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Core Policy Mechanism Top 4
Biennial civics and history national assessments, grades 4-8-12
Requires national student tests in civics and history every two years at grades 4, 8, and 12, with results detailed enough to show how each state is performing. This creates a new mandatory testing cycle that did not exist before.
- Population Scope High Every U.S. public school student in grades 4, 8, and 12 — well over 25% of the population when combined with the state agencies obligated to participate — is directly subject to the new mandatory assessment cycle.
- Budgetary Magnitude Low No specific dollar amount is authorized or appropriated; funding flows through existing appropriations authority under the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth High Creates a new statutory mandate requiring biennial national assessments at three grade levels with state-level disaggregation, a substantive legal obligation that did not exist before and binds the assessment authority on a fixed schedule.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Low The mandate uses 'shall' and specifies grade levels, frequency, and methodological standard, leaving the administering authority little discretion over whether or how often to conduct assessments.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Medium Requires the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to design and execute a recurring biennial assessment cycle producing statistically significant state-level data — an ongoing operational burden beyond existing assessment infrastructure.
- Temporal Commitment High The biennial requirement carries no expiry or reauthorization trigger, persisting indefinitely until Congress affirmatively acts to repeal or modify it.
No signal yet
Core Policy Mechanism Top 4
America250 Civics Clearinghouse federal website
Directs the Department of Education, working with the Departments of Labor and Interior, to launch a public website within one year listing federal scholarships and fellowships related to civics for students and teachers.
- Population Scope Medium Students and teachers across the country seeking federal civics-related scholarships and fellowships are the direct beneficiaries — a broad but self-selected subset that plausibly reaches the 10–25% range given the size of the national K-12 and higher education student and teacher populations.
- Budgetary Magnitude Low No dedicated appropriation is made; Department of Education (DOE) must implement the clearinghouse using existing agency resources.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Imposes a mandatory interagency coordination duty on the Secretaries of Education, Labor, and Interior to create a new public-facing government resource within a fixed deadline — a procedural statutory obligation binding agency conduct rather than altering substantive law.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Low The requirement is mandatory ('shall') with a one-year deadline and specified interagency partners, leaving agencies little discretion over whether to act or with whom to coordinate.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Low Standing up a listing website is a bounded, one-time administrative task with no ongoing adjudication, penalties, or compliance obligations imposed on external parties.
- Temporal Commitment High Once established, the clearinghouse carries no expiry or review requirement, persisting as a standing federal resource indefinitely unless Congress directs otherwise.
No signal yet
Core Policy Mechanism Top 4
Expanded higher education civics and history grant program
Broadens the federal civics and history grant program for colleges by adding new topics, allowing nonprofit partners, permitting open educational resources, and supporting teacher preparation — expanding who can receive grants and what they can fund.
- Population Scope Low Directly affects institutions of higher education, eligible nonprofit organizations, and educators seeking grant funding — a narrow set of entities relative to the overall U.S. population or even the higher education sector broadly.
- Budgetary Magnitude Low The substantive program changes do not themselves authorize or appropriate funds; the associated funding question is addressed separately in the reauthorization component (index 3).
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Amends existing statutory eligibility and authorized-activity rules for a federal grant program, expanding who may receive grants and what they may fund — a meaningful change to existing law but within a procedural-administrative frame rather than creating new enforceable rights across the regulated population.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Medium Adds topics and activities grantees may pursue and shifts grant frequency to the Secretary of Education's discretion (subject to a minimum floor), moderately broadening the Secretary of Education's administrative latitude within the program.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Low Expands program scope without adding new compliance mandates or enforcement mechanisms; administrative load increases only incrementally as more grantee types become eligible.
- Temporal Commitment High The substantive statutory amendments to Higher Education Act Section 805 carry no independent sunset or reauthorization trigger, persisting indefinitely until Congress acts to change them.
No signal yet
Funding / Appropriations Top 4
Reauthorize civics grant program through 2027
Extends the legal authority to fund the federal civics and history education grant program for colleges through 2027, allowing the program to continue receiving federal money beyond its previous authorization.
- Population Scope Low Directly affects the narrow set of institutions of higher education and nonprofit partners eligible to apply for Section 805 civics grants — a small fraction of U.S. entities.
- Budgetary Magnitude Low Extends authorization of appropriations through fiscal year 2027 but specifies no dollar amount; actual funding remains subject to annual congressional appropriations action.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Low Updates a single authorization-of-appropriations end date from 2009 to 2027 — a narrow administrative amendment that enables future funding without altering substantive program rights or duties.
- Degree of Discretion Granted High By extending the authorization window without specifying amounts or conditions, Congress leaves the Secretary of Education and the Appropriations Committees broad discretion over whether and how much to fund the program through 2027.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Low A reauthorization of appropriations imposes no new enforcement mechanisms, compliance requirements, or administrative infrastructure.
- Temporal Commitment Low The authorization expires at the end of fiscal year 2027 — a hard end date within ten years — self-terminating unless Congress affirmatively acts to extend it again.
No signal yet
No possible riders have been surfaced for this bill.
Summary
This bill supports civics and history education in schools and universities across the United States. It requires national student tests in civics and history every two years, with results broken down by state. It also expands a federal grant program that helps colleges teach these subjects, allows more types of groups to apply for grants, and extends the program's funding through 2027. Finally, it creates a new government website to help students and teachers find federal scholarships and fellowships related to civics. Among other elements, the bill * requires biennial National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) testing in civics and history at grades 4, 8, and 12 with state-level results; * expands an existing higher education grant program to cover more topics, allow nonprofit partners, and run through 2027; * creates the America250 Civics Clearinghouse website to list federal civics scholarships and fellowships; * and preserves state and local authority over civics and history curriculum content.
