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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
2026-04-16
Official status
Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/20/2026
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.

  • Removes and replaces existing language in Tennessee Code Annotated to specify new criteria for assessing career readiness.
  • Requires that the assessment measures foundational workplace skills, adheres to certain testing standards, and aligns with industry skill profiles.
  • Specifies that the assessment must lead to nationally recognized work-readiness certificates or credentials.
  • The amendment does not specify which particular assessments will be used or how they will be implemented in schools.
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, instead of 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, not just high school seniors.
  • Removes the specific start date of the 2023-2024 school year and applies the assessment requirement every school year.
  • The amendment text does not provide details on what changes will be made to the assessments or how they will be implemented for younger students.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/20/2026

  2. 2026-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Taken off notice for cal in s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee of Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  3. 2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  4. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  5. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed behind the budget

  6. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  7. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  8. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  9. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  10. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  11. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  12. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  13. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  14. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  15. 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

  16. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  17. 2026-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  18. 2026-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  19. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  20. 2026-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  21. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  22. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Education Committee

  23. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  24. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c K-12 Subcommittee

  25. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Education Committee

  26. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  27. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  28. 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.