internal processing for the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC). The portal will transition all education provider applications from paper to an online format. Renewals for continuing education (CE) and qualifying education (QE) courses will allow for the retention of course numbers across approval terms, and document submissions will be managed through uploads rather than mail.
Key dates for the transition include a service outage for TREC’s current online licensing system from December 2, 2025, at 5 p.m. CT through December 9, 2025. The REALM Portal is scheduled to officially launch on December 10, 2025. Education providers will receive new course numbers for all approved courses in early December, which will be required for submitting course completion information.
The meeting also addressed Senate Bill 1968, which takes effect January 1, 2026. This legislation transfers the authority to set initial sales agent education requirements from state statute to TREC rulemaking. Currently, these requirements are specified in the Texas Occupations Code, making updates challenging without legislative intervention.
“Current statute lays out some basic education topics that each qualifying course must cover, including Texas-specific components,” TREC Education and Examinations Director Jennifer Wheeler noted. “That makes it difficult when, for example, a broker with an out-of-state license wants to come here and obtain a Texas license.”
ESAC is considering the introduction of a standalone Texas-specific course to increase flexibility for applicants from other states while ensuring essential Texas content is covered.
Additionally, the committee discussed an upcoming job task analysis for Texas real estate professionals. The analysis, to be conducted by TREC’s licensing exam vendor with input from subject matter experts and psychometricians, aims to identify the most relevant knowledge and skills for today’s real estate industry.
“A job task analysis like this hasn’t been performed in at least 15 years,” Director Wheeler said. “It’s a great opportunity for us to understand what’s current in the industry and ensure our education aligns with it.”
Following the analysis, ESAC plans to review the structure and content of pre-licensing courses.
Materials from the meeting, including the agenda and video recording, are available for download. The next ESAC meeting is scheduled for January 12, 2026, at 10 a.m. CT.
