Bill · S. 5444· Senate(119-S-5444)
New Essential Education Discoveries Act of 2026
- Introduced
- 9/17/2026
- Last activity
- 9/17/2026 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- Sponsored by
- Michael Bennet
- Cosponsors
- - 1 - 1
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
This bill is known as the New Essential Education Discoveries Act of 2026. It sets up a new National Center for Advanced Development in Education within the Institute for Education Sciences. The main job of this new center is to find, build, and push for new ways to improve teaching and learning. It also focuses on closing gaps in student achievement and helping communities succeed. Additionally, the bill updates the grant program for statewide longitudinal data systems to better connect student data from early childhood all the way to the workforce.
Yes· 3 of 20
Would students be better off under this?+7
The primary objective of the bill is to advance teaching, learning technologies, and targeted interventions directly for students.
Does this put more money into scientific research?+7
The bill establishes a National Center for Advanced Development in Education to promote transformative research in teaching and learning technologies.
Would children be better off under this?+6
The bill focuses heavily on improving K-12 and early childhood education, assessment tools, and learning acceleration for students.
The opposite
Does this give people more control over their personal data?-2
Expanding statewide longitudinal data systems to integrate vast amounts of personal and wage records creates potential data security and privacy risks.
Does this protect people from being watched or searched?-2
The integration of multi-agency personal data in statewide systems raises concerns regarding the protection of sensitive, personally identifiable information.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Better tools for students and teachers: Section 195(b)(6) directs the new center to look into new technologies that can spot reading and speech disorders, help parents support skill growth outside of school, and give direct feedback to students on their progress.
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Targeted help for struggling students: Section 197(a)(3)(A) pushes the new center to focus on learning acceleration for students who score below proficient in math, reading, or language arts.
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Improved tracking and data access: Section 208 updates grants for statewide longitudinal data systems, which helps states connect data from early childhood, K-12 schooling, higher education, and labor markets so the public and researchers can better understand and improve educational outcomes.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- Privacy and data security risks: Section 208 expands statewide longitudinal data systems to integrate massive amounts of personal information across early childhood, K-12, postsecondary education, and workforce wage records, which could create burdens or risks regarding the protection of sensitive, personally identifiable information if data safeguards fail.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Students+7Good For Children+6Good For Low Income Households+5Good For People With Disabilities+5Good For Young Adults+5Good For African Americans+4Good For Hispanic Americans+4Good For Native Americans+4Good For Asian Americans+3Good For Middle Class Households+3Good For Rural Residents+3Good For White Americans+3
- Education And Technology
- Increases Scientific Research Funding+7Increases Public School Funding+6Improves Data Privacy-2
- Social Issues And Justice
- Improves Racial Equity+4Improves Poverty Reduction+3
- Governance And Ideology
- Improves Government Transparency+5Increases Federal Power+2Improves Privacy Rights-2
- Healthcare
- Increases Research Funding+5
- Economy And Finance
- Improves Economic Growth+3
- 9/17/2026
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- 2 Cosponsors added.
- Introduced in Senate
2 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.
Thomas TillisRepublican · North Carolina
Chris Van HollenDemocrat · Maryland