ACT WORKKEYS ASSESSMENT; OPT-OUT S.B. 349 & 350:

SUMMARY OF INTRODUCED BILL

IN COMMITTEE

Senate Bills 349 & 350 (as introduced 6-4-25)

Sponsor: Senator Dayna Polehanki

Committee: Education

Date Completed: 6-9-25

CONTENT

Senate Bill 349 would amend the Revised School Code to do the following:

-- Allow a pupil to opt-out of the ACT® WorkKeys® job skills assessment Applied Math, Graphic Literacy, and Workplace Documents portion of the Michigan Merit Examination (MME) beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.

-- Require the Department of Education (MDE) to consult with industry professionals to develop an opt-out waiver that a student and the student’s parent or legal guardian would have to sign.

Senate Bill 350 would amend the State School Aid Act to specify that school districts, intermediate school districts (ISD), and public school academies (PSA) would continue to receive State funds while providing students with the ability to opt-out of the ACT® WorkKeys® job skills assessment.

Senate Bill 349 is described in greater detail below.

Senate Bill 349

The Code requires the board of a school district or board of directors of a PSA to administer the MME to pupils in grade 11 and pupils in grade 12 who did not complete the MME the year before. Currently, the State School Aid Act requires a school district, ISD, or PSA to administer the MME to receive State funding.

The MME consists of three parts:

-- The College Board SAT® with Essay Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and Math.

-- The ACT® WorkKeys® job skills assessment Applied Math, Graphic Literacy, and Workplace Documents.

-- The M-STEP Science and Social Studies assessment.

The bill would allow a student to opt out of the ACT® WorkKeys® assessment through a waiver developed by the MDE and signed by the student’s parent or legal guardian beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.

Additionally, the bill would require the MDE to consult with an individual who represented business, an individual who represented manufacturing, and an individual who represented skilled trades organizations in the State to develop the opt-out waiver. A school district, ISD, or PSA would have to provide the waiver to all applicable pupils and the parents or legal guardians of those pupils by January 1 of the calendar year in which the test would be administered. A student and the student’s parent or legal guardian would have to submit the

signed waiver to the school district, ISD, or PSA at least two weeks before the test was to be administered.

MCL 380.1279g (S.B. 349) Legislative Analyst: Abby Schneider

388.1704b (S.B. 350)

FISCAL IMPACT

The bills would have a minimal fiscal impact on the MDE and local schools. The MDE would experience additional one-time costs to develop a waiver to a portion of the MME. Current appropriations should be sufficient to cover these additional costs.

Local schools could experience minimal costs to provide waivers to pupils and parents or legal guardians. These costs are likely to be covered and incorporated within current costs for administering the MME.

Fiscal Analyst: Ryan Bergan

Cory Savino, PhD

SAS\S2526\s349sa

This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.