Sponsors (19)
The bill increases and multi-year authorizes funding to expand and stabilize early intervention and preschool special education—benefiting children with disabilities and helping state planning—while raising federal spending and creating risks that appropriations, accountability, or fixed funding levels could limit the real-world gains.
Children with disabilities (infants through preschool) will receive increased, predictable federal funding for early intervention and preschool special education from FY2027–FY2031, improving access to services and continuity of care.
Infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families will see expanded availability of early intervention services and reduced unmet needs as authorized funding rises, lowering care burdens and supporting developmental outcomes.
State and local education agencies can plan staffing, services, and budgets more reliably because funding authorizations are fixed and known for five fiscal years.
Taxpayers face higher federal spending obligations if Congress appropriates the increased authorized amounts, which could raise taxes or require offsets elsewhere in the budget.
States and districts may not receive the authorized increases if Congress does not appropriate the full amounts, leaving planning expectations unmet and complicating budgeting and services.
If increased funds are provided without strong accountability or targeting, children and families may not see proportional service improvements despite higher spending.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes specific federal funding amounts for IDEA Part C and Section 619 for FY2027–FY2031, replacing prior open-ended authorizations.
Introduced April 23, 2026 by Mark James Desaulnier · Last progress April 23, 2026
Directs federal law to set specific annual authorization amounts for early intervention (Part C of IDEA) and preschool special education grants (Section 619) for fiscal years 2027–2031, and states findings that per-child funding for these programs has fallen sharply in inflation-adjusted terms over past decades. It does not change who is eligible or how funds are allocated, and it authorizes — but does not appropriate — the dollar amounts for each listed fiscal year.