Congress must confront cosmetology schools that don’t pay off

cosmetology schools – As Congress moves under the “One Big Beautiful Bill” toward earnings-based accountability, cosmetology certificate programs remain largely exempt—leaving many graduates with high debt and limited career payoff, while critics say loopholes protect low-performin

Last summer, Congress passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” promising a new era of accountability in higher education. The measure includes streamlined repayment options for student borrowers and overdue benchmarks for earnings—meant to ensure students are financially better off with a degree than they would have been with only a high school diploma.

For students and taxpayers, the goal sounds simple. Yet there is a carve-out that undercuts the promise: certificate programs that often don’t pay off.

Certificate programs may not grab headlines, but they are the fastest-growing part of higher education. Today, more than 1,280 programs enroll upward of 220,000 students every year, and about 80 percent of them are at for-profit institutions. For years, there have been longstanding concerns about predatory practices in many of these programs. Still, Congress has continued to shield them from meaningful oversight.

Cosmetology schools are a major part of the story, accounting for 45 percent of certificate programs. For-profit cosmetology schools first appeared in the 1920s. as Hollywood helped create the first “it girls” and fueled new makeup and hair trends. After World War II. federal policies—including the GI Bill and the Higher Education Act—expanded financial aid intended to help more Americans reach the middle class.

But those same policies also helped pave the way for predatory for-profit schools to take advantage of the system. Cosmetology schools, the article says, needlessly raised tuition to draw in more financial aid dollars.

By the 1970s, bank regulators were already sounding alarms. In 1971. a loan officer testifying to Congress confirmed that the largest increases in loans were among “trade schools and so-called beauty or barber schools.” The loan officer also pointed out that while cosmetology schools made up only a small. but growing. volume of the loan portfolio. they generated a significant share of loan defaults. “Who is benefiting from these programs?” the loan officer asked. “Are the students benefiting, or are the school operators benefiting?”.

Fifty years later, the question still hangs in the air.

Today, cosmetology schools market themselves to women and working parents as a route to better pay and flexible hours. Yet research cited in the piece says most cosmetology students enrolled today will likely earn less than someone who only has a high school diploma.

The math is stark. Tuition at some cosmetology programs can reach $20,000 a year. Yet graduates from certain schools often leave for jobs earning just over $17,000 a year. Those graduates are also burdened by a median student loan debt of $11,000. The report also describes exploitative business practices used under the banner of training.

One example is common in cosmetology schools: students who are supposed to be learning may have to “work the floor,” cutting hair and painting nails for no pay, while the school pockets the proceeds.

If any career education program was in need of reform, the argument goes, it was cosmetology schools. So the next question is unavoidable: why did they get a pass?

The answer, according to the piece, lies in Washington. As cosmetology schools grew in popularity, their lobbying presence grew too. At every turn. it says. the American Association of Cosmetology Schools (AACS) has pushed against basic accountability measures that other certificate programs must face.

In 2023. when the Department of Education mandated that all career-oriented programs meet minimum earnings and debt-to-earnings standards. the AACS sued to stop the rule from taking effect. The group claimed that unreported tips account for a significant portion of a cosmetology graduate’s earnings. making the “minimum earnings requirement” an unfair burden for these schools.

But the report cites research indicating that nearly 90 percent of salons do report tips on W-2 forms—undercutting the argument that earnings requirements would be inherently distorted.

The harm isn’t just financial. The piece also says cosmetology schools often prey on low-income women and women of color, deepening cycles of poverty for the students who are being targeted with promises of advancement.

The “One Big Beautiful Bill” was supposed to be Congress’s chance to end the legal fight over reforming a wasteful industry. Instead, it handed certificate programs—and cosmetology schools—an exception.

That exception now collides with the law’s broader direction. The Department of Education has a “do no harm” proposal that would use existing authority to hold all programs accountable for earnings. A final rule on the bill’s provisions is anticipated by July 1. and public debate continues—especially as cosmetology schools lobby to influence the outcome.

The central dispute in this moment isn’t whether accountability matters. It’s who gets to sit outside the rules.

If a program repeatedly leaves graduates worse off. the piece argues. it should lose access to federal student loans. the same way an associate or bachelor’s degree program would. Schools that deliver real value would have a path to survive. while others would be forced to reform or go out of business.

Congress can still revise the underlying statute to make clear its intent to hold all programs—including certificate programs—to the earnings standard. In the meantime, the U.S. Department of Education must keep standing firm and enforcing regulations that keep low performers in check.

It’s time for cosmetology schools—and other certificate programs like them—to prove that behind the glitter of big promises, there can be gold.

Kelly McManus is executive vice-president of education at Arnold Ventures. The Arnold Ventures has been among the numerous funders of The Hechinger Report.

This story about certificate programs was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechinger’s weekly newsletter.

cosmetology schools certificate programs for-profit education student debt earnings standards Department of Education AACS “One Big Beautiful Bill ” do no harm proposal