Last Week in Congress (9/14–9/18/26)
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.
FERPA nerds, we have another one to watch.
Last week, Sen. Mike Lee and Rep. Mary Miller introduced companion versions of the Student Voter Data Protection Act, legislation aimed squarely at the use of student data to measure college student voter registration and turnout.
The immediate target is the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE) and the sharing and matching of institutional student data through the National Student Clearinghouse against voter records.
But the bill does more than say, “Don’t hand confidential student records to voter organizations.” FERPA already generally requires consent before disclosing PII from education records unless an exception applies.
The more interesting part is what the bill would change.
The legislation would add a new subsection (k) to FERPA barring applicable-program funds from going to a postsecondary institution that discloses PII—including directory information—for the purpose of measuring its students’ voter-registration or voting rates without prior informed written consent.
That directory information piece matters.
Under current FERPA rules, institutions generally may disclose properly designated directory information without individual consent after providing notice and an opportunity to opt out. The proposal would effectively carve voter-registration and turnout measurement out of that framework and require affirmative student consent.
The bill would also separately put institutions’ federal funding at risk if they sell personally identifiable education records—including directory information—without students’ prior informed written consent.
And there is a bigger story here.
In February, the Department of Education’s Student Privacy Policy Office opened FERPA investigations involving Tufts University and the National Student Clearinghouse over participation in NSLVE, including questions about what student information was shared, with whom, and whether consent was required.
So we now have the same underlying FERPA question moving on two tracks: an active federal privacy investigation and proposed legislation that would answer at least part of the question expressly by statute.
For colleges and universities, this is worth watching well beyond NSLVE. The proposal raises broader questions about directory information, third-party data matching, institutional research, consent, and where Congress wants the line drawn between permissible data use and student privacy.
FERPA: somehow always finding new ways to make “directory information” interesting.
· H.R. 10351 (Walberg, R-MI), the Training and Education for American Members of University Sports and Athletics (TEAM USA) Act, to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education, as a condition of participating in programs under Title IV of such Act, to ensure that no more than 20 percent of the student athletes on a varsity sports team of the institution are international students (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10365 (Johnson, D-TX), to amend the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to ensure DACA recipients are eligible for educational awards (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10403 (Vindman, D-VA), to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a refundable tax credit for school supplies (Ways and Means).
· H.R. 10410 (Underwood, D-IL), to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to establish a national graduate nurse education program (Ways and Means; Energy and Commerce).
· H.R. 10412 (Smith, R-NE), to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to eliminate the State opt-in requirement for the qualified elementary and secondary education scholarship credit (Ways and Means).
· H.R. 10414 (Smith, R-NE), to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the qualified elementary and secondary education scholarships credit limit for married taxpayers filing a joint return (Ways and Means).
· H.R. 10415 (Barragán, D-CA), the Food for Thought Act of 2026, to amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to certain institutions of higher education to provide free meals to low-income students (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10421 (Bonamici, D-OR), to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to increase support for elementary and secondary education (Education and Workforce; Judiciary; Energy and Commerce; Ways and Means; Oversight and Government Reform; Science, Space, and Technology; Armed Services; Agriculture).
· H.R. 10424 (Carter, D-LA), to establish a National Science Foundation grant program to provide opportunities for and strengthen research capacity at institutions of higher education to stimulate sustainable improvement in existing research and development at such institutions (Science, Space, and Technology).
· H.R. 10427 (Courtney, D-CT), to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to expand the Magnet Schools Assistance Program (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10436 (Grijalva, D-AZ), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award institutions of higher education grants for teaching English learners (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10437 (Grijalva, D-AZ), to improve the English language and literacy skills of English language learners and their families (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10438 (Grijalva, D-AZ), to establish high-quality dual language immersion programs in low-income communities (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10449 (Miller, R-IL), to establish a prohibition for certain disclosures of personally identifiable information under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10451 (Morelle, D-NY), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish an emergency grant aid program (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10452 (Norcross, D-NJ), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to include in the calculation of cost of attendance an allowance for costs for prior learning assessments (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10455(Pocan, D-WI), the Debt-Free College Act, to establish State-Federal partnerships to provide students the opportunity to attain higher education at in-State public institutions of higher education without debt, and to provide Federal Pell Grant eligibility to DREAMer students (Education and Workforce).
· S. 5388 (Murphy, D-CT), to establish a student loan forgiveness plan for certain borrowers who are employed at a qualified farm or ranch (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5392 (Husted, R-OH), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education, as a condition of participating in programs under title IV of such Act, to ensure that not more than 20 percent of the student athletes on a varsity sports team of the institution are international students (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5403 (Schatz, D-HI), to establish State-Federal partnerships to provide students the opportunity to attain higher education at in-State public institutions of higher education without debt, and to provide Federal Pell Grant eligibility to DREAMer students (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5408 (Lee, R-UT), to establish a prohibition for certain disclosures of personally identifiable information under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5411 (Smith, D-MN), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish an emergency grant aid program (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· On September 14, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs reported: S. 252, the Guidance Out of Darkness (GOOD) Act, to increase access to agency guidance documents; S. 164, the Midnight Rules Relief Act of 2025, to amend chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, to provide for en bloc consideration in resolutions of disapproval for “midnight rules”; S. 2733, the Duplication Scoring Act of 2025, to require the Comptroller General of the United States to analyze certain legislation in order to prevent duplication of and overlap with existing Federal programs; S. 3211, the Recognizing the Role of Direct Support Professionals Act, to require the Office of Management and Budget to consider revising the Standard Occupational Classification system to establish a separate code for direct support professionals .
· On September 16, the House Committee on Education and Workforce, Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development, held a hearing entitled “Who Gets the Scholarship? How the Global Shift in College Sports Affects Americans.”
· On September 15, the Senate resumed consideration of 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. On September 17, the Senate voted to adopt an amendment in the nature of a substitute from Senator Thune.
· On September 16, the House passed H.R. 7890, the Science of Reading Act of 2026; H.R. 9723, the Fit Future Act
· On September 17, the Senate received notification of the withdrawal of several nominations, including Heidi Semann, of Missouri, to be Inspector General of the Department of Education. Ms. Semann’s nomination was sent to the Senate on May 11, 2026.