Sponsors (2)
Official title: Increase access to higher education and center-based Head Start programs by providing public transit grants.
Introduced January 15, 2026 by Lisa Blunt Rochester · Last progress January 15, 2026
The bill improves transit access to educational programs—especially for low-income students and Head Start families—by funding service changes, but its modest funding and potential long‑term local cost obligations limit how many communities benefit and may leave some institutions without improvements.
Students at community colleges, Minority-Serving Institutions, career/technical, and rural-serving institutions gain improved access to classes because federal grants will fund new or adjusted transit stops, routes, and services that connect campuses to public transportation.
Low-income students (particularly at partner institutions with >25% Pell recipients) are more likely to receive priority for transit grant funding, increasing mobility for students with financial need.
Children, parents, and families participating in center-based Head Start and Early Head Start gain better transit connections (including supported paratransit and schedule adjustments), improving attendance and access to early childhood services.
Many applicants and communities may receive no support because the federal set‑aside funding is modest ($1M→$5M FY2027–2031), limiting the program's reach.
Local transit agencies and partners may face ongoing operating cost obligations after grant periods end, risking future service reductions if jurisdictions cannot sustain funding once federal support expires.
Prioritizing institutions with >25% Pell recipients could disadvantage students at institutions with lower Pell shares, leaving some campuses and their students without improved transit access.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Establishes competitive DOT grants for transit agencies partnering with colleges, MSIs, Head Start, and CTE schools to connect students to education with set‑aside funding for FY2027–FY2031.
Creates a new Federal Transit Administration grant program that pays transit agencies to partner with community colleges, minority-serving institutions, Head Start centers, career and technical schools, and rural-serving colleges to connect students to education programs. The bill allows capital and operating transit investments (stops, routes, paratransit, and service adjustments), prioritizes institutions with high shares of Pell recipients, and authorizes escalating set‑aside funding from FY2027 through FY2031 to support the program.