Sponsors (3)
Introduced December 11, 2025 by Suzanne Bonamici · Last progress December 11, 2025
The bill substantially expands and funds paid work‑based learning and targets supports to low‑income students while improving data and incentives for institutions — but does so at meaningful federal cost and with added administrative complexity, potentially diverting funds from direct student wages and creating winners/losers among institutions.
Millions of students—especially low-income and Pell recipients—gain expanded paid work-based learning, internships, apprenticeships, community-service roles, and career-aligned experiential opportunities that improve employability and provide wages during study.
Low-income and exceptional-need students receive targeted financial supports (set-asides, minimum percentages of FWS, travel reimbursements, SNAP outreach, and reserved grant-funded positions) that increase access to paid training and reduce out-of-pocket costs.
Congress provides multi-year, predictable funding and new grant reservations (including a multi-year appropriation increase and an annual $30M reserved fund plus a $2M authorization for surveys) to scale work-study and work-based learning nationwide.
Taxpayers face increased federal spending (multi‑billion program increases and annual reservations like $30M), which could raise deficits or crowd out other higher-education priorities.
Colleges, universities, and the Department of Education will incur substantial new administrative, reporting, and compliance burdens across many provisions—surveys, data portals, allocation formulas, grant reporting, and program oversight—diverting staff time and resources from students.
Required set‑asides, broadened allowable uses, and program-development caps risk diverting funds away from direct wages and traditional credit-bearing instruction—reducing work-study hours or stability for some students.
Based on analysis of 12 sections of legislative text.
Expands and funds Federal Work‑Study: increases authorized funding, creates set‑asides and definitions for work‑based learning, requires surveys/reports, and funds pilot grants.
Requires the Department of Education to expand and better measure the Federal Work‑Study (FWS) program, sharply increase authorized FWS funding over five years, set aside shares for work‑based learning, community service, and students with exceptional need, define and promote work‑based learning (including registered apprenticeships), create a pilot grant program to grow work‑based positions, and require new surveys, reporting, and a GAO study to track outcomes and improve program design. Most substantive changes take effect October 1, 2026, and include both new dollar authorizations and programmatic rules for institutions, employers, and students.