Pandemic-era grant for laid-off workers to attend college to end June 15

A state grant for workers who lost their jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic and enrolled in a college class will likely end by June 15, CalMatters reported.

The Golden State Education and Training Grant Program was created in 2021 to help workers laid off because of the economic consequences of Covid. But now the college grant program is itself slated to be cut due to California’s current budget woes.

Seeking ways to plug the state’s estimated $31.5 billion budget hole, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed in May to completely scupper the relief grant program in the 2023-24 budget year, which starts July 1. That would return an estimated $480 million to the state. Lawmakers in both the state Senate and Assembly have signaled they accept the governor’s proposal.

Eligible workers must submit the application for the grant by June 15, a spokesperson for the California Student Aid Commission told CalMatters. If workers affected by the pandemic aren’t currently in a college program, they must be enrolled by June 30 to take advantage of the grant, the spokesperson said.