Congress funds first major study of 2M school support workers

What it does

This bill directs the U.S. Department of Education to contract with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a comprehensive study of paraprofessionals and education support staff (over 2 million workers including teacher aides, custodians, food service, transportation, and health workers in U.S. public schools). The study will examine their demographics, roles, effectiveness, compensation, job security, career pathways, and the policies affecting them, with results due to Congress within 24 months and $2 million authorized for the work.

Why we flagged it

The bill is a straightforward authorization for a fact-finding study on a large, underrepresented segment of the education workforce. It contains no regulatory changes, appropriations riders, or private carve-outs—only a directive to commission research and report findings.

What the text implies

• Study findings may expose significant wage gaps and job insecurity in education support roles, potentially creating political pressure for federal intervention in compensation and employment practices traditionally controlled by states and districts.
• The study's focus on contracted, privatized, and outsourced education support staff may generate evidence of cost-cutting that harms workforce stability and student outcomes, potentially constraining future privatization trends in school operations.
• Disaggregated data on paraprofessional demographics and career pathways may reveal disparities in advancement opportunities for women and workers of color, informing future equity-focused policy.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill funds research into a large, underrepresented workforce (2+ million paraprofessionals and support staff) that directly serves 54 million students and is disproportionately diverse and economically vulnerable. The study will generate evidence on compensation gaps, job insecurity, and career pathways—foundational data for future policy improvements that could benefit workers and students.

Who stands to gain

• National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (research contract recipient)

Named in the bill

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, U.S. Department of Education, Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Congress

Where it stands

3 cosponsors: 3 Democrats.

• Jun 23, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Jun 23, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions”

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 $670,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 50 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.

Ed Markey, the sponsor, reported $658,450 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• National Education Association — $670,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 22, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.