Last Week in Congress (12/1–12/5/25)
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.
In addition to the introduction of legislation on a wide variety of educational topics, the House passed three bills relating to foreign contributions and influence – primarily from the Chinese government and Chinese Communist Party – in K-12 public schools.
· H.R. 1049 (Bean, R-FL), the Transparency in Reporting of Adversarial Contributions in Education (TRACE) Act, would require LEAs, as a condition of receiving federal education funding, to ensure that each school provides notice to parents of their right to request and receive information about the influence of “foreign entities of concern” in schools K-12 public schools.
· H.R. 1005 (Joyce, R-OH), the Combating the Lies of Authoritarians in School Systems (CLASS) Act, would prohibit K-12 public schools, as a condition of receiving federal education funding, from accepting funds or entering into contracts with the Chinese government, the Chinese Communist Party, or any individual acting on their behalf. Schools would also be required to disclose funding from, or contracts with, foreign sources.
· H.R. 1069. The Promoting Responsible Oversight to Eliminate Communist Teachings for (PROTECT) Our Kids Act, which would prohibit federal education funding for K-12 public schools that directly or indirectly receive support from the Chinese government. Specifically, the bill would prohibit funding for any school that (1) has a partnership with a cultural or language institute funded by the Chinese government, including a Confucius Institute; (2) operates a learning center supported by the Chinese government, such as a Confucius Classroom; or (3) receives support (teaching materials, funds, personnel, or other resources) from an individual or entity acting on behalf of the Chinese government.
And with the Department now rolling out a new Section 117 foreign-gift disclosure portal, one thing is clear: federal scrutiny of foreign influence in education is accelerating—and expanding.
· H.R. 6329 (McClain, R-MI), the Information Quality Assurance Act of 2025, to ensure that Federal agencies rely on the best reasonably available scientific, technical, demographic, economic, and statistical information and evidence to develop, issue or inform the public of the nature and bases of Federal agency rules and guidance (Oversight and Government Reform; Judiciary).
· H.R. 6333 (Auchincloss, D-MA), to ensure responsible age assurance practices within the mobile ecosystem, particularly concerning the protection of minors (Energy and Commerce).
· H.R. 6343 (Tokuda, D-HI), to amend the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 to extend education grant programs for Alaska Native serving institutions and Native Hawaiian serving institutions (Agriculture).
· H.R. 6350 (Trahan, D-MA), to protect the name, image, and likeness rights of college athletes (Energy and Commerce; Judiciary; Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 6358 (Frankel, D-FL), to reauthorize and improve a grant program to assist institutions of higher education in establishing, maintaining, improving, and operating Student Veteran Centers (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 6359 (Hinson, R-IA), to require institutions of higher education to disseminate information on the rights of, and accommodations and resources for, pregnant students (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 6366 (Riley, D-NY), the Boosting the Rural STEM Pipeline Act, to amend the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 and the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act to repeal cost-sharing with respect to the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Science, Space, and Technology).
· H.R. 6375 (Beatty, D-OH), to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide grants to local educational agencies to encourage girls and underrepresented minorities to pursue studies and careers in STEM fields (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 6377 (Brownley, D-CA), to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the eligibility of siblings of certain veterans for educational assistance under the educational assistance programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs (Veterans’ Affairs).
· H.R. 6392 (Harris, R-NC), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to recognize students who have completed secondary school education in a home school setting as high school graduates (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 6403 (Lawler, R-NY), to amend the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to meet the needs of homeless children, youth, and families, and honor the assessments and priorities of local communities (Financial Services; Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 6404 (Lee, D-NV), to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide the work opportunity tax credit with respect to hiring veterans who are receiving educational assistance under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs or Defense (Ways and Means).
· H.R. 6416 (Vindman, D-VA), to amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to establish a digital skills at work grant program (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 6419 (Bonamici, D-OR), to amend the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 to establish a National Center for Advanced Development in Education at the Institute for Education Sciences (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 6428 (Bera, D-CA), to require the Secretary of State to submit a report on participation in educational and cultural exchange programs (Foreign Affairs).
