Last Week in Congress (8/3–8/7/26)
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, the Senate passed the Continuing Appropriations and Extension Act, 2027, which would continue funding through December 11, 2027. Section 157 of the bill would also delay implementation of OMB’s proposed changes to the Uniform Guidance until December 11. Introduced legislation also hints at looming separation of powers concerns with respect to Executive discretion and Congress’ control over the power of the purse: H.R. 10014 “Restoring Accountability in Appropriations Act” seeks to establish private and congressional rights of action for withholding of federal funds that are not disbursed in line with Congressional authority.
· H.R. 10014 (Beyer, D-VA), the Restoring Accountability in Appropriations Act, to amend the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to establish a private and congressional right of action for violations of such Act (Budget; Rules).
· H.R. 10018 (Dean, D-PA), the Fair Debt Collection Practices for Servicemembers Act, to amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to provide enhanced protection against debt collector harassment of members of the Armed Forces (Financial Services).
· H.R. 10029 (Lawler, R-NY), the Supporting Students and Families Act, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit for elementary and secondary school supply expenses (Ways and Means).
· H.R. 10030 (Lawler, R-NY), the Supporting Our Educators Act of 2026, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase and adjust for inflation the above-the-line deduction for teachers (Ways and Means).
· H.R. 10031 (McBath, D-GA), the Reading Excellence and Achievement for Development (READ) Act, to strengthen literacy outcomes for all students, to amend the comprehensive literacy State development grant program, and to ensure Federal accountability and investment in research, teacher preparation, and evidence-based instruction aligned with the science of reading (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10038 (Salinas, D-OR), the Feeding Our Rural Kids (FORK) Act of 2026, to amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish a summer meal delivery vehicle pilot program (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10042 (Whitesides, D-CA), the Understanding AI in the Classroom Act, to direct the Director of the National Science Foundation to complete workshops related to the integration of artificial intelligence into classrooms (Science, Space, and Technology).
· H.R. 10043 (Wilson, D-FL), the Heritage Legacy Act, to provide grants to Historically Black colleges and universities for such colleges and universities to provide scholarships to students who are descended from a person who was enslaved in the United States (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10057 (Meng, D-NY), the Early Childhood Educator Professional Improvement Act of 2026, to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States to improve the knowledge, credentials, compensation, and professional development of early childhood educators working with children in early childhood education programs (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10058 (Morelle, D-NY), the Summer Meals and Learning Act of 2026, to create a new Federal grant program that provides grants to State libraries to allow schools with summer lunch programs to keep their libraries open for student use during the summer months (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10059 (Moulton, D-MA), the Building Safer Streets Act, to provide for consideration of all modes of transportation and all road users in certain highway and transit programs, including bus stops and pedestrian safety (Transportation and Infrastructure).
· S. 5225 (Sheehy, R-MT), to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to include certain curriculum expenses as permissible use of funds (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5226 (Gallego, D-AZ), to require social media platform providers to obtain parental consent with respect to children creating or maintaining accounts or profiles on their platforms (Commerce, Science, and Transportation).
· S. 5227 (Husted, R-OH), to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow certain distributions from long-term qualified tuition programs for first home purchases (Finance).
· S. 5248 (Luján, D-NM), to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States to improve the knowledge, credentials, compensation, and professional development of early childhood educators working with children in early childhood education programs (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5259 (Hagerty, R-TN), to prohibit sanctuary jurisdictions from receiving community development block grants (Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs).
· S. 5296 (Heinrich, D-NM), to provide low-income individuals with opportunities to enter and follow a career pathway in the health professions (Finance).
· S. 5299(Heinrich, D-NM), to amend the Head Start Act to establish Tribal certification standards for Indian Head Start programs (Indian Affairs).
· S. 5305(McCormick, R-PA), to amend the Public Health Service Act to modify the grant program for mental health and substance use disorder services for students in higher education and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline program to address youth suicide prevention and intervention (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5314 (Ernst, R-IA), to make certain individuals and entities ineligible to participate in Federal programs (Homeland Security and Government Affairs).
