H.R. 896 — Expanding Access to High-Impact Tutoring Act of 2025

This section authorizes appropriations of such sums as necessary to carry out the Act for FY2026 through FY2030 and directs the Secretary to distribute available funds for a fiscal year as follows: (1) 80% to award or renew grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) for subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) under section 4; (2) 10% to coordinate and support development of a nationwide tutoring workforce under section 7; (3) 5% to grantee SEAs for evaluation activities under section 6(b)(4); and (4) 5% to the Advisory Board for activities under section 5.

This section establishes a high-impact tutoring grant program under which the Secretary of Education awards grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) to improve student academic achievement and recovery, as defined by state academic standards under section 1111 of Title I-A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA; 20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.). SEAs must submit annual applications—including local educational agency (LEA) applications and plans—approved by the Secretary and an Advisory Board; grant amounts are allocated pro rata based on each SEA's share of the prior fiscal year's total national Title I-A funding (i.e., formula grants to high-poverty LEAs serving disadvantaged students), using funds made available under section 2(b)(1).

This section directs state educational agencies (SEAs) receiving grants under section 3 to award competitive subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs), in coordination with the Advisory Board, for implementing, administering, and evaluating tutoring programs in elementary and secondary schools. It requires SEAs to prioritize LEAs based on (1) the number or percentage of Title I-eligible students served; (2) the decline in student achievement relative to state standards since the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration on January 31, 2020; (3) the quality and rigor of proposed tutoring programs, including hours per school day and days per week; and (4) prior allocation of American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) funds to effective tutoring. LEAs must submit applications including plans detailing use of funds to meet section 6(b) requirements; targeted schools and grade levels; administration, including at least 30 minutes of tutoring per student for at least 3 days per week (or Advisory Board-approved alternative) and a 3-to-1 student-to-tutor ratio (or approved alternative); tutor qualifications and subjects; training (not fewer than twice monthly) and observations (monthly); operation by the LEA or approved nonprofit partner; design to improve achievement per state standards; evaluation with approved research organization; and collaboration with educator unions. Subgrants are for a 4-year period.

This section establishes an Advisory Board within the Department of Education, composed of at least five members appointed by the Secretary with expertise in designing and administering elementary and secondary tutoring programs or in program evaluation and evidence-based policy development, including at least one educator or educator union representative serving four-year terms (renewable). The board must (1) evaluate and approve local educational agency tutoring plans submitted through state educational agencies to ensure compliance with program requirements under section 6(b) and maximum impact on student outcomes, including instructional quality, evidence support, and evaluations conducted with state agencies and research partners; (2) provide technical assistance to grantees on maintaining board-required student-to-tutor ratios, delivering 30 minutes of tutoring per student per day for at least three days per week, selecting nonprofit providers, and implementing best practices; (3) review and decide on local agency requests for alternative tutoring timing (approving only if evidence supports effectiveness), higher student-to-tutor ratios, research partners, and nonprofit providers; (4) supply additional resources for experimental research designs in required evaluations; (5) coordinate tutor training and professional development to share best practices without mandating time or resource allocations; (6) periodically assess and update, based on current research, student-to-tutor ratios and training frequencies on a program-specific basis; (7) develop and publish a database of tutoring methods' impacts on state academic standards, plus evidence-based models for session timing (e.g., dedicated tutoring classes, in-class allocations, or optimal school-day slots); and (8) develop a nationwide tutoring workforce with the Secretary and grantee states per section 7.

This section requires a local educational agency (LEA) receiving a subgrant to use the funds to implement tutoring programs meeting specified requirements in each elementary and secondary school served by the state educational agency (SEA). LEAs may partner with a nonprofit provider (including an institution of higher education or other government agency) experienced in high-quality tutoring, subject to SEA certification, but must develop a long-term plan to operate programs using licensed teachers or paraprofessionals, with an SEA-approved exemption for labor shortages. The tutoring programs must (1) provide instruction in math, reading, or both for at least 30 minutes during the school day and at least three days per week during the school year; (2) be taught by a compensated licensed teacher or paraprofessional (per section 8), or a volunteer in a government or nonprofit service organization, with a student-to-tutor ratio of no more than 3-to-1 (unless updated by the Advisory Board); (3) occur on a set schedule with the same tutor weekly, in a separate area if during regular class, and aligned with students' classwork; (4) include training and professional development for tutors at least twice monthly (coordinated with the SEA and Advisory Board) and administrator observations at least monthly; (5) allow incorporation of educational technology or virtual instruction, with a required transition to in-person if outcomes do not improve (per section 4(d)(3)); (6) conduct at least one evaluation per subgrant period with a government or nonprofit research organization (Advisory Board- and SEA-approved), assessing impact on academic achievement and recovery per state standards under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 using quasi-experimental or experimental designs (preferring experimental); and (7) submit monthly reports to the Advisory Board and SEA on tutoring hours per day, days per week, and students served (with exceptions per section 4(d)(3)).

This section directs the Advisory Board, in coordination with the Secretary, state educational agencies receiving grants under this Act, institutions of higher education, government or nonprofit service organizations, and state and local workforce boards, to develop a nationwide tutoring workforce. The Advisory Board must (1) identify the number of tutors required to implement tutoring programs meeting section 6(b) requirements at each school receiving funds under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (i.e., schools serving low-income students); (2) provide funding, in consultation with states, to institutions of higher education and state and local workforce boards to recruit and train additional teachers, paraprofessionals, and volunteers from government or nonprofit service organizations; (3) provide funding, in consultation with states, to local educational agencies for "Grow Your Own" programs partnering school districts, community-based organizations, and colleges to recruit and train community members and non-tutor school staff as tutors (with tutoring designated as voluntary, not an additional job responsibility, and without penalty for declining); (4) coordinate with organizations such as AmeriCorps to recruit and train volunteers for tutoring in local educational agencies with teacher and paraprofessional shortages; (5) coordinate with institutions of higher education and local educational agencies to recruit and train education students for tutoring in shortage areas; and (6) develop and administer a pilot program providing funding for training and compensation of institution of higher education graduates committing to at least two years of tutoring in Title I schools.

This section requires tutoring programs expected to affect local educational agency (LEA) employees' terms and conditions of employment to be agreed to through collective bargaining—or collaboration with state or local educator unions where bargaining does not exist—prior to subgrant award, with the Secretary mediating any disputes. It specifies that, in conflicts with this Act's requirements, federal, state, or local laws (including negotiation mandates) or existing agreements control, and compliance therewith does not justify withholding funds.

This section provides definitions for purposes of the Act, adopting the meanings given in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 for the terms "Department," "elementary school," "local educational agency," "secondary school," "Secretary," "State," and "State educational agency." It further defines "program administrator" as an individual from a State educational agency or local educational agency who (1) ensures a tutoring program under a grant meets requirements of section 6(b)(1), (2) manages tutor training and professional development per section 6(b)(2)(A), and (3) conducts tutor observations per section 6(b)(2)(B).