The Reducing Arbitrary Barriers to Apprenticeship Act of 2026 amends federal veterans' education benefits to remove financial and administrative obstacles for those pursuing apprenticeships or on-the-job training. The bill increases the monthly housing stipend for full-time apprentices to match the rate paid to military members with dependents, rather than the lower rate currently applied to students without dependents. Additionally, it waives the minimum monthly attendance requirement for veterans enrolled in construction industry programs, allowing them to receive benefits even if their on-site training hours fall below standard thresholds. These changes apply to recipients of Post-9/11 GI Bill, All-Volunteer Force, and Selected Reserve educational assistance.
This House resolution formally recognizes the 80th anniversary of the Fulbright Program, which was established in 1946 to promote international goodwill through student and scholar exchanges. The bill highlights that the program currently operates in over 160 countries and has provided grants to more than 450,000 individuals since its inception. It encourages Congress to continue supporting educational and cultural affairs programs as tools for advancing foreign policy and national security. Additionally, the resolution congratulates past and present recipients and calls on global professionals to engage in cross-cultural partnerships.
The SIMPLE Act requires the Department of Education to automatically enroll borrowers who are at least 75 days delinquent on federal student loans into the income-driven repayment plan that offers them the lowest monthly payment. To facilitate this, the bill authorizes the use of IRS tax return data to determine a borrower's income and family size without requiring additional action from the borrower, provided they have approved such disclosure or are applying for loan rehabilitation. The legislation also establishes specific notification procedures at 31 days of delinquency and mandates that borrowers rehabilitating defaulted loans be placed in the most favorable repayment plan after making their ninth required payment. These automatic enrollment provisions take effect on July 1, 2028, while changes allowing borrowers to switch between repayment plans become effective immediately upon enactment.
The COMPASS Act amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to require schools to include specific information in individualized education programs for students with disabilities. It mandates that these plans must state the projected date when a student will complete their secondary education program. Additionally, the bill requires a statement confirming that the student will receive a certification of completion on that date, regardless of whether they are eligible for a regular high school diploma.
The Back-to-School Supplies Affordability Act would prevent new tariffs from being applied to specific school supplies and educational materials, effectively freezing their import duties at levels recorded on January 19, 2025. This measure directly affects students, families, teachers, schools, and local governments by aiming to keep the cost of items like notebooks, backpacks, pencils, and keyboards stable. The bill designates certain products for duty exemption based on specific trade classifications or through regulations issued by the Secretary of Commerce in coordination with the Secretary of Education. Additionally, it requires the Secretary of Commerce to report every 180 days to congressional committees on which items are exempt, while allowing Congress to disapprove specific item designations through a joint resolution.
The Access to School Supplies Act of 2026 establishes a five-year pilot program that provides competitive grants to up to ten local school districts serving high-poverty schools. These funds are intended to help districts purchase books, supplies, and other materials for students and instructional staff at no cost. The legislation authorizes $100 million annually from fiscal years 2027 through 2031 and requires recipients to submit annual reports detailing how the money was spent and which schools benefited. A small portion of the total funding is reserved for outlying areas and Bureau of Indian Education schools, while the program sunsets on September 30, 2031.
This bill expands access to educational assistance benefits by adding dependent parents to the list of eligible recipients under the Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance program. Eligibility is granted to the parent of a service member who dies from a service-connected disability or is rated as totally and permanently disabled due to a service-connected condition. The legislation includes technical amendments to ensure these new beneficiaries are properly recognized in rules regarding when benefits end, how long they last, and how correspondence course payments are processed.
The New IDEA Act amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to expand the legal definitions of specific learning disabilities, explicitly including conditions such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia. It also updates terminology for language impairments by adding developmental language disorder and clarifies that autism is part of a broader category of spectrum disorders. The bill establishes clear criteria for what constitutes a specific learning disability while excluding issues caused by factors like visual or hearing impairments, intellectual disabilities, or a lack of appropriate instruction. Additionally, it requires local educational agencies to ensure equal access to accommodations and services for eligible children from low-income households and those with limited English proficiency.
The Improving Access to Higher Education Act requires all institutions of higher education to establish an Office of Accessibility responsible for informing students about their rights, providing accommodations, and accepting specific documentation like Individualized Education Programs to verify disability status. The bill authorizes competitive grants for colleges to train faculty in accessible teaching methods and to create inclusive programs that lead to degrees or credentials for students with intellectual disabilities. Additionally, it establishes an independent commission to develop guidelines for accessible electronic instructional materials and creates a National Technical Assistance Center to provide resources and technical support to both students and educational institutions.
The Family Leave for Parental Involvement in Education Act amends the Family and Medical Leave Act to grant eligible private-sector employees up to 48 hours of unpaid leave per year to attend school conferences or activities for their children or grandchildren. This additional time is capped at 8 hours within any 30-day period and can be taken in intermittent blocks rather than all at once. Employers may require employees to use accrued paid vacation, personal, or sick leave instead of taking this unpaid time off. The bill also extends similar leave provisions to federal employees, allowing them to substitute accumulated annual or sick leave for the new parental involvement entitlements.
