New Missouri Law Provides Free Tuition For Career, Technical Education
Missouri has passed a new law that authorizes the payment of tuition for high school graduates wanting to pursue career and technical education rather than attend college.
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed Senate Bill 150, a multi-component higher education bill that contains the new provision, on July 9. The bill establishing the "Career-Tech Certificate (CTC) Program" passed both chambers of the Missouri General Assembly with strong bipartisan support.
The idea to cover career-certificate tuition along with required fees and the cost of books was modeled on Missouri's highly popular A+ Program, which pays for two years of public community college for students pursuing associate's degrees.
'This will increase (the workforce) astronomically,' said state Rep. Ann Kelley, a Republican from Lamar who filed the bill in the Missouri House of Representatives. 'And it's great for the kids who are in those career tech programs. It gives them another avenue to make themselves better.'
The eligibility requirements follow those established for the A+ Program. To qualify, students must graduate high school with at least a 2.5 GPA, maintain a 95% or higher attendance rate, complete 50 hours of unpaid tutoring and demonstrate proficiency in the Algebra I end-of-course exam.
According to the law, which was sponsored by Senator Jill Carter (R-Granby) in the Missouri Senate, the new tuition benefit becomes effective for the 2026-2027 school year.
'Currently a student who wants to obtain a certificate or license right out of high school… must pay for these out of pocket because the courses are too short to qualify for the A+ reimbursement program and are not Pell eligible,' Kelley said in a committee hearing on the bill in February. 'These students are typically ones who are not interested in going to a two-year or four-year school.'
Eligible programs for the tuition benefit are those where the required length for completion does not exceed 60 credit hours or their equivalent and 'results in the award of a non-graduate-level certificate or other industry-recognized credential.' Examples of such certificate programs listed in the new law are:
The bill also establishes a fund managed by the State Treasurer's Office to pay for the student grants. Funding would need to be appropriated annually by the Missouri General assembly, but the fund will also accept donations. The state has estimated that the new program will cost up to $2.1 million in Fiscal Year 2027 and $3.3 million the following year.
The legislation had widespread support from groups such as the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Missouri National Education Association. Missouri Chamber of Commerce Manager of Governmental Affairs Cade Tremain said the bill would 'strengthen the public workforce, as well as strengthen the existing programs we already have.'
Governor Kehoe had also expressed support for career and technical education in his January State of the State speech, in which he called for enhancements to Missouri's career and technical education programs.
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