· S. 5317 (Schatz, D-HI), to enable schools serving grades 6 through 12 that are located in rural areas or that serve Native American students to remodel or build new facilities to provide STEM classrooms and laboratories and support high-speed internet, and to establish a program to support the modernization, renovation, or repair of career and technical education facilities (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5318 (Merkley, D-OR), to create a new Federal grant program that provides grants to State libraries to allow schools with summer lunch programs to keep their libraries open for student use during the summer months (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5321 (Luján, D-NM), to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to require coverage of, and expand access to, home and community-based services under the Medicaid program, and to award grants for the creation, recruitment, training and education, retention, and advancement of the direct care workforce and to award grants to support family caregivers (Finance).
· S. 5322 (Hyde-Smith, R-MS), to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the credit amount for qualified elementary and secondary education scholarships (Finance).
· S. 5339 (Alsobrooks, D-MD), to limit the duties that may be imposed with respect to school supplies and educational materials (Finance).
· On August 4, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions reported three education bills: S. 2511, the College Transparency Act, to establish a postsecondary student data system, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute; S. 4097, the State-Based Education Loan Awareness Act, to establish that a State-based education loan program is excluded from certain requirements relating to a preferred lender arrangement, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute; and S. 5046, to prohibit the transfer of certain offices (OSERTS, OPE, OIE, and OESE) and functions of the Department of Education to other Federal agencies, with an amendment requiring the Department to provide cost analysis reports to Congress related to any transfers of offices and functions. All three bills were placed on the legislative calendar.
· On August 5, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions reported two education bills: S. 3010, the 21st Century Dyslexia Act, to amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to improve provisions relating to dyslexia; and S. 3589, the Respond, Innovate, Succeed, and Empower (RISE) Act, to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide students with disabilities and their families with access to critical information needed to select the right college and succeed once enrolled, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Both were placed on the legislative calendar.
· On August 5, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, held a meeting to markup: S. 737, to require certain interactive computer services to adopt and operate technology verification measures to ensure that users of the platform are not minors, S. 1748, to protect the safety of children on the internet, S. 4199, to require entities that make artificial intelligence chatbots available to minors to implement certain safe design features, S. 4407, to require the creation of family accounts for children to be able to use artificial intelligence chatbots, to require verifiable parental consent for teens using artificial intelligence chatbots, and S. 5171, to require a study of AI-enabled toys and development of a joint action plan regarding the marketing and sale of AI-enabled toys. The Committee ordered favorably reported S. 1748, S. 4199, S. 4407, and S. 5171.
· On August 6, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions reported S. 4689, the Reading Excellence Achievement for Development (READ) Act, to strengthen literacy outcomes for all students, to amend the comprehensive literacy State development grant program, and to ensure Federal accountability and investment in research, teacher preparation, and evidence-based instruction aligned with the science of reading. The bill was placed on the legislative calendar.
· On August 5, the Senate began consideration on a motion to proceed to consideration of S. 4668, the Protect College Sports Act of 2026, to protect the name, image, and likeness rights of, and provide protections for, student athletes and to promote fair competition among intercollegiate athletics. On August 7, the Senate agreed to vote on whether to proceed with consideration no earlier than September 15, and no later than September 23, 2026.
· On August 6, the Senate, under agreement for the SEED Act (Vehicle for Sanctions Legislation), agreed to resume consideration of H.R. 5334, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow early childhood educators to take the educator expense deduction with amendments offered only by the sponsors or their designees. H.R. 5334 passed the Senate with amendment, on August 7 by a yay-nay vote of 86-11.
· On August 7, the Senate, by a vote of 90 yeas to 6 nays, passed H.R. 6500, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027, making continuing appropriations and extensions for fiscal year 2027. Section 157 of the bill, as passed by the Senate, would delay implementation of OMB’s Uniform Guidance regulatory revisions until December 11, 2026.