Last Week in Congress (9/28–10/2/26)
An update will be shared every week that Congress is in session. This will include a short summary of the past week in Congress, as well as a listing of all education-related bills introduced in the House and Senate, relevant Committee and Floor activity, and education-related hearings.
Last week in Congress was a useful reminder that the final stretch before an election can be a particularly important time to watch federal education policy. While headlines were dominated by news of institutional response to sexual assault and misconduct and administration rescissions and new grant conditions that now touch formula grants to State Education Agencies, the legislative branch was also busy.
With members now heading home ahead of the midterms, the Senate’s last major piece of legislation was a significant one for higher education: S. 4668, the Protect College Sports Act of 2026, which passed 77-22.
Despite the name, this is much more than a Name/Image/Likeness (NIL) bill.
S. 4668 would establish a sweeping federal framework governing college athletics, including NIL agreements and disclosures, revenue sharing, athlete agents, academic protections, scholarships, transfers and eligibility, medical coverage, health and safety standards, athletics reporting, conference governance, and media rights.
For IHEs – particularly DI institutions – this would mean new operational and compliance responsibilities. Among other things, institutions would have new reporting obligations around NIL agreements, athletics revenues and expenditures, and student outcomes; restrictions on when athletic scholarships can be reduced or revoked; academic protections governing course and major selection; and significant medical coverage obligations, including certain post-eligibility expenses.
The legislation also reaches surprisingly far into institutional operations (inroads that all three federal branches seem increasingly comfortable making). The bill would regulate certain coaching transitions, require certifications involving NIL arrangements and institutional vendors, and establish rules tied to the revenue sharing cap created through the House v. NCAA settlement.
The House has not yet acted on the Senate bill, and this remains very much a “watch this space” issue rather than a done deal.
But there is another reason IHEs should be paying attention right now. The weeks immediately before an election are when constituent concerns and national headlines have a particularly direct way of becoming legislative priorities.
We are seeing that in real time with the allegations surrounding institutional response to sexual assault, which has prompted calls for review of state sexual assault laws, campus safety, and Title IX. Member of Congress are also publicly weighing in, with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand renewing her push for the Campus Accountability and Safety Act.
This isn’t to say that every bill introduced in the next few weeks will become law – most will not. It does mean that IHEs should pay attention to introduction as well as enactment. Bills introduced in response to a constituent concern or headline can tell us what members are hearing at home, what issues may return when Congress reconvenes, and where future oversight, hearings, appropriations riders, or regulatory pressures may be headed.
In other words, Congress may be out of Washington for the midterms, but federal education policy is not exactly taking the month off. We’ll keep watching.
· H.R. 10631 (McBath, D-GA), the Smaller Class Sizes for Students and Educators Act of 2026, to provide grants to local educational agencies to help public schools reduce class size in the early elementary grades (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10657 (Crank, R-CO), to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a special depreciation allowance for qualified early childhood education centers (Ways and Means).
· H.R. 10661 (Dean, D-PA), the Beyond the Box for Higher Education Act of 2026, to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to issue guidance and recommendations for institutions of higher education on removing criminal and juvenile justice questions from their application for admissions process (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10664 (Dingell, D-MI), to establish a grant program for institutions of higher education to implement patient-centered academic counseling services for student survivors of sexual assault and other violence (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10665 (Dingell, D-MI), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education to have an independent advocate for campus sexual assault prevention and response (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10672 (Grijalva, D-AZ), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish grants for tuition-free community colleges, student success grants, and grants for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Minority-Serving Institutions (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10689 (Norcross, D-NJ), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish a grant program for the improvement of remedial education programs at institutions of higher education (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10693 (Patronis, R-FL), to amend title 38, United States Code, to increase flexibility in the transferability of Post-9/11 Educational Assistance (Veterans’ Affairs).
· H.R. 10694 (Perez, D-WA), to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide eligibility for nurses working in an elementary or secondary school within a health professional shortage area to participate in the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program (Energy and Commerce).
· H.R. 10719 (Whitesides, D-CA), to establish age-appropriate design standards and safety safeguards for artificial intelligence chatbots accessed by minors (Energy and Commerce; Science, Space, and Technology).
· S. 5568 (Merkley, D-OR), the Smaller Class Sizes for Students and Educators Act of 2026, to provide grants to local educational agencies to help public schools reduce class size in the early elementary grades (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5573 (Lankford, R-OK), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide that educational programs classified as Theology and Religious Vocations or Philosophy and Religious Studies at educational institutions that qualify for the religious exemption under title IV of the Education Amendments of 1972 are not subject to ineligibility for title IV assistance based on low earning outcomes (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5579 (Smith, D-MN), to authorize a grant program for educational institutions to analyze, digitize, and map historic records relating to housing information (Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs).
· S. 5582 (Rosen, D-NV), to reauthorize and improve a grant program to assist institutions of higher education in establishing, maintaining, improving, and operating Student Veteran Centers (Veterans’ Affairs).
· S. 5596 (Banks, R-IN), to modify provisions related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (Armed Services).
· S. 5597 (Banks, R-IN), to promote the use of standardized testing at military service academies and DoDEA schools (Armed Services).
· S. 5607 (Wyden, D-OR), to amend the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 to restore the full 75-percent payment to counties from Oregon and California land-grant fund (Energy and National Resources).
· S. 5608 (Crapo, R-ID), to extend the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (Energy and Natural Resources).
· S. 5612 (Moody, R-FL), to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require hospitals receiving payment for direct graduate medical education costs under the Medicare program to report information with respect to the citizenship status of residents in an approved medical residency training program.
· S. 5614 (Schatz, D-HI), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to issue guidance and recommendations for institutions of higher education on removing criminal and juvenile justice questions from their application for admissions process (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5620 (Kelly, D-AZ), to amend title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish the UNPLUGGED School Grant Program (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5626 (Van Hollen, D-MD), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to change certain grant requirements for certain students with disabilities (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5634 (Padilla, D-CA), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide additional amounts of loan forgiveness to teachers of English learners and teachers of bilingual and dual language immersion students (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5635 (Luján, D-NM), to expand arts education (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5657 (Kaine, D-VA), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education to have an independent advocate for campus sexual assault prevention and response (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5660 (Kaine, D-VA), to establish a grant program for institutions of higher education to implement patient-centered academic counseling services for student survivors of sexual assault and other violence (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5665 (Baldwin, D-WI), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish grants for tuition-free community colleges, student success grants, and grants for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Minority-Serving Institutions (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5670 (Merkley, D-OR), to ensure the prudent obligation of budget authority (Appropriations).
· S. 5676 (Coons, D-DE), to authorize the Secretary of Education to make grants to support educational programs in civics and history (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· On September 28, the Senate passed S. 4668, the Protect College Sports Act, to protect the name, image, and likeness rights of, and provide protections for, student athletes and to promote fair competition among intercollegiate athletics, as amended, by a vote of 77 yeas to 22 nays.
· On September 28, the Senate received a number of nominations, including of Mark Priebe, of Virginia, to be Inspector General, Department of Education.
· On September 29, the Senate passed S. 3219, the Albuquerque Indian School Act, to transfer certain Federal land into trust for certain Indian Pueblos in the State of New Mexico, after agreeing to the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute.
· On September 30, the Senate passed S. 2273, the Wyoming Education Trust Modernization Act, to amend the Act of July 10, 1890, to modify certain provisions relating to the disposal of public land in the State of Wyoming for educational purposes.