Advanced Coursework Equity Act

Key Points

• The bill creates a competitive grant program to help schools get more underrepresented students into advanced classes like AP, IB, dual enrollment, and 8th grade Algebra I.
• Districts that take the money must switch from relying mainly on teacher recommendations to open enrollment or universal screening, where all students are tested and automatically enrolled if they qualify, unless a parent opts out.
• The bill authorizes $266 million per year from 2027 through 2029, mostly distributed as multi-year grants to state and local education agencies, with priority for high-poverty districts.
• Funds can pay for tutoring, teacher training, exam fee waivers for low-income students, and materials, aimed at helping newly enrolled students succeed in harder coursework.
• Grantees must track and publicly report enrollment and performance data broken down by race, income, disability, and English learner status, and top performers can earn a 5 percent funding bonus.