HB 1752 Pennsylvania House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

An Act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, in preliminary provisions, providing for Keystone Exam alternative feasibility study.

HB 1752 requires the Pennsylvania Department of Education to conduct a feasibility study on alternatives to the Keystone Exams, which are standardized tests students must pass to graduate high school. The study will evaluate whether other assessment methods could replace the current exam system for graduation requirements. This bill does not change existing testing rules but mandates a review process to inform potential future policy decisions. The findings must be reported to the Pennsylvania legislature for consideration.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jul 2025

Committee Review

May 2026

House Passage

May 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jul 22, 2025 Last action May 7, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Printer's No. PN2159 → Printer's No. PN3064 · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was updated to include 'Smarter Balanced Assessments' alongside the ACT and SAT as potential replacements for Keystone Exams. The scope of the required feasibility study was significantly expanded to include new analyses on student participation numbers, annual costs, transition timelines, and how results would be used for educator evaluations and school identification. Several new definitions were added to clarify terms like 'Department' and 'Future-Ready Index'.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from evaluating only the ACT and SAT to also evaluating Smarter Balanced Assessments as a replacement option for state testing.

REQUIREMENT

The feasibility study requirements now include estimating the number of additional students who would take the new assessments compared to current rates.

The study must now examine the potential annual cost to the Commonwealth and include an analysis of how costs have changed over time for states using the ACT or SAT.

The report must include a proposed timeline and cost estimate for transitioning to the new assessments.

The study must analyze how the Department would use new assessment results for educator evaluation, the Future-Ready Index, and identifying low-performing schools.

The list of required study items was expanded from five to fifteen items to cover a broader range of financial, logistical, and policy considerations.

DEFINITION

New definitions were added for 'Department', 'Future-Ready Index', and 'Smarter Balanced Assessments'.

Floor votes · House May 4, 2026

How they voted

191–10

Passed

Total votes 201

May 4, 2026

D Democratic102

102 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican99

89 Yea 10 Nay

89% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 7, 2026

Committee

Referred to Education

upper

May 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Third consideration and final passage

lower

May 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Re-reported as committed

lower

Apr 29, 2026

Committee

Re-committed to Appropriations

lower

Mar 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported as amended

lower

Jul 22, 2025

Committee

Referred to Education

lower

1 primary · 12 co-sponsors