Missouri Workforce Pell

Where Missouri stands on Workforce Pell

Status

Live: an operational approval process underway, an open application window, a pilot cohort accepting programs, or an eligible-program list being finalized and submitted to ED (the Record’s definition).

Phase

First Round Closed Aug 7; SWDB Workforce Pell Update Nov 5

Lead agency

MO Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development (MDHEWD), with the Governor and State Workforce Development Board

Current holdup

MDHEWD

First institutional application round closed 5 pm August 7; MDHEWD oversees the approval process against the published state policy and a 29-occupation recommended list, consulting the SWDB and CBHE; per MDHEWD's September 3 release the SWDB's September 2 quarterly meeting received updates on Workforce Pell initiatives and developments, with no round results or counts disclosed; the October 29 CBHE teleconference was held with a single business item, a higher education funding reset update, and no Workforce Pell item, although the open-meetings notice had styled it a joint CBHE and SWDB meeting; the SWDB's November 5 virtual agenda carries a 10:00 am Workforce Pell Grant Update, the first Workforce Pell agenda line posted since the round closed; the next regular CBHE meeting is December 8 to 9 and the SWDB's next meeting is January 28, 2027

State portal

dhewd.mo.gov

What the record documents

After SB 1196 and HB 2585 died at the May 15 sine die, MDHEWD implemented Workforce Pell administratively, as staff previewed to the Coordinating Board for Higher Education on June 10. By early August the department's Workforce Pell page carries a complete application channel: a Workforce Pell Interest Form, an application checklist, a unique application link issued by email, and a student data template submitted through the state's secure FTP, governed by a published Workforce Pell Program Policy and a SOC-to-CIP table of 29 occupations the page presents as "recommended for approval" (29 distinct SOC codes counted from the table; concentrated in health care, installation and repair trades, construction, sales, education support, and IT, with Registered Apprenticeship related instruction noted as eligible). The institutions page set the submission deadline at 5 pm on Friday, August 7, 2026, closing the first round; no round-opening date was posted and no approved-program list has been published. The page's governance description has the governor designating in-demand industries and identifying eligible instructional program areas in consultation with MDHEWD and the State Workforce Development Board, with MDHEWD providing the labor market and program data analyses and overseeing the application approval process. Stated program requirements mirror the federal rule: 150 to 599 clock hours over 8 to 14 weeks, tuition and fees not exceeding graduates' median earnings, stackable credentials, and completion and job placement rates of at least 70% within 180 days. The policy instrument itself (FINAL v1, dated July 6, 2026) states the occupation list was finalized by the Office of Governor Kehoe on June 15, 2026 and will be reviewed at least every other year on the WIOA State Plan cycle, requires Employer Verification forms from three separate employers per application (Registered Apprenticeship related instruction exempt), and allows appeal of a denial within 15 calendar days; MDHEWD issues a final recommendation to the SWDB and the Governor's Office for official certification, and institutions submit the governor's approval with their E-App to ED. The posted September 1 CBHE board book and the September 2 State Workforce Development Board agenda carried a "Workforce Pell Grant Update" information item (1:10 pm, Samantha Dickey) and no action item, and per MDHEWD's September 3 release the boards met September 1-2 as scheduled: the CBHE agenda carried no Workforce Pell item, while the SWDB's Wednesday session "receiv[ed] updates on several initiatives and recent developments related to the Workforce Pell Grant" (release), with no first-round outcomes or counts disclosed; the remaining 2026 CBHE meetings are October 13 and December 8-9, and the SWDB next meets November 5 (virtual); a September 3 MDHEWD release on Workforce Development Month names Workforce Pell among the initiatives it is highlighting, with no counts. Contact workforcepell@dhewd.mo.gov. Missouri's open-meetings portal notices a Coordinating Board for Higher Education and State Workforce Development Board joint meeting on October 29, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. by Zoom; MDHEWD's posted board book labels the October 29, 2026 session a CBHE teleconference whose only business item was a Budget and Financial Aid Committee higher education funding reset update, with no Workforce Pell item and no SWDB business (board book), and the SWDB's November 5 agenda (9:00 am to noon, virtual) carries a 10:00 am Workforce Pell Grant Update by Samantha Dickey, the first Workforce Pell agenda line posted since the application round closed; the agenda lists the board's next meeting as Thursday, January 28, 2027. Source, Institutions page

Verified against the sources on November 6, 2026.

Eligible occupations in Missouri

Missouri has 29 occupations on the state’s eligible-occupation list. Open the state’s list. Its list design, side by side with the other published frameworks, is in the State Approval Comparison.

Approved programs (state / federal)

None yet

List philosophy

Tight, targeted initial list

High-wage definition

No standalone wage floor; wages enter a normalized career-grade composite (grades A-C statewide, A-B in most regions)

Skill and demand logic

High career grade AND high growth, then a BLS typical-entry-education screen (above HS diploma and below associate, or apprenticeship / moderate-term on-the-job training)

Lead and approver

MDHEWD administers for the Governor; SWDB consulted; Governor certifies

List refresh

At least every other year, on the WIOA State Plan cycle

Approved Workforce Pell programs in Missouri

No Missouri program appears in the Record’s approved-programs table (U.S. Department of Education announcements and state rosters of federally approved programs) as of November 5, 2026.

Sources

Every primary source the record cites for Missouri, last checked November 6, 2026.

• State Workforce Pell portal (dhewd.mo.gov)
• Workforce Pell Program Policy (dhewd.mo.gov)
• September 1 CBHE board book (dhewd.mo.gov)
• agenda (dhewd.mo.gov)
• release (dhewd.mo.gov)
• notices (info.mo.gov)
• board book (dhewd.mo.gov)
• November 5 agenda (dhewd.mo.gov)
• Institutions page (dhewd.mo.gov)