Conejo Valley residents enrolled in short-term workforce training programs have new protections under a bill Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Sunday, Sept. 27.
Assembly Bill 1534, authored by Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks), establishes approval standards and consumer safeguards for eight-to-15-week training programs eligible for federal Workforce Pell Grants. Irwin's office called the standards the strongest in the nation.
The law targets programs that train students for healthcare roles like Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), nursing aides and phlebotomy technicians, along with careers in skilled trades, information technology (IT), childcare and early childhood education. Conejo Valley Adult Education, a Conejo Valley Unified School District program, already offers several of those tracks, including EMT, phlebotomy technician, clinical medical assistant and pharmacy technician courses.
Workforce Pell Grants, created by the federal budget reconciliation bill HR 1, expanded traditional Pell Grant eligibility to short-term programs between 150 and 599 clock hours. The grants became available July 1. Unlike traditional Pell Grants, they may be used by students who already hold undergraduate degrees.
AB 1534 adds state-level guardrails on top of that federal program. The law prohibits training providers from offering income share agreements, a financing arrangement in which students repay a percentage of future earnings. It also bans loan options with interest rates above 0% and caps program costs at the maximum Pell Grant award.
Programs must disclose partnerships with unaccredited entities that provide instruction. Academic decisions must remain the responsibility of the accredited institution.
"This bill ensures every dollar from the federal government will be spent on quality programs that will provide real results for students and help California build a stronger 21st century economy," Irwin said in a statement.
The vote was unanimous in both chambers. The bill passed the state Senate 40-0 on Aug. 27 and won Assembly concurrence 78-0 on Aug. 28, according to Capstone Workforce. It builds on SB 135, a recently enacted law that created California's approval process for short-term programs.
AB 1534 also creates the California Workforce Pell Grant Advisory Board to assist with the governor's review and approval of eligible programs, according to The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS).
Manny Rodriguez, senior director of policy and advocacy for California at TICAS, said the law gives the state a more deliberative process for approving programs so students can use Workforce Pell funding with greater confidence.
Conejo Valley Adult Education lists eight healthcare and workforce certificate programs in its current catalog, several of which align with the fields AB 1534 covers.
