Sponsors (2)
The bill expands entrepreneurship mentorship and authorized programming for underrepresented K–12 students—potentially boosting skills and a future small‑business pipeline—while creating modest federal costs and significant implementation and capacity risks that may fall on nonprofits, volunteers, and SBA staff without guaranteed reach.
Underrepresented K–12 students (female, minority, English learners, students with disabilities, rural, low‑income) gain regular access to mentorship and entrepreneurship/inventorship training delivered by SCORE volunteers, increasing skills, exposure to business careers, and potential long‑term educational and workforce opportunities.
Local economies and small businesses may benefit over time from a larger pipeline of youth exposed to entrepreneurship and inventorship, potentially creating new businesses and jobs in underserved communities.
Community learning centers are explicitly incorporated (using an existing ESEA definition) and authorized to host entrepreneurship activities, making after‑school programming more consistent and opening a route to federal support for hosting these programs.
The program shifts administrative, coordination, and delivery burdens onto SCORE volunteers, local nonprofits, and SBA staff (curriculum development, partnerships, reporting, procurement), which could strain volunteer capacity and staff time without sustained federal support.
Taxpayers fund a dedicated appropriation ($2.5 million annually through FY2026–2030), increasing federal spending for this program.
Program reach and impact may be limited or uneven—if SCORE volunteer capacity or community learning center participation is inconsistent, intended underrepresented students may not be reached and the initiative could displace other academic or social services at local centers.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Directs the SBA to develop an entrepreneurship-and-inventorship curriculum taught by SCORE volunteers at community learning centers and authorizes $2.5M/year for FY2026–2030.
Official title: Require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to encourage entrepreneurship training in after school programs, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 18, 2026 by Catherine Marie Cortez Masto · Last progress March 18, 2026
Creates a new SBA program that tasks SCORE volunteers with delivering an entrepreneurship-and-inventorship curriculum to underrepresented K–12 students through community learning centers, encourages partnerships with education and business groups, and adds entrepreneurship activities to allowable after-school programming. It authorizes $2.5 million per year for FY2026–2030, requires an initial and biennial report to Congress on partnerships, funding use, training, student reach, barriers, and improvement plans, and allows fund transfers to SCORE.