California has signed its Workforce Pell law, and the CSAC portal is coming soon.
Governor Newsom signed AB 1534 (Irwin) on September 27, 2026 as Chapter 519, Statutes of 2026. The law bars institutions from disbursing or advertising Workforce Pell funds until they hold both California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) authorization, issued on behalf of the Governor, and U.S. Department of Education approval.
AB 1534 builds on SB 135 (Chapter 79, effective July 13, 2026), which made CSAC the state approver in consultation with the California Workforce Development Board and required EDD to deliver the first high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand occupations list by October 1, 2026. AB 1534 lets CSAC use the California Priority Programs List to judge occupational alignment.
The operational piece is still pending. CSAC's Workforce Pell page lists the institution application portal as coming soon, and it asks institutions without an EDD data-sharing agreement to file a letter of interest with CSAC and the Office of Cradle-to-Career Data by December 15, 2026. Until the portal opens, California institutions have no live state application.
AB 1534 and SB 135: the legislative record
AB 1534 is California's Workforce Pell authorization law. The bill moved through:
March 5 and March 19, 2026: initial Assembly amendments.
June 15, 2026: further amendment in Senate.
July 1, 2026: passed Senate Labor committee 5-0.
August 3, 2026: heard in Senate Appropriations and placed on the committee's suspense file.
August 13, 2026: cleared the Senate Appropriations suspense file 7-0.
August 27, 2026: passed the Senate 40-0.
August 28, 2026: Assembly concurred in the Senate amendments 78-0; ordered to engrossing and enrolling.
September 27, 2026: signed by Governor Newsom and chaptered as Chapter 519, Statutes of 2026.
SB 135 (Chapter 79, effective July 13, 2026) came first. It made CSAC the state approver for Workforce Pell, in consultation with the California Workforce Development Board, and required EDD to deliver the first high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand occupations list by October 1, 2026. With both laws in place, the remaining state step is operational: CSAC has to open the institution application portal its page lists as coming soon.
What AB 1534 establishes
The law's substantive provisions:
State authorization before disbursing or advertising. Institutions may not disburse or advertise Workforce Pell funds until they hold both CSAC authorization, issued on behalf of the Governor, and U.S. Department of Education approval. That puts the state certification step the federal statute requires into California law and names CSAC as the office that issues it.
Occupational alignment through the California Priority Programs List. CSAC may use the list to judge whether a program aligns with state occupational priorities. SB 135 separately required EDD to deliver the first high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand occupations list by October 1, 2026.
WIOA training threshold. Beginning in program year 2028, at least 50 percent of Adult and Dislocated Worker participants must receive workforce training. This is a WIOA reform carried in the same bill and applies to WIOA-funded activity regardless of Workforce Pell certification status.
What California programs should do now
California has the highest Workforce Pell search volume in the country, and institutions and students are looking for an application the state has not opened yet. In the interim:
File the CSAC letter of interest by December 15, 2026 if you do not have an EDD data-sharing agreement. CSAC asks those institutions to file with CSAC and the Office of Cradle-to-Career Data.
Watch the CSAC Workforce Pell page for the portal. It lists the institution application portal as coming soon.
Check programs against the California Priority Programs List. AB 1534 lets CSAC use it to judge occupational alignment, so it is the first screen a California program will face.
Hold Workforce Pell marketing until both approvals are in hand. AB 1534 bars advertising, as well as disbursing, Workforce Pell funds before CSAC authorization and U.S. Department of Education approval.
Build the outcome documentation infrastructure now. California's certification bar will be at least as high as the federal 70/70 phase-in. Programs that build the evidence chain before the portal opens will submit with a defensible record. See outcome verification software for the mechanics.
Sources
Primary sources for this page. Each links to the state agency or legislative record cited above.
For the national picture across all 52 jurisdictions, see the Workforce Pell status page, refreshed monthly.