Expanding Access to High-Impact Tutoring Act of 2025

Enumerated powers · passes · severity: minor

Congress may spend for the general welfare under Article I, Section 8, Clause 1, and education grants have been upheld as a valid exercise of the spending power. However, the bill's provisions directing the Department of Education to establish an advisory board that evaluates and approves local plans and develops a nationwide tutoring workforce may exceed the spending power by coercing states into complying with federal directives, potentially violating the Tenth Amendment. The spending must be for the general welfare and not unduly coercive, and the conditions must be unambiguous and related to the federal interest.

Bill of Rights · passes

The bill does not directly infringe on any of 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. The Tenth Amendment is implicated, but that is addressed under decentralization.

Individual liberty · passes

The bill does not restrict individual liberty directly. It provides funding for tutoring programs, which is a benefit, not a restriction. However, the federal advisory board's role in developing a nationwide tutoring workforce could potentially lead to federal control over educational content, but as written, it does not directly restrict individual action.

Decentralization · raises concerns · severity: significant

The bill fails the decentralization test because it consolidates decision-making at the federal level. While individuals and families can arrange for tutoring privately, and local communities and states can implement tutoring programs without federal involvement, the bill creates a federal advisory board to approve local plans and develop a nationwide tutoring workforce, which is a clear consolidation of authority upward. This is not the minimum necessary level of government involvement.

Due process and takings · passes

The bill does not bypass due process or take property without just compensation. It is a grant program, not a regulatory or enforcement action. There is no deprivation of life, liberty, or property, and no takings issue.