HB2525, sponsored by Rep. Laurin Hendrix, R-Gilbert, and signed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, creates an alternative pathway via apprenticeship programs, which provide a debt-free alternative to traditional beauty school by allowing students to learn on the job while earning a wage.
Chefs study cooking, and pilots receive flight instruction. But Oregon beauty professionals cannot always choose what they learn in school. Many must pay for courses that have little or nothing to do with their chosen careers.
Beauty schools follow different rules. State lawmakers give them a captive audience, so they collect tuition even when they fail to meet students’ needs. The sticker shock is especially bad for eyelash technicians, who don’t even learn the right occupation.
Eyelash extension technicians receive hundreds of hours of training in West Virginia. State regulators demand it. The problem is, little to none of the instruct