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EDGE is proud to share an initial list of bill priorities for the second year of the 2025–2026 legislative session. This year’s priorities reflect our continued commitment to expanding access to education and workforce pathways for underserved Californians. Our supported bills span key themes, including strengthening financial aid and reducing barriers to college access, expanding […]

The Legislature hit its bill introduction deadline on Friday, February 20. Thus far, hundreds of bills have been introduced on various topics, including education, workforce development, and safety net issues, many of which aim to support Californians as federal actions create new risks to support services, especially in underserved communities. As the second year of

Under the 2025 reconciliation bill, known as H.R. 1, access to Pell Grants was expanded to allow students in programs as short as eight weeks to receive funding under the new Workforce Pell program. The federal expansion of Pell Grants to support short-term workforce training represents a major opportunity to strengthen California’s talent pipeline, particularly

  Making College Work Negotiated rulemaking for Workforce Pell is now underway. The AHEAD Committee met last week and reached consensus on initial Workforce Pell regulations, with all members voting in favor except for one abstention. Following the convening, the Department of Education will move forward with drafting a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. While consensus

Thank you to everyone who registered for our recent EDGE Coalition webinar highlighting The Missing Piece: Flexible Financial Aid Recommendations for Workforce Learners. The discussion focused on key findings from EDGE’s new report and examined how flexible financial aid policies can better support working learners, offering practical short- and long-term solutions to make these systems

As California’s economy continues to change, the need for a highly skilled workforce has never been greater. Yet for many Californians, pursuing postsecondary training still requires choosing between earning a paycheck and gaining the skills needed for economic mobility. To address this challenge, EDGE will host a webinar on December 11, 2025, from 10:30–11:30 a.m.,

Government Shutdown Comes to an End  After the longest shutdown in U.S. history, the federal government reopened on Wednesday, November 12, after eight Senate Democrats voted to end closure in the Senate. The package: Includes full-year bills for the Departments of Agriculture, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and the Legislative Branch. Ensures that federal workers

  Federal Appropriations & Shutdown During the Summer, federal activity around appropriations and implementation guidance accelerated, but momentum has since slowed amid the ongoing federal government shutdown. The shutdown, now stretching into its third week, has stalled key agency operations, delayed new funding guidance, and created uncertainty around timelines for FY26 appropriations and federal grant

On October 13th, Governor Newsom took action on more than 900 bills passed by the Legislature, marking the close of the 2025 legislative session, the first year of the two-year session. All bills that were signed by the Governor will become law and take effect on January 1, 2026, unless they contain an urgency clause.

On Saturday, September 13th, the 2025 legislative session officially concluded. The Legislature passed the remaining bills, and are now pending on the Governor’s desk for approval. Several of EDGE’s priority bills advanced from their final floor votes – including bills related to removing barriers for training providers, addressing the benefits cliff, and establishing a statewide