Texas has added a new targeted continuing education topic for nurses: nutrition and metabolic health. Under Senate Bill 25 (89th Legislature), it applies to license renewals filed on or after January 1, 2027. The catch is that the law leaves the number of hours and the content to the Texas Board of Nursing (BON), and as of October 22, 2026 the BON's continuing competency rules don't yet say how many hours you'll need.

This is an NP-facing briefing, not legal advice. Everything below comes from the Texas Legislature, the Texas Board of Nursing, and the Texas Register. If anything here differs from what the BON tells you, the BON wins.

What the law says

SB 25 added Section 301.309 to the Texas Nursing Practice Act. It says a nurse license holder must complete continuing education on nutrition and metabolic health as part of the existing Texas continuing competency requirement. The BON has to adopt rules that set two things:

The law gives the BON a deadline: those rules must be adopted no later than December 31, 2026. The requirement applies only to renewal applications filed on or after January 1, 2027. A renewal filed before that date is governed by the rules in effect when it was filed.

The statute applies to "a license holder" under the Nursing Practice Act, so it isn't limited to one license type. How it lands for APRNs specifically, including whether Category I CME will count the way it does for most other Texas targeted topics, is something the BON's rule will have to spell out.

Where the Board of Nursing stands today

The BON's Continuing Competency Requirements page still lists the current targeted topics (jurisprudence and ethics, older adult or geriatric care, forensic evidence collection for ER nurses, pharmacotherapeutics and opioid prescribing for APRNs with prescriptive authority, human trafficking prevention, and others). Nutrition and metabolic health is not on that list yet.

The BON's October 22–23, 2026 regular meeting agenda includes item 7.3, "Consideration of Proposal of Amendments to 22 Tex. Admin. Code § 216.3, Relating to Continuing Competency Requirements." Rule 216.3 is where Texas lists its required CE, including the targeted topics. The posted agenda doesn't describe what those amendments contain, so we can't yet confirm they are the SB 25 rule. If the board votes to propose them, the text will be published in the Texas Register for public comment before it can be adopted.

What physicians got, for comparison

The Texas Medical Board has already finished its version. In the August 28, 2026 Texas Register, the TMB adopted an amendment to its CME rule (22 TAC §161.35), effective September 3, 2026, requiring licensed physicians to complete one credit hour of CME on nutrition and metabolic health focused on the Texas Nutrition Advisory Committee's guidelines. That rule covers physicians, not nurses, and the BON isn't bound to pick the same number. It's simply the clearest signal of how one Texas board read the same law.

What hasn't changed

Your current Texas renewal works the same way it did. Per the BON, every nurse still needs 20 contact hours of CE in their area of practice or a Board-approved national certification each licensing period. APRNs with prescriptive authority still need 5 additional pharmacotherapeutics hours, and the other targeted topics still apply as before. Under its SB 912 rules, the BON said that starting September 1, 2026, nurses upload their completion certificates to the Texas Nurse Portal before renewing.

What Texas NPs should do now

1. Check your renewal month. Texas licenses expire on the last day of your birth month. If your next renewal falls in 2027 or later, this requirement will likely apply to you. 2. Watch for the BON's proposed rule. It will set the hours and content. Don't assume the physician number applies to you. 3. Be careful with early courses. A nutrition course you take now may or may not satisfy the final rule, because the content must follow the advisory committee's guidelines. If you take one early, keep the certificate and the course description. 4. Keep uploading certificates to the Texas Nurse Portal as you finish courses, so your renewal isn't held up.

Sources

This article is general information for nurse practitioners, not legal advice. Requirements change, so confirm your own obligations with the Texas Board of Nursing before you rely on them.

If you hold licenses in more than one state, CeMe Tracker keeps each state's CE hours, topics, and renewal deadlines in one place, and the free State Data Hub lets you look up any state's NP requirements.