Educational Equity Challenge Grant Act of 2026

Addressing Student Needs: The program funds activities to address academic, social- emotional, mental, behavioral, and physical health needs, specifically including those caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (Section 2(b)).

Support for High-Need Students: The Secretary is instructed to give priority to applicants serving disproportionately higher percentages of high-need students, such as low-income students, students of color, Native American students, and students with disabilities (Section 2(f)).

Support for Rural and Low-Income Communities: The bill ensures that at least 25 percent of funds go to specific rural locales and at least 50 percent of funds go to entities serving student populations where 20 percent or more of children live in low-income families (Section 2(c)(4) and 2(c)(5)).

Tribal Support: A 5 percent reservation of funds is set aside specifically for the Bureau of Indian Education and outlying areas to support schools operated or funded by the Bureau (Section 2(c)(2)).

Diverse Educational Options: Funding can be used for various beneficial activities, such as high-quality tutoring, summer learning programs, mental health services, and the recruitment of diverse educators (Section 2(g)(1)).

Potential Reduction in Funding: The Secretary may reduce the amount of funds available for rural area requirements or low-income student requirements if there are not a sufficient number of high-quality applications (Section 2(c)(4)(B) and 2(c)(5)(B)).

Increased Testing Burdens: While the bill encourages the use of existing tools to avoid excessive testing, applicants are still required to describe how they will measure outcomes related to academic and health needs (Section 2(e)(1) and 2(e)(4)).

Evaluation Requirements: Entities pursuing field- and educator-initiated proposals must conduct and fund an independent evaluation of their program's effectiveness (Section 2(g)(2)(D) and 2(i)(1)).