The Evidence-Based Youth Suicide Prevention Act of 2026 directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to fund demonstration programs that test suicide prevention strategies specifically in schools and other youth-serving settings. To ensure effectiveness, the bill requires that funded programs be supported by strong, moderate, or promising evidence from rigorous studies and mandates coordination with state and local educational agencies. Recipients must track various outcomes, including mental health safety, academic performance, and student engagement, while submitting annual reports to Congress on their findings. Funding is authorized for fiscal years 2027 through 2032 to support these evidence-based initiatives and innovative approaches that include rigorous evaluation plans.
The K-12 AI Literacy and Readiness Act of 2026 amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to allow federal funding for artificial intelligence education in schools. This legislation directly affects states, local school districts, and educational staff by permitting the use of funds to teach students how to use AI safely and responsibly. Additionally, the bill authorizes money for professional development programs that equip teachers, librarians, and administrators with the skills to teach and utilize AI effectively. By adding these specific allowable uses to existing federal education grants, the act provides a clear pathway for integrating AI literacy into the K-12 curriculum.
The Primary Care Team Education Centers Act creates a new grant program to help community health centers establish or expand sites for training future healthcare professionals. These grants, which can provide up to $1 million annually for five years, are intended to address shortages of clinical instructors and improve student access to primary care settings. Recipients must use the funds to develop partnerships with universities, offer innovative pay models to attract staff, and integrate diverse community health workers into the training teams. The bill also requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to submit annual reports on the number of students trained and preceptors recruited, while prohibiting entities that already receive certain other teaching health center grants from applying for this funding.
This resolution designates April 2026 as Financial Literacy Month to raise public awareness about the importance of personal finance education. The bill calls on the federal government, states, schools, businesses, and other organizations to hold programs and activities during this month. It is based on data showing high levels of financial stress, debt, and a lack of financial education among many Americans.
Domenic and Ed's Law allows parents who have taken out federal student loans to repay those loans if their child becomes permanently and totally disabled. This change applies to all outstanding parent loans, regardless of when the loan was taken out or when the disability began. The law requires that the disability be medically determinable and expected to last for at least 60 months or result in death.
The IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act authorizes federal grants to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to fund long-term improvements to their campus facilities and infrastructure. These grants are awarded competitively to eligible HBCUs based on criteria such as the age of their facilities, deferred maintenance needs, financial capacity, and student enrollment levels. Recipients may use the funds to construct or renovate buildings, upgrade technology and broadband systems, improve safety measures, and develop workforce training hubs, while being prohibited from using the money for routine maintenance or athletic facilities. The legislation also includes provisions for reporting on project outcomes and requires institutions to create comprehensive master plans that involve consultation with diverse campus and community stakeholders.
The Clean Energy Workforce Act authorizes $100 million to help schools and colleges train students for jobs in clean energy, renewable energy, and climate change fields. The funding supports two main programs: grants for partnerships between schools and local businesses to create or expand educational courses that prepare students for these industries, and grants for educational facilities to become more energy-efficient and use renewable power. To ensure quality, the bill requires a review committee of educators and industry experts to evaluate grant applications, with priority given to programs that reach underserved students and share their methods with other schools.
The CHARTER Act aims to ensure that public funds for charter schools are not used to generate profits for for-profit companies. It directly affects charter schools receiving federal money by prohibiting them from contracting with for-profit entities to run, manage, or oversee their daily operations. While the bill allows schools to hire for-profit vendors for specific services like food, supplies, and transportation, it strictly bans contracts where a for-profit company controls the school or takes a cut of its revenue. These rules will only apply to new or renewed contracts made after the law is passed, with full enforcement beginning three years later.
The Student Loan Reform Act requires colleges to act as guarantors for student loans starting in July 2026, meaning schools would become directly responsible for repaying the debt if a student fails to pay. Under this program, institutions that agree to cosign loans would see their default rate thresholds raised from 30 percent to 40 percent, providing them with more flexibility regarding student repayment performance. If a borrower defaults and the loan remains unpaid for 90 days, the school must begin a ten-year repayment plan for the outstanding balance, though they can stop this obligation if the debt is rehabilitated or fully paid. Additionally, loans with institutional cosigners would receive a lower interest rate determined by the Secretary of Education based on the reduced risk to the lender.
This Senate resolution expresses support for library staff across public, school, academic, and special libraries in the United States. It highlights the essential services libraries provide, such as equitable internet access, social support, and community resources, while calling for adequate funding at all government levels. The measure reaffirms the right of citizens to freely access information and explicitly supports the ability of library workers to unionize and collectively bargain. Additionally, it defends the civil rights of library staff against intimidation and censorship, noting recent challenges like book bans and the potential elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
