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SB1967 • 2026

Education

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, relative to career readiness assessments.

Education Taxes
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Lowe, Haston
Last action
2026-04-14
Official status
Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/21/2026
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Career Readiness Assessments for High School Students

This bill changes Tennessee's education laws to require all high school students to take nationally recognized career readiness tests and allows colleges to give credit based on these test results.

What This Bill Does

  • Expands the requirement for local schools and charter schools to offer nationally recognized career readiness assessments to all high school students, not just seniors.
  • Requires the Board of Regents to create a system where college credits can be given based on results from these career readiness assessments taken in high school.

Who It Names or Affects

  • High school students in Tennessee
  • Local education agencies and public charter schools in Tennessee
  • Colleges governed by the Board of Regents

Terms To Know

Career readiness assessment
A test that measures a student's skills for entering the workforce or further education.
Transcribable credit
College credits that can be transferred and counted towards a degree.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify which career readiness assessments are nationally recognized.
  • It is unclear how many students will take advantage of the new opportunities for college credit through these tests.
  • The exact financial impact on schools and colleges is not detailed in the summary.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Amendment 1-0 to HB1838

Plain English: The amendment changes how Tennessee assesses high school students' career readiness by specifying requirements for a nationally recognized assessment that must be offered to students in grades ten through twelve.

  • Removes and replaces existing language about assessing student career readiness with new, detailed criteria for a standardized test.
  • Specifies the types of skills the test should measure, such as critical thinking, mathematical reasoning, problem-solving techniques, reading comprehension, and industry-specific requirements.
  • Requires that the assessment leads to nationally recognized work-readiness certificates or credentials.
  • The amendment does not specify which particular national assessments will be used.
Amendment 1-0 to SB1967

Plain English: The amendment changes a Tennessee law to require career readiness assessments for all students in grades nine through twelve every school year, not just high school seniors starting from the 2023-2024 school year.

  • Expands the requirement for career readiness assessments to include all students in grades nine through twelve instead of only high school seniors.
  • Removes the specific start date of the 2023-2024 school year, making it applicable every school year.
  • The amendment text does not provide details on how or when these assessments will be conducted for all grades nine through twelve.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/21/2026

  2. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2026

  3. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed behind the budget

  4. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/8/2026

  5. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee

  6. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  7. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 4/8/2026

  8. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Education Committee to 4/8/2026

  9. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/31/2026

  10. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Education Committee

  11. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal K-12 Subcommittee for 3/24/2026

  12. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c K-12 Subcommittee to 3/24/2026

  13. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0

  14. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal K-12 Subcommittee for 3/17/2026

  15. 2026-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c K-12 Subcommittee to 3/17/2026

  16. 2026-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 3/11/2026

  17. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal K-12 Subcommittee for 3/10/2026

  18. 2026-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c K-12 Subcommittee to 3/10/2026

  19. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal K-12 Subcommittee for 3/3/2026

  20. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Education Committee

  21. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  22. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c K-12 Subcommittee

  23. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Education Committee

  24. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  25. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  26. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Abstract summarizes the bill.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HOUSE BILL 1838
By Haston

SENATE BILL 1967
By Lowe
SB1967
010438
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49,
relative to career readiness assessments.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-6001(b)(4)(A), is amended by
deleting "each high school senior" and substituting "each student in any of the grades nine
through twelve (9-12)" and deleting "in the 2023-2024 school year, and each subsequent school
year" and substituting "each school year".
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-8-203, is amended by adding the
following as a new subsection:
(n) The board of regents shall establish a standard framework for each institution
governed by the board to provide transcribable credit to a student who earned a
credential on a nationally recognized career readiness assessment administered to the
student in high school pursuant to § 49-6-6001(b)(4) that may be applied toward the
student's attainment of a postsecondary degree.
SECTION 3. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it.