Sponsors (4)
Introduced April 14, 2026 by Elizabeth Warren · Last progress April 14, 2026
The bill directs sustained, targeted federal funding to expand evidence‑based academic and mental‑health supports—especially for low‑income and rural students—but relies on competitive grants, strict evidence standards, and reporting requirements that may favor well‑resourced applicants, create administrative burdens, and commit significant taxpayer dollars.
Students in high‑need schools (including low‑income students) gain new federal grants that fund evidence‑based academic, social‑emotional, mental/behavioral, and physical‑health supports.
Students and staff receive expanded mental‑health and staff‑well‑being services (counseling, trauma‑informed practices), which can improve student outcomes and educator retention.
Entities serving districts where ≥20% of children live in low‑income families receive at least 50% of funds, concentrating resources on disadvantaged communities.
Taxpayers face large, multi‑year federal spending commitments (tens of billions authorized through 2036), with potential appropriation timing, oversight, and long‑term cost risks.
Smaller or under‑resourced LEAs (including some rural districts) may be disadvantaged because the competitive grant structure and strict evidence requirements favor well‑resourced applicants with grant‑writing capacity and established evidence.
Reporting, independent evaluation, and public‑sharing requirements create administrative burden and compliance costs for grantees (school districts, states, universities).
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a Dept. of Education grant program to fund evidence‑based and field‑initiated activities addressing students' academic, social‑emotional, mental, behavioral, and physical health needs, with set‑asides for outlying areas and BIE.
Creates a new Department of Education grant program that funds eligible public and nonprofit education entities to adopt or design and implement evidence‑based activities addressing students' academic, social‑emotional, mental, behavioral, and physical health needs (including COVID‑19 related needs). The program excludes for‑profit entities and requires the Secretary of Education to administer grants and set aside portions of appropriated funds for administration, outlying areas, and Bureau of Indian Education schools. The law defines eligible applicants by cross‑reference to existing federal education definitions, requires use of an evidence standard tied to federal statute, and allows support for both pre‑existing evidence‑based programs and field‑initiated proposals evaluated by grantees. The text provided is truncated on some allocation details and does not specify total funding amounts, application rules, reporting requirements, or timelines — those details would be set by future appropriations and guidance from the Secretary.