Committee advances bill letting the new NDA Plus assessment and military coursework count toward North Dakota scholarship

The House Education Committee voted to give House Bill 1404 a favorable recommendation after hearings that added a new testing path and a military‑coursework option to the North Dakota Scholarship requirements.

Jim Upgrin, legislative liaison for the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), and DPI staff described two main changes in HB 1404: (1) allow the new statewide NDA Plus summative assessment to substitute for a 24 ACT score (or the SAT equivalent) where the scholarship requires that test score, and (2) add a defined military coursework pathway — two credits from a defined set of defense‑related courses — as an option within the military ready pathway.

"The bill draft would allow our new summative accountability assessment, the NDA Plus, to be an additional option for students to meet the testing requirements," Jim Upgrin said. "Because this is the first year the NDA Plus summative will be given, we actually don't know yet what scale score would be considered the equivalent of a 24 on the ACT, and that process might take a year or two."

DPI emphasized that a formal concordance process will determine the NDA Plus scale score equivalent to ACT 24 and that the department will follow assessment‑validation procedures to set that cutoff.

Military coursework pathway: witnesses from the North Dakota Center for Distance Education (NDCDE) described a five‑course military pathway created in partnership with the North Dakota National Guard. Caitlin Allen, NDCDE director of curriculum, outlined the five courses that can satisfy the new two‑credit military coursework option: Introduction to Military Careers; ASVAB Essentials for Military Success; Military Health and Fitness; Career Foundations of Military Leadership; and the Military Leadership Capstone. NDCDE said it had launched its first course in December and already had 36 students enrolled.

"Students will be able to earn two credits for any combination of the military pathway courses," Jim Upgrin said. "That can be used as an additional option for the military ready pathway."

DPI also noted the bill strikes obsolete language that referenced use of the ACT for accountability in earlier testing regimes; that older option is no longer available after the last class that could use it graduates.

Questions and fiscal notes: committee members asked how many students use the scholarship. Brenda Zastbo of the North Dakota University System said she would confirm the exact number from annual reports but estimated the system issues awards to thousands of students over time; dpi staff estimated roughly 1,800‑1,900 students per graduating cohort (about 23–24%) qualify historically.

Committee action and vote: Representative Hager moved a due‑pass recommendation; Representative Marshall seconded. The committee called the roll and approved HB 1404 on a 13‑1 vote. The committee designated Representative Marshall as the bill carrier.

Vote details were recorded in the hearing transcript: Representative Mackie was the lone recorded "no" vote; all other members present voted yes. The transcript lists the roll call and the resulting 13‑1 tally.

Ending: DPI said HB 1404 creates additional, academically aligned pathways for students to meet scholarship indicators and that it will work with assessment staff to identify the NDA Plus cutoff that equates to ACT 24. Committee members approved the bill to move forward to the next step.