Sponsors (3)
The bill expands and funds paid work‑based learning and targets additional support to low‑income students while boosting data collection and institutional incentives — but it increases federal spending, creates new administrative burdens, and reallocates existing funds in ways that may reduce resources or access for some institutions and students.
Students (especially undergraduates and low-income recipients) gain substantially more paid work‑based learning and community‑service opportunities—expanded off‑campus placements, apprenticeships, internships, and minimum set‑asides increase access to experiential, paid career training.
Low‑income and exceptionally needy students receive more targeted support—dedicated FWS set‑asides, prioritization for placements, SNAP outreach, and travel reimbursements reduce barriers to participation and increase paid opportunities.
Colleges and program partners get new, predictable federal funding and grants—multi‑year appropriations (increased program caps) and a reserved $30M annual grant pool provide resources to expand work‑based learning and build employer partnerships.
Taxpayers and the federal budget face materially higher costs—billions in expanded appropriations and reserved annual funding (including a $30M grant pool) increase federal spending and could crowd out other priorities or add to deficits.
Colleges, universities, and the Department of Education will face significant administrative and compliance burdens—new surveys, reporting counts, allocation formulas, application timing, and monitoring requirements could divert staff time and resources away from student services.
Some institutions and students may lose funding or flexibility—fair‑share reallocations, set‑asides, and redirected percentages (including up to 10% for program development) can reduce funds available for other campuses, current work‑study wages, or local priorities.
Based on analysis of 12 sections of legislative text.
This bill strengthens and expands the Federal Work-Study (FWS) program by increasing authorized funding, adding and defining "work-based learning" (including apprenticeships and paid experiential learning), creating new program set‑asides for students with exceptional need and community service, requiring regular consumer-tested surveys of students, employers, and institutions, and establishing a competitive pilot grant program to create or expand work-based learning positions. It also directs a GAO study on best practices for connecting students to off‑campus employers and sets an October 1, 2026 effective date for the changes. The changes affect students (particularly low‑income and "exceptional need" students), colleges and universities that administer FWS, employers who hire students, and federal oversight bodies by adding reporting, new funding levels, and program priorities intended to increase access to paid, career‑aligned work experiences and support completion.
Expands and retools the Federal Work‑Study program: increases funding, defines and prioritizes work‑based learning, creates surveys and reporting, and funds a pilot grants program.
Official title: To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to reauthorize the Federal work-study program, and for other purposes.
Introduced December 11, 2025 by Suzanne Bonamici · Last progress December 11, 2025