Federal disaster aid for schools, with proportional funding for private schools.
H.R. 7262 — READ Act · Filed by John Mannion (D-NY) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Jan 27, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill authorizes the Secretary of Education to distribute federal disaster-relief funds to state education agencies, which then provide aid to public and non-public schools in areas hit by declared disasters or emergencies. The money can be used for data recovery, equipment replacement, transportation, temporary facilities, instructional materials, curriculum development, and facility repairs—but not construction or major renovation. Non-public schools must receive a proportional share of funds based on their enrollment.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is straightforward federal disaster aid to schools—a standard post-disaster recovery appropriation with clear eligibility criteria and allowable uses tied directly to restoring educational operations after declared emergencies.
What the text implies
- Non-public schools receive proportional funding based on enrollment, which may direct federal disaster aid to religious schools; the 'secular, neutral, and nonideological' requirement limits but does not eliminate this flow.
- The 120-day reversion clause allows unobligated non-public school funds to revert to public school aid, creating a timing-dependent outcome that may disadvantage non-public schools with slower application processes.
- The bill ties eligibility to schools 'closed as a result of' the disaster for 30+ days, potentially excluding schools with partial closures or brief disruptions, narrowing the beneficiary pool.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill provides direct federal aid to schools disrupted by disasters, helping restore educational services and infrastructure without requiring local communities to bear the full recovery cost. The proportional funding requirement for non-public schools ensures equitable treatment across school types, and the supplement-not-supplant rule prevents double-dipping while allowing coordination with other federal aid.
Who stands to gain
- school districts and local educational agencies
- non-public schools
- educational equipment and materials suppliers
- temporary facility rental companies
- IT hardware and software vendors
Named in the bill
Secretary of Education, State educational agencies, Local educational agencies, Non-public schools, National Center for Education Statistics, Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Federal Emergency Management Agency
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 2 Democrats.
- Jan 27, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jan 27, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Education and Workforce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (7,931 characters) on Aug 14, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Federal disaster aid for schools, with proportional funding for private schools.” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr7262 Report an error
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