Joseph Morelle (D-NY)
Summer Meals and Learning Act of 2026
A Democratic bill with no cosponsors
Last activity — Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Summer Meals and Learning Act of 2026 establishes a new Federal grant program. This program provides grants to State library administrative agencies. These agencies then award subgrants to eligible local educational agencies. The goal is to fund summer early reading programs at schools that have summer lunch programs. These programs are designed to provide students access to school libraries and literacy activities. The Act authorizes $5,000,000 for each fiscal year from 2027 through 2031.
Yes· 3 of 7
- Scored +7
Would children be better off under this?
The bill directly supports literacy and library access for young students in grades K-3.
- Scored +6
Would students be better off under this?
The bill provides specific educational resources and library access for students during summer months.
- Scored +5
Would households on low incomes be better off under this?
The bill targets schools that provide summer lunch programs, which often serve low-income students.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Access to Learning Resources: The bill allows students participating in summer lunch programs to have access to school libraries and participate in literacy activities or expanded learning opportunities (Section 2(5)).
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Targeted Support for Literacy: The program targets schools where at least 50 percent of students in grades prekindergarten through grade 3 are reading below grade level or are at risk of reading below grade level (Section 2(1)(B)).
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Community Involvement: Subgrants allow local educational agencies to work with community partners to develop and implement summer early reading programs (Section 3(d)(4)(A)).
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Job Creation and Training: Funds can be used by local educational agencies to hire and train appropriate State library administrative agency personnel to teach the summer early reading programs (Section 3(d)(4)(C)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- No negative impacts are explicitly stated in the text provided.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would children be better off under this? — The bill directly supports literacy and library access for young students in grades K-3. Would students be better off under this? — The bill provides specific educational resources and library access for students during summer months. Would households on low incomes be better off under this? — The bill targets schools that provide summer lunch programs, which often serve low-income students.
- Education And Technology
- Does this put more money into public schools? — The bill authorizes new federal grant funding specifically for summer reading and library access in schools.
- Economy And Finance
- Is this likely to create jobs? — The bill allows for the hiring and training of personnel to teach summer early reading programs.
- Social Issues And Justice
- Is this likely to lift people out of poverty? — By providing educational support to students at summer lunch sites, the bill addresses developmental gaps often associated with poverty.
- Governance And Ideology
- Does this give the federal government more power? — The bill establishes a new federal grant program administered by the Secretary of Education.
- 8/6/2026
- Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
- Introduced in House
5 bills Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.