H.R. 2275 — SCHOOL Act of 2025

This section establishes a new requirement (in a new ESEA §8701) that state educational agencies (SEAs) allocate grant funds under ESEA Titles I (aid for disadvantaged students), III (English learners), IV (student support and academic enrichment), V (state innovation and support), and VI (Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native education)—to the extent permitted under state law—on a per-eligible-child basis (children aged 5-17) to follow students enrolled in public schools, private schools, or home schools, whether learning in person or remotely. (1) SEAs allocate funds to local educational agencies (LEAs) based on public school enrollment and directly to private/home school enrollees via education savings accounts (ESAs), using equal per-child amounts determined annually from LEA reports of eligible children in their districts (including those in private/home schools); (2) LEAs distribute public school shares based on enrollment and must supplement (not supplant) non-federal funds per ESEA §1117; (3) states distribute ESA funds similarly on a supplement-not-supplant basis; and (4) parents/guardians annually notify LEAs of their child's school choice, with data used solely for allocations. Allowable uses include curriculum/instructional materials (including online/technological), tutoring/classes, private tuition, extracurriculars, testing, diagnostics, and therapies for students with disabilities. Private school equitable services rules of ESEA §1116 apply; school lunch eligibility is preserved; and no federal/state control over non-public providers is authorized.

This section establishes a new requirement under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for state educational agencies to allocate federal IDEA grant funds on a per-eligible-child basis—regardless of whether the child attends public school, private school, or home school (to the extent permitted under state law)—to local educational agencies serving public school enrollees or directly to private- and home-schooled eligible children via education savings accounts. (As background, IDEA provides formula grants to states to support special education and related services for children with disabilities aged 3 through 21.) Funds must supplement, not supplant, non-federal resources; allowable uses include curriculum, instructional materials, tutoring, private school tuition, extracurricular activities, testing, and educational therapies. States must develop a parental notification plan for annual school choice reporting and use child count data collected from local educational agencies solely for fund allocation, with equal per-child amounts distributed to public schools via local agencies or directly to private/home-schooled children. The section includes rules of construction preserving eligibility for federally funded school lunch programs and prohibiting federal or state control over non-public education providers.