Last Week in Congress (7/27–7/31/26)
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.
The Senate Appropriations Committee introduced its Continuing Resolution proposal on Sunday, August 2, which, in the very likely event that a full appropriations package for FY2027 is not enacted by rapidly-approaching end of the fiscal year, would provide continued funding through December 11, 2026. Section 157 of the Continuing Resolution would temporarily pause the implementation of the Office of Management and Budget’s revisions to the Uniform Guidance regulations. In releasing the bill, Chairwoman Collins (R-ME) stated “I am also pleased that this bipartisan agreement prevents the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)’s proposed rule regarding federal financial assistance from taking effect. I advocated for significant changes to the proposed rule in a July 6 letter to the agency, citing its potential to politicize grants and harm small, rural communities, families, and biomedical research.” Missing from the package is any mention of the bipartisan S. 5046 (Kaine, D-VA, Collins, R-ME, Murkowski, R-AK, Baldwin, D-WI, Hassan, D-NH), and Van Hollen, D-MD), which, as reported by the Senate HELP Committee on Thursday, would prohibit the transfer of certain offices out of the Department of Education.
· H.R. 9948 (Balint, D-VT), to direct the President to establish an interagency task force to review, and provide recommendations on, the impact of addictive design features on youth mental health, and to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish grant programs to support the activities of the task force (Energy and Commerce; Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 9951 (Barrett, R-MI), to amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require schools participating in the school lunch program or school breakfast program to publish information on any menu item or food offered or served in a lunch of breakfast (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 9952 (Barrett, R-MI), to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to encourage local educational agencies to provide students with at least one hour of physical activity time during each school day (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 9955 (Deluzio, D-PA), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide opportunities for students at institutions of higher education to study trades (Education and Workforce)
· H.R. 9956 (Foushee, D-NC), to require the Secretary of Education to issue guidance regarding seizure safety in elementary and secondary schools (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 9957 (Hayes, D-CT), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for comprehensive student achievement information (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 9958 (Hayes, D-CT), to amend the Head Start Act to expand and improve participation in Head Start programs (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 9959 (Jayapal, D-WA), to establish a Green New Deal for public schools (Education and Workforce; Energy and Commerce).
· H.R. 9960 (Kamlager-Dove, D-CA), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve the financial aid process for homeless and foster care youth (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 9971 (Ross, D-NC), to reauthorize title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965 in order to improve and encourage innovation in international education (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 9973 (Stansbury, D-NM), to improve the Indian School Equalization Formula and Indian School Equalization Program of the Bureau of Indian Education (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 9974 (Thompson, R-PA), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to include certain individuals who work on farms or ranches as individuals who are employed in public service jobs for purposes of eligibility for loan forgiveness under the Federal Direct Loan program (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 9980 (Garamendi, D-CA), to amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require a school food authority to make publicly available any waiver of the Buy American requirement (Education and Workforce).
· S. 5146 (Murray, D-WA), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve the financial aid process for homeless and foster care youth (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5147 (Moody, R-FL), to establish requirements for patriotic observances in elementary and secondary schools of the District of Columbia (Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs).
· S. 5154 (Husted, R-OH), to establish protections for minors who use companion artificial intelligence chatbots (Commerce, Science, and Transportation).
· S. 5157 (Blunt Rochester, D-DE), to promote the use of accessible, seamless, intrastate data available through robust, secure, and tailored statewide longitudinal data systems (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5167 (Kim, D-NJ), to require an assessment of program areas and administrative practices presenting the greatest risk to the integrity of Federal funds administered by States and local governments (Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs).
· S. 5174 (Sheehy, R-MT), to amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require a school food authority to make publicly available any waiver of the Buy American requirement (Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry).
· S. 5179 (Blackburn, R-TN), to clarify that for purposes of Federal nondiscrimination requirements applicable to education programs or activities receiving Federal financial assistance, discrimination prohibited under title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is based on the biological reality of sex (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5184 (Merkley, D-OR), to amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish a summer meal delivery vehicle pilot program (Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry).
· S. 5187 (Warner, D-VA), to require the Secretary of Energy to establish a program to strengthen the domestic science and engineering workforce through partnerships among institutions of higher education, National Laboratories, other Federal science agencies, and industry to support accelerated doctoral programs (Energy and Natural Resources).
· S. 5195 (Markey, D-MA), to establish a Green New Deal for public schools (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5202 (Lee, R-UT), to prohibit the use of Federal funds for gender transition for minors (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· On July 30, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, held a full-committee business meeting to consider a number of bills, including: S. 5038, to prohibit the transfer of the functions of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; S. 5046, to prohibit the transfer of certain offices and functions of the Department of Education to other Federal agencies; S. 2511, to establish a postsecondary student data system; S. 3010, to amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to improve provisions relating to dyslexia; S. 3589, 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; S. 4097, to establish that a State-based education loan program is excluded from certain requirements relating to a preferred lender arrangement; and S. 4689, 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. Chairman Cassidy withdrew S. 5038 from consideration, and the Committee reported favorably on the following measures, as amended: S. 5046, S. 2511, S. 3010, S. 3589, S. 4097, and S. 4097.