Federal education funding shifts toward poorest school districts
H.R. 7989 — ACE Act · Filed by Glenn Thompson (R-PA) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Mar 18, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill changes how federal Title I education funding is distributed to school districts. Currently, the formula uses two weighting methods—one based on the percentage of poor students in a district, one based on absolute numbers—and picks whichever gives a district more money. The bill eliminates the number-based weighting starting in 2026, keeping only percentage-based weighting. This shifts funding away from large districts with low poverty rates toward smaller districts with high poverty concentrations, directing more money per student to the poorest schools.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a technical amendment to federal education-grant formulas, shifting the weighting methodology to prioritize percentage-based poverty concentration over absolute student numbers. This is a straightforward policy choice to redirect Title I funds toward greater equity.
What the text implies
- Large urban and suburban districts with lower poverty rates will see reduced Title I allocations starting in 2026, potentially affecting their ability to fund programs and services.
- The transition period (through FY 2025) allows districts to plan for the shift, but the change is permanent and non-negotiable after 2026.
- States with higher equity factors (more equal wealth distribution across districts) may see less dramatic shifts than states with wide disparities in district wealth.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill redirects federal education funding toward districts with the highest concentrations of economically disadvantaged students, which aligns with the stated congressional intent of Title I. Smaller, high-poverty districts gain resources; larger districts with lower poverty rates lose relative allocation, but the total pool remains fixed—this is a reallocation toward greater equity, not a cut.
Who stands to gain
- Small and rural school districts with high concentrations of economically disadvantaged students
- Schools serving high-poverty populations in economically distressed regions
Named in the bill
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Title I, Local Educational Agencies (LEAs), U.S. Department of Education, Congressional Research Service, National Center for Education Statistics
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.
- Mar 18, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Mar 18, 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.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $50,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 4 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Glenn Thompson, the sponsor, reported $1,043,943 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Jushi Holdings Inc. — $50,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 16, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (5,697 characters) on Sep 27, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 15,316 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.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 16, 2026 · page rendered 2026-09-27.
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