· H.R. 6437 (Fry, R-SC), to direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish the Kids Internet Safety Partnership to identify and advance best practices with respect to the online safety of minors (Energy and Commerce).
· H.R. 6440 (Grijalva, D-AZ), to ensure that students in schools have a right to read (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 6445 (Johnson, D-TX), to clarify the time period for registering health care apprenticeships under the Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly known as the "National Apprenticeship Act") and require the digitization of apprenticeship agreement forms under such Act (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 6453 (Lawler, R-NY), to amend the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to provide for a remediation period before the commencement of a civil action (Judiciary).
· H.R. 6472 (Moylan, R-GU-At Large), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for in-state tuition rates for certain residents of Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and the United States Virgin Islands (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 6477 (Salinas, D-OR), to amend the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act with respect to the eligible activities under the Continuum of Care Program (Financial Services).
· H.R. 6484 (Bilirakis, R-FL), the Kids Online Safety Act, to protect the safety of minors on the internet (Energy and Commerce).
· H.R. 6488(Houchin, R-IN), to prohibit certain platforms from allowing minors to create or maintain an account or profile on such platforms (Energy and Commerce).
· S. 3319 (Blunch Rochester, D-DE), to promote a 21st century workforce, to authorize grants to support emerging and advanced technology education, and to support training and quality employment for workers in industries most impacted by artificial intelligence (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 3328 (Kaine, D-VA), to amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to establish a digital skills at work grant program (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 3340 (Alsobrooks, D-MD), to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide grants to local educational agencies to encourage girls and underrepresented minorities to pursue studies and careers in STEM fields (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 3359 (Hassan, D-NH), to increase rates of college completion and reduce college costs by accelerating time to degree, aligning secondary and postsecondary education, and improving postsecondary credit transfer (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 3364 (Wyden, D-OR), to clarify the time period for registering health care apprenticeships under the Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly known as the "National Apprenticeship Act") and require the digitization of apprenticeship agreement forms under such Act (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 3365 (Reed, D-RI), to ensure that students in schools have a right to read (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· On December 1, the House Committee on Rules held a full committee hearing on a rule providing for consideration of a number of bills, including the following:
- H.R. 4312, the Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act;
- H.R. 1005, the Combating the Lies of Authoritarians in School Systems Act;
- H.R. 1049, the Transparency in Reporting of Adversarial Contributions to Education (TRACE) Act; and
- H.R. 1069, the Promoting Responsible Oversight to Eliminate Communist Teachings for (PROTECT) Our Kids Act
· On December 2, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, held a hearing entitled “Legislative Solutions to Protect Children and Teens Online.”
· On December 3, the House Committee on Education and Workforce, Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development held a hearing entitled “Public Funds, Private Politics: Examining Bias in the Truman Scholarship Program.”
· On December 3, the House Committee on Education and Workforce, Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education held a hearing entitled “Safeguarding Student Privacy and Parental Rights: A Review of FERPA and PPRA.”
· On Wednesday, December 3, the House considered H.R. 1049, the Transparency in Reporting of Adversarial Contributions to Education Act, a bill to ensure that parents are aware of foreign influence in their child’s public school, adopting the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Education and Workforce. Consideration continued on Thursday, and the House passed the bill by a yea-and-nay vote of 247 yeas to 166 nays.
· On Wednesday, December 3, the House passed H.R. 1005, the Combating the Lies of Authoritarians in School Systems Act, a bill to prohibit elementary and secondary schools from accepting funds from or entering into contracts with the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party, by a yea-and-nay vote of 242 yeas to 176 nays.
· On Thursday, December 4, the House passed H.R. 1069, amendment in the nature of a substitute, the Promoting Responsible Oversight to Eliminate Communist Teachings for Our Kids Act, to prohibit the availability of Federal education funds for elementary and secondary schools that receive direct or indirect support from the Government of the People's Republic of China, by a yea-and-nay vote of 247 yeas to 164 nays.