WBL credits just doubled. Ready Graduate. Perkins V 5S3. Pathful was built for this.

WBL credit expansionPublic Chapter 543 (T.C.A. § 49-11-909), signed 3/7/2024, doubles the annual work-based learning credit cap from 3 to 6 and cuts the supervised-hours threshold per credit from 10 to 5.
Ready Graduate20% of Tennessee's high school accountability score, met through one of four pathways: EPSO, an industry credential, ACT/SAT benchmark, or ASVAB AFQT score.
Perkins V 5S3Work-based learning participation, named directly in Tennessee's own State Plan narrative as a program-quality indicator.
Six-year Personal Learning PlanT.C.A. § 49-6-412, grades 7–8 aptitude surveys feeding a differentiated plan through graduation.
WBL FrameworkTSBE Rule 0520-01-03-.06 and High School Policy 2.103, governing WBL Coordinator duties and placement structure.
TN PULSETennessee's statewide P-20 longitudinal data system, connecting K-12, postsecondary, and workforce outcomes.

Tennessee alignment

Tennessee just made WBL bigger. Pathful already fits where it's headed.

Tennessee splits K-12 and postsecondary CTE cleanly across four agencies: TDOE is the state's sole Perkins V eligible agency and owns K-12 CTE/WBL/CCR policy, Ready Graduate, TCAP accountability, and TN PULSE; TSBE adopts graduation requirements and the WBL Framework; TBR governs the state's community colleges and TCATs and executes Perkins V postsecondary funding through an interagency agreement with TDOE; THEC sits above TBR as the statewide postsecondary coordinating and fiscal authority; and TDLWD enforces child labor law and WBL safety training and runs Apprenticeship TN. Conversations about dual enrollment or TCAT transfer route to TBR, not THEC. Every requirement running through that structure has a direct counterpart in Pathful.

148 LEAsLocal education agencies statewide.
Nine Local Workforce Development AreasEach with WIOA-side coordination under TDLWD.
13 community colleges + 22–27 TCATsGoverned by TBR, the postsecondary execution layer for Perkins V funding.

Why now

3→6Annual WBL credit cap, doubled by Public Chapter 543, signed 3/7/2024.

10→5Supervised hours required per WBL credit, cut in half by the same law.

20%Share of Tennessee's high school accountability score determined by Ready Graduate.

2025–26Advance CTE's consolidated Career Cluster framework transitions statewide.

Tennessee requires

WBL credit documentation at double the prior scale
Public Chapter 543 (T.C.A. § 49-11-909) raises the annual WBL credit cap from 3 to 6 and halves the supervised-hours threshold per credit from 10 to 5, doubling the volume of placement records districts must track.
Ready Graduate pathway evidence
20% of high school accountability, satisfied through one of four named pathways: EPSO, an industry credential, ACT/SAT benchmark, or ASVAB AFQT score.
Perkins V program quality: 5S3
Work-based learning participation, named directly in Tennessee's own State Plan narrative as a program-quality indicator, not inferred from a database entry.
Six-year Personal Learning Plan
T.C.A. § 49-6-412 requires a grades 7–8 aptitude survey feeding a differentiated plan that carries through graduation.
WBL Framework compliance
TSBE Rule 0520-01-03-.06 and High School Policy 2.103 govern WBL Coordinator duties and placement structure statewide.
Career Cluster meta-cluster crosswalk
Advance CTE's consolidated framework rolls out in 2025-26; any pathway mapped to the legacy 16-cluster structure needs re-validating against the transitional crosswalk.

Pathful delivers

JobreadyWBL placement & hour tracking
Built to absorb the doubled credit volume: placement records, supervised-hour logging, and sign-off all scale with the new 6-credit/5-hour structure without added district overhead.
Ready Graduate pathway tracking
Pathful Planner flags which of the four Ready Graduate pathways a student is on track to complete, including credential and assessment-benchmark progress.
WBL participation reporting for 5S3
JobreadyWBL's placement and hour data maps directly to Tennessee's named 5S3 indicator, giving CTE directors a ready reporting source.
Career Plan builder
A grades 7–8 aptitude-to-plan structure aligned to the Personal Learning Plan's six-year arc; formal sign-and-approve workflow is on Pathful's own product roadmap for Q4 2026.
WBL Coordinator workflow support
Documentation and placement structure built around the same coordinator-led process TSBE Rule 0520-01-03-.06 and Policy 2.103 require.
JobreadyCTE credential & pathway tracking
Credential and competency tracking kept current against whichever Career Cluster structure, legacy or meta-cluster, is in force for a given district during the transition.

