Bill
HB 3489
Missouri would require all public high schools to administer college and career readiness assessments, including a WorkKeys credential, and allow higher education to grant credit f
HB 3489 — College and Career Readiness
Missouri, 2026 Session
Overview
- Purpose: Establish a statewide framework for college and career readiness assessments in public schools and provide a path for using certain credentials toward postsecondary credit.
- Sponsor: Representative Hurlbert
- Status: Introduced and heard in House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee (April 2026). Related to SB 1729 (2026).
Key Provisions
1) High School Assessments (Section 160.572)
- Requirement: Each public high school (excluding charter schools) must administer college and career readiness assessments to each student before graduation, in a frequency and manner prescribed by the State Board of Education.
- Career readiness element: Must include a career readiness assessment that leads to a nationally recognized work readiness certificate (e.g., WorkKeys) as part of the required assessments.
- WorkKeys flexibility: A career readiness assessment may include WorkKeys.
- Additional optional assessments: Districts may offer extra college and career readiness assessments at no cost to students using General Assembly appropriations.
2) State Board and Implementation
- The State Board of Education is given authority to determine how often tests are given, what is measured, and how readiness is defined.
- The State Board is responsible for promulgating rules to implement these provisions.
- The rulemaking is subject to the usual Administrative Rules framework (Chapter 536 controls, with nonseverability if constitutional issues arise).
3) Higher Education Credentialing (Section 173.1360)
- Policy on credits: Each public institution of higher education may adopt and implement a policy to treat a Platinum, Gold, or Silver credential earned through the ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) as transcribable credit toward the attainment of a postsecondary technical degree, as recommended by the American Council on Education (ACE) national guide.
4) Funding and Costs
- General assembly funding: Districts may offer additional assessments at no cost to students using state appropriations designated for that purpose.
- Fiscal note: State agencies anticipate no direct general revenue impact, with a small administrative cost to rules processes anticipated by SOS; local district costs are not explicitly funded, implying local burden to implement the new testing regime.
5) Miscellaneous
- Compliance and severability: Provisions include standard Missouri rulemaking and severability language; if rules are challenged, related provisions may be affected.
- Related text: The bill repeals and replaces parts of Section 160.572 and creates new sections 160.572 and 173.1360.
Who is Affected
- Public high school students in Missouri (excluding charter schools): Must take college and career readiness assessments before graduation.
- School districts: Responsible for administering assessments, financing optional additional assessments, and complying with State Board rules.
- Public higher education institutions: May grant transcribable course credit toward technical degrees for an NCRC credential (Platinum/Gold/Silver) as per ACE guidelines.
- State agencies (DESE, DOHEWD) and the State Board of Education: Implement and regulate the assessments and credentialing framework.
Timeline/Procedural Aspects
- The bill outlines that rules will be promulgated by the State Board of Education to implement its provisions.
- Nonseverability note: If any part of the rulemaking powers is struck down, the related rulemaking authority could be invalidated.
- Effective date: The accompanying fiscal note dates indicate activity around 2027-2029 as the timeline for implementation, consistent with a 2026-2027 legislative cycle.
Fiscal Note (Summary)
- Net effect on General Revenue: $0 across FY 2027–FY 2029.
- Net effect on other state funds, federal funds, and local funds: $0 estimated.
- FTE impact: 0
- Administrative costs for rulemaking anticipated by SOS are small (less than $5,000) and manageable within existing budgets.
Bottom line
HB 3489 would mandate statewide college and career readiness assessments for Missouri high school students, tie a career readiness credential to potential postsecondary credit, and authorize higher education institutions to recognize WorkKeys-based credentials as transfer-credit toward technical degrees, all under state board rulemaking and with no explicit state or local funding entails in the fiscal note.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
Sign in to ask a question.
