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Congressman Issa Calls on Newsom to End State Backlog of Cosmetologists Awaiting State Licensure

March 4, 2021

Refusal to administer exams has grown backlog to more than 7,000 graduates

Washington, DC — Congressman Darrell Issa today wrote to California Governor Gavin Newsom to urge his attention and action to resolve a critical problem California’s state government has caused.  At least 7,000 Californians are currently unable to attain their cosmetology licenses because the state is unwilling to offer a final licensing exam during the majority of the COVID response.

“Every day that goes by is another day that these people are denied the opportunity to apply their education, practice their trade and work for a living. People are, and have been, ready to reemerge into the workplace, especially those who acquired new professional skills and completed job trainings during the mandatory closure of the economy,” said Congressman Issa.

Among the three cosmetology schools in the 50th Congressional District alone, students have completed their entire course of study except for the in-person component that was shut down by state mandate in March 2020. Throughout the course of the state’s long lockdown, multiple announcements were made that tests would eventually and partially resume, which continued until they were resumed on February 22 of this year. This has caused a backlog of 7,000 graduates waiting for the state to provide what it has promised.

While testing has resumed in two locations at 50 percent capacity, literally thousands of individuals wait, unlicensed and unable to seek employment, a number that increased with every new graduate.

Congressman Issa added: “While it is clearly time for this administration to fix the problem it created, this is also an ideal opportunity for the state to demonstrate it has the capacity and the commitment to adapt in a challenging environment and serve a clear public need. In short, the graduates have done everything we could ask of them: They invested in their education, made a commitment of their time and effort, and fulfilled every state requirement to prove they are ready to be licensed. Now that the students have fulfilled their obligations, it is time for the State of California to do the same.”

Read the full letter here.

Darrell Issa is the Representative of California’s 50th Congressional District. The District encompasses the central and northeastern parts of San Diego County and a portion of Riverside County, including the communities of Fallbrook, San Marcos, Valley Center, Ramona, Escondido, Santee, Lakeside, El Cajon, Temecula, and the mountain and desert areas of the San Diego-Imperial County line. Issa served as the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform from 2011-2015.

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