September 3, 2026
Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania (for herself, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. García of Illinois, Ms. Norton, Ms. Jayapal, Ms. Pressley, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. Adams, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Bell, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Mr. Casar, Ms. Brown, and Ms. Clarke of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce
To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a pilot program to assist local educational agencies with the acquisition of school supplies, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Access to School Supplies Act of 2026
.
Sec. 2. Purpose and definitions
(a) Purpose
The purpose of this Act is to demonstrate the feasibility of providing grants to local educational agencies to enable such agencies—
(1)
to provide school supplies at no cost to students and instructional staff;
(2)
to increase the number of students who have access to the school supplies needed to maintain a stable learning environment; and
(3)
to improve student academic achievement in schools, particularly for low-income students.
(b) Definitions
In this Act:
(1) Instructional staff
The term instructional staff includes, at a minimum, teachers, paraprofessionals, librarians, and other staff deemed necessary to provide classroom instruction (including virtual and in-person instruction), as determined by the Secretary.
(2) ESEA terms
The terms elementary school, local educational agency, and secondary school have the meanings given those terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
(3) High-poverty school
The term high-poverty school means a public school that is in the highest 2 quartiles of schools in a State, based on the percentage of enrolled students from low-income families.
(4) Outlying area
The term outlying area means American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands.
(5) Qualified local educational agency
The term qualified local educational agency means a local educational agency that—
(A)
serves one or more high-poverty schools; and
(B)
provides an assurance to the Secretary that the agency will use any funds received under this Act only to serve such schools.
(6) School supplies
The term school supplies refers to books, supplies, and supplementary materials used by students and instructional staff in the classroom, as determined by the Secretary.
(7) Secretary
The term Secretary means the Secretary of Education.
(8) State
The term State means each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Sec. 3. Reservations for outlying areas and BIE schools
(a) In general
From the total amount appropriated under section 8 for a fiscal year, the Secretary of Education shall reserve—
(1)
one-half of 1 percent for allotments to the outlying areas, to be distributed among those outlying areas on the basis of their relative need; and
(2)
one-half of 1 percent for the Secretary of the Interior for activities funded under this Act in schools operated or funded by the Bureau of Indian Education.
(b) Applicability
(1) In general
Except as provided in paragraph (2), the provisions of this Act shall apply to a recipient of funds under subsection (a) in the same manner that such provisions apply to a qualified local educational agency that receives funds under section 4(a).
(2) Exception
An outlying area or school operated or funded by the Bureau of Indian Education shall not be required to submit an application under section 4(b) as a precondition to receiving funds under subsection (a).
Sec. 4. Pilot program to support the acquisition of school supplies
(a) Pilot program
Using amounts appropriated under section 8 and not reserved under section 3, the Secretary of Education shall carry out a pilot program under which the Secretary makes grants, annually and on a competitive basis, to not more than 10 qualified local educational agencies to assist such agencies in acquiring school supplies as described in subsection (c).
(b) Qualified local educational agency applications
(1) Eligibility
To be eligible to receive a grant under subsection (a), a qualified local educational agency shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably require. At a minimum, each such application shall include the information described in paragraph (2).
(2) Contents of application
Each application submitted under paragraph (1) shall include assurances that the qualified local educational agency will—
(A)
prioritize the distribution of funds to schools served by the qualified local educational agency that are among the schools with the greatest needs, as determined by such agency;
(B)
comply with the reporting requirement under section 6; and
(C)
provide a description of how the agency will determine the needs of individual schools, in coordination with each school.
(3) Reapplication
A qualified local educational agency that receives a grant under subsection (a) may reapply for a grant under such subsection for one or more additional award periods.
(4) Priority
In making grants under subsection (a), the Secretary shall prioritize the award of grants to qualified local educational agencies that demonstrate the highest level of need for such grants, as determined by the Secretary.
(c) Use of funds
A qualified local educational agency that receives a grant under subsection (a) shall use the grant to purchase school supplies—
(1)
for students to participate in classroom activities; and
(2)
for instructional staff to provide such activities.
(d) Contracts with outside entities
A qualified local educational agency may contract with outside entities for purposes of carrying out the activities authorized under subsection (c).
(e) Limitations
A qualified local educational agency that receives a grant under subsection (a) for a fiscal year may reserve not more than 2 percent of the amount of the grant for the administrative costs of carrying out its responsibilities, including the preparation of the annual reports required under section 6.
(f) Geographic diversity
In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall ensure that, to the extent practicable, grants are distributed among qualified local educational agencies that will serve geographically diverse areas, including urban, suburban, and rural areas.
Sec. 5. Supplement, not supplant
Funds made available to a qualified local educational agency under this Act shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, non-Federal funds that would otherwise be used for the activities supported with the funds made available under this Act.
Sec. 6. Reporting requirements
On an annual basis, each qualified local educational agency that receives a grant under section 4 shall submit to the Secretary of Education a report that includes—
(1)
a list of schools that received school supplies;
(2)
the amount of grant funds expended at each school to provide school supplies;
(3)
a description on a school-by-school basis of the school supplies provided;
(4)
the number of students in each school provided directly with school supplies;
(5)
the number of instructional staff in each school provided directly with school supplies; and
(6)
a list of any outside entities used by the agency to carry out the activities described in section 4(c).
Sec. 7. Sunset
No grants may be awarded under this Act after September 30, 2031.
Sec. 8. Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.