The U.S. Department of Education released draft regulatory language outlining how short‑term workforce training programs could qualify for the new Workforce Pell Grants. The draft specifies state and governor roles, employer consultation requirements, and outcome metrics programs must meet to gain or retain eligibility. Negotiated rulemaking convenes next week with students, employers and college officials to try to reach consensus; if no consensus emerges, the department can write final rules unilaterally. The proposal implements provisions from this summer’s spending and tax package that expand Pell to programs as short as eight weeks and requires programs to exist at least one year before approval. Governors must work with state workforce boards to identify high‑skill, high‑wage, in‑demand occupations and publicly disclose how those decisions were made. The draft also preserves the Education Secretary’s final approval role for program eligibility. For colleges and workforce partners, the draft sharpens compliance priorities: state executive buy‑in, employer validation of hiring pathways, and new student outcome tracking. Institutions that run short‑term certificate programs will face new reporting and approval timelines beginning with negotiations and continuing through formal rulemaking ahead of the program’s July 2026 start.