Last Week in Congress (8/31–9/4/26)
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.
On September 1, the House passed the Senate’s amended version of H.R. 6500, the Continuing Resolution bill by a vote of 370-48. The President signed the measure into law on September 2. (P.L. 119-103). The law continues federal funding through December 11, and postpones finalization and issuance of OMB’s proposed changes to the Uniform Guidance at 2 CFR Part 200. While the continuing resolution moves concerns about a government shutdown until after the midterms, it means that formula and discretionary grantees will still be operating without a clear picture of what their budgets will look like for the coming school year. The House H.R. 4795, the Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act of 2026 by a vote of 237-169, which would limit access to HEA title IV (federal student aid) funds and title VI (federal funding for foreign language or international education programs) to institutions that participate in nonexpressive commercial boycotts of Israel or do not allow Israeli faculty, students, and institutions to participate in programs in the same manner as other faculty, students, and institutions. Representative Mannion (D-NY) introduced H.R. 10232, prohibiting the transfer of certain offices and functions of the Department of Education to other federal agencies, a partner bill to S. 5046, a bipartisan measure reported out of committee in July.
· H.R. 10192 (McClintock, R-CA), the Grant Responsibility and Accountability for Numerical Transparency (GRANT) Reform Act of 2026, to require the Comptroller General to submit to Congress a report on grants (Oversight and Government Reform).
· H.R. 10200 (Wilson, D-FL), the Family Leave for Parental Involvement in Education Act, to amend the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 and title 5, United States Code, to allow employees to take, as additional leave, parental involvement leave to participate in or attend their childrens and grandchildrens educational and extracurricular activities (Education and Workforce; Oversight and Government Reform).
· H.R. 10201 (Wilson, D-FL), the Certificate of Merit for Persons with Abilities and Special Support Needs (COMPASS) Act, to amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to ensure that students with an individualized education program receive a certificate of completion upon completion of secondary school education (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10202 (Wilson, D-FL), the High School Voter Empowerment Act, to amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require States to designate public high schools as voter registration agencies, to direct such schools to conduct voter registration drives for students attending such schools, and to direct the Secretary of Education to make grants to reimburse such schools for the costs of conducting such voter registration drives (House Administration; Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10203 (DeSaulnier, D-CA), the Improving Access to Higher Education Act, to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve accessibility to, and completion of, postsecondary education for students, including students with disabilities (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10206 (Figures, D-AL), the Restoring Opportunity for Advanced Education Act, to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to terminate Federal student loan limits and restore the availability of Federal Direct PLUS Loans for graduate and professional students (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10207 (Houchin, R-IN), the Governing Underage Access and Requiring Data Consent In All Networks (GUARDIAN) Act, to prohibit covered platforms from processing personal data with respect to covered minors without obtaining the verifiable consent of a parent of the covered minor (Energy and Commerce).
· H.R. 10220 (Bonamici, D-OR), the Streamlining Income-driven, Manageable Payments on Loans for Education (SIMPLE) Act, to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to include notification and automatic enrollment procedures for borrowers who are delinquent on loans (Education and Workforce; Ways and Means).
· H.R. 10228 (DeSaulnier, D-CA), the Strengthening Protections for Children with Food Allergies Act, to amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to require the provision of training and information to certain personnel relating to food allergy identification and response (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10232 (Mannion, D-NY), to prohibit the transfer of certain offices and functions of the Department of Education to other agencies (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10236 (Sewell, D-AL), the Protecting Student Athletes from Unexpected Tax Liability Act, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require income tax withholding at the source for name, image, and likeness payments to independent contractors who are student athletes (Ways and Means).
· H.R. 10251 (Boyle, D-PA), the Back-to-School Supplies Affordability Act, to limit the duties that may be imposed with respect to school supplies and educational materials (Ways and Means).
· H.R. 10260 (Finstad, R-MN), the Reducing Arbitrary Barriers to Apprenticeships Act of 2026, to amend title 38, United States Code, and title 10, United States Code, to eliminate those provisions relating to veterans educational assistance that disadvantage eligible individuals who choose to pursue programs of apprenticeship or other on-job training instead of a four-year college degree (Veterans’ Affairs; Armed Services).
· H.R. 10266 (Fuller, R-GA), the No Elite Athletes Using X-pro status to ensure Prioritizing Recruitment Of Student-athletes (NEUX PROS) Act, to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to condition institutional eligibility for participation under title IV of that Act on an institution’s not permitting certain professional athletes to compete in intercollegiate athletics competition in the sport in which they hold a professional sports contract, and to establish criminal penalties for athletics officials who knowingly recruit or sign such athletes to compete in violation of that condition (Judiciary).
· H.R. 10277 (Lee, D-PA), the Access to School Supplies Act, to direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a pilot program to assist local educational agencies with the acquisition of school supplies (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 10298 (Foster, D-IL), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow certain payments made by public service employees to quality for public service repayment (Education and Workforce).
· On September 1, the House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, held a hearing entitled “Sanctuary Policies, Tragic Consequences.”
· On September 1, the House, on a motion to suspend the rules, agreed to the Senate amendments to H.R. 6500, by a vote of 370-48. The bill was presented to the President and signed into law on September 2. See Public Law 119-103. The bill makes continuing appropriations and extensions at FY2026 levels until December 11, 2026, or until Congress passes a full appropriations package, whichever comes first. Section 157 of the law bars OMB from issuing or finalizing proposed changes to the Uniform Guidance (2 CFR Part 200) or a substantially similar rule until December 11, 2026.
· On September 2, the House passed H.R. 4795, the Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act of 2026 by a vote of 237-169. The bill would limit access to Title IV federal student assistance funds under the Higher Education Act of 1965 by institutions that participate in nonexpressive commercial boycotts of Israel, and require institutions receiving Title VI (federal funding for foreign language or international education programs) to annually certify students and faculty are allowed to participate in programs located in Israel under the same terms and conditions as programs in other countries, and that students and faculty at institutions in Israel may participate in the institution’s programs in the same manner and under the same terms and conditions as student and faculty from other foreign countries.