Is a college program funded by taxpayers allowed to exclude students with convictions?
Julia Barajas
October 15, 2024
A local, for-profit college has been advertising a free nurse assistant training program on major intersections across L.A. County.
The program offers classroom and hands-on training where students can learn best practices, along with the legal responsibilities involved in this form of care. Prestige Career College — with campuses in Huntington Park, Pomona, and Van Nuys — also promises to prepare students for the state certification exam and to help them find work.
The college can afford to provide the program for free because it’s funded in part by California’s Employment Development Department (EDD), which administers unemployment benefits and workforce development programs. To qualify for Prestige’s program, prospective students must be unemployed or have a part-time job. They also can’t have felonies on their record.
