Education, Higher

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material did not provide details about the exact amount of money to be spent on the study, leaving this as an unknown.

Study on Financial Aid for Workforce Credentials

This bill requires the Tennessee Higher Education Commission to study state-funded financial aid and scholarship programs to see if they can be expanded to help more people get workforce credentials.

What This Bill Does

• The Tennessee Higher Education Commission must work with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development to look at all state-funded financial aid and scholarship programs.
• They need to find out if these programs can give more money to people who want to earn a workforce credential.
• The commission also needs to count how many private companies or groups offer their own financial help for getting workforce credentials.
• By January 15, 2026, the commission must tell the relevant committees in both houses of the Tennessee General Assembly about what they found and any ideas for new laws.

Who It Names or Affects

• The Tennessee Higher Education Commission
• The Department of Labor and Workforce Development
• People interested in getting financial aid to earn workforce credentials

Terms To Know

workforce credential

A certificate or other proof that someone has learned specific skills needed for a job.

legislative recommendations

Suggestions given to lawmakers about new laws they might want to make based on the study's findings.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how much money will be spent on this study.
• It is unclear what specific changes, if any, will come from the recommendations made by the commission.
• The bill only requires a report and does not guarantee that new laws will be created based on it.

Official Summary Text

Abstract summarizes the bill.

Current Bill Text

SENATE BILL 125
By Haile

HOUSE BILL 474
By Vaughan

HB0474
000744
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4;
Title 49 and Title 50, relative to financial aid for
individuals pursuing workforce credentials.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1.
(a) The Tennessee Higher Education Commission, in consultation with the
Department of Labor and Workforce Development, shall study:
(1) Each state-funded financial aid and scholarship program to determine
whether the respective program may be expanded to provide greater financial aid
opportunities for individuals interested in pursuing a workforce credential; and
(2) The number and scope of each financial aid and scholarship program
independently offered by employers or other private entities or organizations in
this state to increase the number of individuals with a workforce credential.
(b) The Commission shall report its findings and any legislative
recommendations to the committee of the house of representatives having jurisdiction
over higher education and to the education committee of the senate no later than
January 15, 2026.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.