NASBA and the AICPA updated the California Board of Accountancy on exam volumes, pass rates and pipeline trends: California candidate age remains slightly older than national averages, fourth‑section completions rose in 2025, and speakers urged the board to plan for AI‑driven skill changes and a demographic enrollment decline in coming years.

Agency workforce staff described a competency-based credential with two pathways — higher education and professional development — launched foundational certificates at community colleges, apprenticeship expansions and training pilots starting in October in English and Spanish.

Officials from Vermont State University and the Community College of Vermont described new stackable credentials, a paraeducator certificate, a 60-credit associate, a fall-2026 online bachelor's with dual licensure and an apprenticeship coordinated with the Agency of Education and Department of Labor, funded in part by the Kohler Foundation.

The Senate Health & Welfare Committee heard testimony from Dr. Leslie Johnson of the Community College of Vermont on college credit and prior‑learning options for early‑childhood educators and an Office of Professional Regulation briefing outlining an eight‑year transitional licensing window and a proposed 21‑credit alternative pathway. The committee requested fiscal detail and a report back timeline; no votes were taken.