Funding context

TISATennessee's 2022 weighted funding formula includes a direct fiscal weight for CTE pathways leading to high-wage, high-skill occupations.

T.C.A. § 12-3-1203The Tennessee Interlocal Cooperation Act lets any LEA piggyback directly on another Tennessee LEA's competitively-bid contract.

36 districtsOn Tennessee's state-negotiated Edupoint Synergy SIS contract as of March 2026, ~185,000 students.

6 districtsActively migrating off Skyward for the 2026-27 school year.

Two products, one solution

Everything Tennessee needs, connected end to end.

Pathful CRD and Pathful Planner handle the Personal Learning Plan, career exploration, and Ready Graduate pathway tracking. JobreadyWBL and JobreadyCTE handle the doubled WBL credit volume and credential tracking, the anchor for Tennessee's named Perkins V 5S3 indicator.

The exploration, planning, and development layer. Maps to the Personal Learning Plan's six-year arc and Ready Graduate pathway tracking.

Tennessee requirements covered

Personal Learning Plan structure starting with grades 7–8 aptitude surveys through graduation.
Ready Graduate pathway tracking across all four qualifying pathways.
Pathful Planner course-sequencing aligned to TCAP and graduation requirements.
Career assessments feeding the Personal Learning Plan's differentiated planning requirement.

The compliance and credential layer. Built to absorb Tennessee's doubled WBL credit volume and report against the state's named Perkins V 5S3 indicator.

Tennessee requirements covered

WBL placement & hour documentation scaled for the 3→6 credit cap and 10→5 hour-per-credit change.
Perkins V 5S3 reporting built from the same placement and participation data.
WBL Coordinator workflow aligned to TSBE Rule 0520-01-03-.06 and Policy 2.103.
Credential & pathway tracking kept current through the 2025-26 Career Cluster transition.

What educators & districts say

“

I've used Pathful for several years now, and I love how I can connect what we're learning about in class to job profiles, then schedule a live industry chat that ties it all together. I've seen student engagement increase since using Pathful, and I'm able to differentiate based on my students' needs, it's wonderful!

There are so many valuable pieces to Pathful, from the assessments and career profiles to the flex lessons and live chats. It's easy to use and everything is just ready to go!

Katie P.

Special Educator

“

Jobready360 has revolutionized the way we manage work-based learning in our district. What once took hours of manual effort is now done in a fraction of the time. This has freed up our staff to focus on building meaningful partnerships with local businesses.

District WBL Administrator

Career content

Career content students love to use.

Career readiness and development content that supports Tennessee's requirements so students are building toward something that counts, backed by a live-session network of 60,000+ industry professionals, not a static video library.

Virtual Job Shadow

Social Media Influencer

Learners step behind the scenes with a successful influencer to discover the strategy, creativity, and business savvy behind a legitimate profession with real earning potential, one that resonates with today's digital-native students.

Virtual Job Shadow

Robotic Weld Technician

Explore the high-tech world of advanced manufacturing, where robotic weld technicians earn competitive salaries in a field facing a critical shortage, showing how skilled trades offer stable careers without a four-year degree.

Virtual Job Shadow

Bat Conservationist

Journey into wildlife conservation with Dr. Kristen Lear, whose passion for bats led to groundbreaking research protecting endangered species across three continents, proof that childhood curiosity can become a meaningful scientific career.

Live guest speaker

Sports Psychologist

Students connect with a professional sports psychologist in a live, virtual session, bringing specialized expertise directly to learners and eliminating geographic barriers to authentic career exploration.

Live guest speaker

Industrial Engineer

STEM expertise can lead to unexpected places, like creating scents for everyday soaps, revealing creative career paths most students would never associate with traditional engineering roles.

Live, virtual field trip

Aerospace & Structures Engineer

Tour real workplaces, no permission slip required. Students explore facilities, observe professionals in action, and ask questions about daily operations, expanding their sense of what's possible.

Ready to see Pathful built for Tennessee?

Talk to a Tennessee-focused Pathful expert. We'll walk through exactly how the platform maps to the doubled WBL credit cap, Ready Graduate, and Perkins V 5S3 reporting.

Talk to an expert