The Tennessee Department of Education presented the Future Ready Tennessee portal, an AI-integrated, student-facing platform designed to centralize information about career pathways, dual-enrollment opportunities and industry credentials.

Presenter Miss Snow described the initiative as a four-pillar strategy — credentials of value, individualized advising, seamless transitions and work-based learning — developed with state partners including the Tennessee Department of Labor, TBR and THEC. "It levels the playing field for every student," the presenter said, describing a portal that will build individualized High School and Beyond plans, embed dual-enrollment and early-postsecondary opportunities, and show aligned industry credentials and local employers who are hiring.

As part of the credentials work, the department said it is finalizing a single statewide, tiered industry-credential list for funding and accountability and plans a skills-assessment crosswalk so students and employers can see the competencies behind a credential. Officials noted Tennessee students earned more than 77,000 industry credentials last year and said the list will be vetted across agencies to ensure consistent definitions.

On advising, the department said it has identified roughly 400 career coaches statewide and will create standardized professional-development modules and potential certification or endorsement pathways so career coaches and counselors can support students from eighth grade through two years postsecondary.

The portal will also aim to streamline dual-enrollment and postsecondary applications into a single user flow and integrate existing agency data sources. "We want to streamline that to make it one seamless application," the presenter said. The portal will include a student portfolio (transcripts, ACT, credentials), a drawdown tracker for dual-enrollment dollars and interfaces for school counselors, district staff and partner agencies.

Board members asked about timeline, parent access, counselor training and how the portal differs from existing platforms such as MajorClarity. Officials said the department completed a technical guide and must secure funding and a vendor to build the portal; a presenter estimated the work would take no more than two years including pilots. The department also said it is coordinating with Jobs for TN and workforce data to surface local openings and aligned credentials.

The department emphasized the portal is intended to supplement, not replace, guidance counselors and career coaches and said it will undertake proactive communications and training with families and districts as the portal is developed. Officials said pilot work will begin in January and that partners such as the Niswonger Foundation would support virtual offerings in districts that face staffing constraints.

Next steps: secure funding and procurement for a build, conduct pilot(s), and continue stakeholder outreach and training prior to statewide rollout.