Keep Our PACT Act
Keep Our PACT Act
Plain Language Summary
# Keep Our PACT Act Summary The Keep Our PACT Act (HR 869) would provide federal funding through 2035 for two main education programs. First, it would fund grants to help school districts serve low-achieving students and students from low-income families. Second, it would permanently fund a program that helps states provide special education services to children with disabilities.
Currently, the bill is under committee review in the House and has not yet been voted on by the full chamber. The bill primarily affects public school districts, students from low-income backgrounds, and students with disabilities who rely on federally-funded educational support services. The legislation designates its funding as an "emergency requirement," which allows it to bypass certain budget rules that normally require spending cuts elsewhere to offset new expenses. This approach has become common in Congress but is sometimes controversial among those focused on fiscal discipline.
CRS Official Summary
Keep Our Promise to America's Children and Teachers Act or the Keep Our PACT Act This bill provides funding through FY2035 for grant programs operated by local educational agencies to provide supplementary educational and related services to low-achieving students and other students who attend elementary and secondary schools with relatively high concentrations of students from low-income families. Additionally, the bill permanently reauthorizes the grant program to assist states and outlying areas in providing special education and related services to children with disabilities.The amounts provided by the bill are designated as an emergency requirement for the purposes of Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) rules and other budget enforcement procedures.
Latest Action
Referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.