Access to School Supplies Act of 2026

SI-generated grade · five published checks · not individually reviewed by a person · methodology

This bill is a direct violation of the Tenth Amendment and the principle of enumerated powers. The federal government has no constitutional authority to fund the purchase of school supplies, an activity reserved to the states and local communities under the Constitution. The bill also fails every check of the decentralization test, consolidating power at the highest level of government for a task that can and should be handled by individuals, families, and local communities.

• ✗ Concern · Enumerated powers
  The federal government's powers are limited to those enumerated in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. Education is not among them. The General Welfare Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 1) does not grant a general police power to spend on any matter Congress deems beneficial; it is limited to spending for the common defense and the general welfare as tied to other enumerated powers. Schoo…
• ✓ Passes · Bill of Rights
  The bill does not directly infringe any right protected by the first ten amendments. It does not restrict speech, religion, assembly, press, petition, arms, quartering, search and seizure, self-incrimination, due process, takings, fair trial, jury, cruel and unusual punishment, or unenumerated rights. However, the Tenth Amendment is implicated by the federal overreach (see decentralization check).
• ✓ Passes · Individual sovereignty
  The bill does not restrict what individuals can do with their own person, property, speech, labor, or belief. It does not impose a mandate or prohibition on individuals. The burden of justification is not triggered because the bill does not restrict individual freedom.
• ✗ Concern · Decentralization
  This bill fails all four questions of the decentralization test. An individual or family can purchase school supplies without any government involvement. A local community or county can fund school supplies without state involvement. A state can fund school supplies without federal involvement. This action consolidates decision-making at the federal level, the highest level of government, for a ta…
• ✓ Passes · Due process and takings
  The bill does not bypass due process, presume guilt, or take property without just compensation. It is a voluntary grant program with no coercive or punitive elements. No due process or takings issues arise.

Sources: Congress.gov: HR 10277 summary