The Education Department will be accepting public comments on the proposal for 30 days.
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The Education Department released its proposed Workforce Pell regulations Friday. It’s accepting public comments on the expansive proposal for the next 30 days.
Under the rule, starting July 1, students will be able to use federal Pell Grants to pursue some short-term job training. But programs must qualify under the proposed regulations, which would require, among other things, that they:
- Last eight to 14 weeks and 150 to 599 clock hours;
- Lead to a recognized postsecondary credential including a certificate or license;
- Be deemed part of an in-demand, high-skill or high-wage industry by the governor in the state where students will study;
- Count as credit toward a subsequent degree at one or more institutions in a written agreement; and
- Pass a 70 percent completion and 70 percent job-placement test using state-collected data.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Trump signed into law last July, established Workforce Pell. The Education Department and an advisory rule-making committee worked to develop the proposed rules to implement the initiative.
In a Friday news release, U.S. under secretary of education Nicholas Kent said the rule means the federal government will invest in “short-term, high-quality programs aligned with a State’s workforce needs, creating new affordable pathways to upward mobility.
“A great education and a better life do not necessarily require a traditional four-year college experience,” Kent said. “Starting this summer, students will have more postsecondary options thanks to the Trump Administration.”
The release said the initiative will “help students complete their educational programs quickly and enter the workforce with little or no student loan debt” while serving as “a stepping-stone toward earning a future postsecondary credential.”
