I 
119TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7262 
To authorize the Secretary of Education to make payments to State edu-
cational agencies to provide immediate services or assistance to local 
educational agencies and non-public schools that serve an area in which 
a major disaster or emergency has been declared, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 27, 2026 
Mr. MANNION (for himself, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, and Ms. CHU) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
cation and Workforce 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of Education to make payments 
to State educational agencies to provide immediate serv-
ices or assistance to local educational agencies and non- 
public schools that serve an area in which a major dis-
aster or emergency has been declared, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Restarting Education 
After Disasters Act’’ or the ‘‘READ Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. IMMEDIATE AID TO RESTART SCHOOL OPERATIONS. 
(a) PAYMENTS AUTHORIZED.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated 
to carry out this section, the Secretary is authorized 
to make payments, on such basis as the Secretary 
determines appropriate, to State educational agen-
cies to enable such agencies to provide services or 
assistance to local educational agencies or non-public 
schools serving an area in which a covered disaster 
or emergency has been declared. 
(2) ENROLLMENT.—In determining the amount 
to be provided in payments authorized under para-
graph (1), the Secretary shall— 
(A) take into consideration the number of 
students who were enrolled, during the school 
year immediately preceding the school year in 
which a covered disaster or emergency occurred, 
in elementary schools and secondary schools 
that were closed as a result of such covered dis-
aster or emergency; and 
(B) give priority to State educational agen-
cies serving elementary schools and secondary 
schools that were not used for educational in-
struction for 30 or more days. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY, CONSIDERATION, AND EQUITY.— 
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(1) ELIGIBILITY AND CONSIDERATION.—From 
the payment provided by the Secretary under sub-
section (a), the State educational agency shall pro-
vide services and assistance to local educational 
agencies and non-public schools, consistent with the 
provisions of this section. In determining the amount 
to be provided for services or assistance under this 
section, the State educational agency shall consider 
the following: 
(A) The number of school-aged children 
served by the local educational agency or non- 
public school in the academic year preceding 
the academic year for which the services or as-
sistance are provided. 
(B) The severity of the impact of the cov-
ered disaster or emergency on the local edu-
cational agency or nonpublic school and the ex-
tent of the needs in each local educational agen-
cy or non-public school that is in an area in 
which a covered disaster or emergency has been 
declared. 
(2) EQUITY.—Educational services and assist-
ance provided for eligible non-public school students 
under paragraph (1) shall be equitable in compari-
son to the educational services and other benefits 
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(G) redeveloping instructional plans, in-
cluding curriculum development; 
(H) initiating and maintaining education 
and support services; 
(I) facility and equipment repairs and 
minor renovation of schools; and 
(J) such other activities related to the pur-
pose of this section that are approved by the 
Secretary. 
(2) USE WITH OTHER AVAILABLE FUNDS.—A 
local educational agency or non-public school receiv-
ing services or assistance under this section may use 
such services or assistance in coordination with other 
Federal, State, or local funds available for the activi-
ties described in paragraph (1). 
(3) SPECIAL RULES.— 
(A) PROHIBITION.—Services or assistance 
provided under this section shall not be used for 
construction or major renovation of schools. 
(B) SECULAR, NEUTRAL, AND
NONIDEO-
LOGICAL
SERVICES
OR
ASSISTANCE.—Services 
or assistance provided under this section, in-
cluding equipment and materials, shall be sec-
ular, neutral, and nonideological. 
(e) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), services or assistance made available 
under this section shall be used to supplement, not 
supplant, any funds made available through the Fed-
eral Emergency Management Agency or through a 
State. 
(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not pro-
hibit the provision of Federal assistance under this 
section to an eligible State educational agency, local 
educational agency, or nonpublic school that is or 
may be entitled to receive, from another source, ben-
efits for the same purposes as under this section 
if— 
(A) such State educational agency, local 
educational agency, or school has not received 
such other benefits by the time of application 
for Federal assistance under this section; and 
(B) such State educational agency, local 
educational agency, or school agrees to repay all 
duplicative Federal assistance received to carry 
out the purposes of this section. 
(f) ASSISTANCE TO NON-PUBLIC SCHOOLS.— 
(1) FUNDS AVAILABILITY.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—From the payment pro-
vided by the Secretary under subsection (b) to 
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a State educational agency, the State edu-
cational agency shall reserve an amount of 
funds, to be made available to non-public 
schools in the State, that is not less than an 
amount that bears the same relation to the pay-
ment as the number of students in non-public 
elementary schools and secondary schools in the 
State bears to the total number of students in 
non-public and public elementary schools and 
secondary schools in the State. 
(B) NUMBER OF SCHOOLS.—The number 
of students in schools described in subpara-
graph (A) shall be determined by the National 
Center for Education Statistics Common Core 
of Data for the most recent school year for 
which data is available. 
(C) USE OF FUNDS.—Except as provided 
in paragraph (2), the funds reserved under sub-
paragraph (A) shall be used for the provision of 
services or assistance at non-public schools. 
(2) SPECIAL RULE.—If funds reserved under 
paragraph (1) remain unobligated 120 days after 
the date of enactment of this section, such funds 
may be used to provide services or assistance under 
this section to local educational agencies. 
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(3) PUBLIC CONTROL OF FUNDS.—The control 
of funds for the services and assistance provided to 
a non-public school under paragraph (1), and title to 
materials, equipment, and property purchased with 
such funds, shall be in a public agency, and a public 
agency shall administer such funds, materials, equip-
ment, and property and shall provide such services 
(or may contract for the provision of such services 
with a public or private entity). 
(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) COVERED DISASTER OR EMERGENCY.—The 
term ‘‘covered disaster or emergency’’ means a 
major disaster or emergency that has been de-
clared— 
(A) in accordance with section 401 or 501 
of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170; 
5190); or 
(B) by the State served by such State edu-
cational agency, in accordance with State law. 
(2) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘elementary 
school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘secondary 
school’’, ‘‘Secretary’’, and ‘‘State educational agen-
cy’’ have the meanings given such terms in section 
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8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(3) NON-PUBLIC SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘non-pub-
lic school’’ means a non-public elementary school or 
secondary school that— 
(A) is accredited or licensed or otherwise 
operates in accordance with State law; and 
(B) was in existence on the date that is 1 
week prior to the date that the major disaster 
or emergency was declared for the area. 
(h) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030, 
to remain available until expended. 
Æ 
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