A Democratic bill with 4 Democratic cosponsors · See all 4 cosponsors
Last activity — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
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. The program provides grants to State library administrative agencies to fund subgrants for eligible local educational agencies. These subgrants are intended to support summer early reading programs at schools that serve summer lunches. The programs must be held at school lunch sites for at least six weeks. These programs provide students with access to the school library and opportunities for literacy activities or expanded learning.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Access to Literacy Resources: Students participating in the summer lunch program will receive access to school libraries and literacy activities or expanded learning opportunities through summer early reading programs (Section 2(5)).
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Support for At-Risk Readers: The bill 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)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
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Administrative Requirements: State library administrative agencies must submit applications containing specific information required by the Secretary, including how they will award subgrants and how they will disseminate information (Section 3(b)).
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Reporting Burdens: Both State library administrative agencies and eligible local educational agencies are required to submit annual reports to the Secretary regarding the progress made in achieving the purposes of the grant or subgrant (Section 3(e)).
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Application Requirements for Schools: Eligible local educational agencies must submit applications that include descriptions of school lunch sites, proof of meeting specific student reading requirements, and descriptions of their proposed programs and community partnerships (Section 3(d)(2)).
- 8/6/2026
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- 4 Cosponsors added.
- Introduced in Senate
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.
Richard BlumenthalDemocrat · Connecticut
Cory BookerDemocrat · New Jersey
Ben LujánDemocrat · New Mexico
Ron WydenDemocrat · Oregon