AI-generated summary, pending human review.
| Version | Event | Date | User support | Your vote | Roll calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original |
Initial publication
Sep 30, 2026
|
Sep 30, 2026 | No votes yet | — | — |
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Core Policy Mechanism Top 4
Biennial civics and history national assessments, grades 4-8-12
Requires national student tests in civics and history every two years at grades 4, 8, and 12, with results detailed enough to show how each state is performing. This creates a new mandatory testing cycle that did not exist before.
- Population Scope High Every U.S. public school student in grades 4, 8, and 12 — well over 25% of the population when combined with the state agencies obligated to participate — is directly subject to the new mandatory assessment cycle.
- Budgetary Magnitude Low No specific dollar amount is authorized or appropriated; funding flows through existing appropriations authority under the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth High Creates a new statutory mandate requiring biennial national assessments at three grade levels with state-level disaggregation, a substantive legal obligation that did not exist before and binds the assessment authority on a fixed schedule.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Low The mandate uses 'shall' and specifies grade levels, frequency, and methodological standard, leaving the administering authority little discretion over whether or how often to conduct assessments.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Medium Requires the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to design and execute a recurring biennial assessment cycle producing statistically significant state-level data — an ongoing operational burden beyond existing assessment infrastructure.
- Temporal Commitment High The biennial requirement carries no expiry or reauthorization trigger, persisting indefinitely until Congress affirmatively acts to repeal or modify it.
No signal yet
Core Policy Mechanism
Biennial civics and history national assessments, grades 4-8-12
Core Policy Mechanism Top 4
America250 Civics Clearinghouse federal website
Directs the Department of Education, working with the Departments of Labor and Interior, to launch a public website within one year listing federal scholarships and fellowships related to civics for students and teachers.
- Population Scope Medium Students and teachers across the country seeking federal civics-related scholarships and fellowships are the direct beneficiaries — a broad but self-selected subset that plausibly reaches the 10–25% range given the size of the national K-12 and higher education student and teacher populations.
- Budgetary Magnitude Low No dedicated appropriation is made; Department of Education (DOE) must implement the clearinghouse using existing agency resources.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Imposes a mandatory interagency coordination duty on the Secretaries of Education, Labor, and Interior to create a new public-facing government resource within a fixed deadline — a procedural statutory obligation binding agency conduct rather than altering substantive law.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Low The requirement is mandatory ('shall') with a one-year deadline and specified interagency partners, leaving agencies little discretion over whether to act or with whom to coordinate.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Low Standing up a listing website is a bounded, one-time administrative task with no ongoing adjudication, penalties, or compliance obligations imposed on external parties.
- Temporal Commitment High Once established, the clearinghouse carries no expiry or review requirement, persisting as a standing federal resource indefinitely unless Congress directs otherwise.
No signal yet
Core Policy Mechanism
America250 Civics Clearinghouse federal website
Core Policy Mechanism Top 4
Expanded higher education civics and history grant program
Broadens the federal civics and history grant program for colleges by adding new topics, allowing nonprofit partners, permitting open educational resources, and supporting teacher preparation — expanding who can receive grants and what they can fund.
- Population Scope Low Directly affects institutions of higher education, eligible nonprofit organizations, and educators seeking grant funding — a narrow set of entities relative to the overall U.S. population or even the higher education sector broadly.
- Budgetary Magnitude Low The substantive program changes do not themselves authorize or appropriate funds; the associated funding question is addressed separately in the reauthorization component (index 3).
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Amends existing statutory eligibility and authorized-activity rules for a federal grant program, expanding who may receive grants and what they may fund — a meaningful change to existing law but within a procedural-administrative frame rather than creating new enforceable rights across the regulated population.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Medium Adds topics and activities grantees may pursue and shifts grant frequency to the Secretary of Education's discretion (subject to a minimum floor), moderately broadening the Secretary of Education's administrative latitude within the program.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Low Expands program scope without adding new compliance mandates or enforcement mechanisms; administrative load increases only incrementally as more grantee types become eligible.
- Temporal Commitment High The substantive statutory amendments to Higher Education Act Section 805 carry no independent sunset or reauthorization trigger, persisting indefinitely until Congress acts to change them.
No signal yet
Core Policy Mechanism
Expanded higher education civics and history grant program
Funding / Appropriations Top 4
Reauthorize civics grant program through 2027
Extends the legal authority to fund the federal civics and history education grant program for colleges through 2027, allowing the program to continue receiving federal money beyond its previous authorization.
- Population Scope Low Directly affects the narrow set of institutions of higher education and nonprofit partners eligible to apply for Section 805 civics grants — a small fraction of U.S. entities.
- Budgetary Magnitude Low Extends authorization of appropriations through fiscal year 2027 but specifies no dollar amount; actual funding remains subject to annual congressional appropriations action.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Low Updates a single authorization-of-appropriations end date from 2009 to 2027 — a narrow administrative amendment that enables future funding without altering substantive program rights or duties.
- Degree of Discretion Granted High By extending the authorization window without specifying amounts or conditions, Congress leaves the Secretary of Education and the Appropriations Committees broad discretion over whether and how much to fund the program through 2027.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Low A reauthorization of appropriations imposes no new enforcement mechanisms, compliance requirements, or administrative infrastructure.
- Temporal Commitment Low The authorization expires at the end of fiscal year 2027 — a hard end date within ten years — self-terminating unless Congress affirmatively acts to extend it again.
No signal yet
Funding / Appropriations
Reauthorize civics grant program through 2027
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