S. 3406 — PATHS to Tutor Act of 2025

This section establishes a competitive demonstration grant program under which the Secretary of Education awards grants to local consortia to provide high-quality tutoring, especially in hard-to-staff schools (i.e., high-need schools with high teacher turnover or many novice teachers) or high-need schools (as defined in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965). A local consortium must include as lead entities a local educational agency (LEA), individual school, educational service agency, or educator preparation program (i.e., a state-accredited program at a public or nonprofit institution of higher education or other nonprofit provider), and may include other community partners such as institutions of higher education. High-quality tutoring must be provided one-on-one or in small groups (not exceeding 1 tutor to 4 students), occur multiple sessions per week during the school day or tightly integrated periods, align to local standards, include tutor training and support, and be facilitated by the LEA and educator preparation program with adequate tutor compensation. Grant applications must describe the consortium and fiscal agent; tutor recruitment, selection, and matching; training and support; targeted schools and grades; learning acceleration plans; safeguards against tracking or remediation; session details; curriculum alignment; and materials and supports.

This section requires the Secretary of Education to enter into an interagency agreement with the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) under which CNCS approves tutor positions in programs funded under section 2 as approved national service positions (i.e., positions eligible for national service educational awards, such as Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards for postsecondary tuition or loan repayment). The agreement must specify procedures for submitting a degree or certificate of completion for high-quality tutoring service to CNCS. This section further directs the Secretary and CNCS Chief Executive Officer, notwithstanding restrictions in section 148 of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12604), to develop a program disbursing such educational awards to tutors upon completion of service under section 2-funded programs.