Congressman David Scott’s Priorities and Leadership
Congressman Scott strongly supports major investments in early childhood learning and development through higher education and job training. As a proponent of our public education system, he has fought to increase federal funding for Title I schools and for expanding resources targeting underserved communities and students with disabilities. He has also led calls to increase teacher salaries to ensure educators are not forced to work two or even three jobs. Congress must do more to help America's teachers and it can do so today by creating incentives to attract and retain quality educators. Rep. David Scott firmly believes in making college more affordable and technical career pathways more accessible in order to diversify our growing workforce.
Pre-K, Elementary and Secondary Education
Rep. David Scott requested more than $18 billion in FY 2026 funding for the National Head Start to support preschool education for our most vulnerable Georgia students.
He is a cosponsor of the Rebuild America’s Schools Act, which invests over $100 billion for school infrastructure and safer classrooms while also creating millions of jobs and stimulating local economic activity.
As the former Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, he backed legislation to provide healthy and nutritious meals to all students regardless of income level, including the Healthy Meals Help Kids Learn Act, which would permanently increase the federal reimbursement rates for USDA's school lunch and breakfast programs.
Rep. David Scott requested $500 million in FY 2026 appropriations for the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) program. PDG B-5 funds support need assessment, strategic planning, family engagement, and direct services to young children across Gwinnett, Clayton, Henry and Rockdale Counties.
To combat the recent rise in antisemitism, Rep. David Scott cosponsored the Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons(HEAL) Act, a bill to research best practices and curriculums to teach the history of the Holocaust across the nation.
Rep. David Scott also submitted the highest possible FY 2026 funding request for Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, which provides hands-on career training for K-12 students.
Higher Education and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
Rep. David Scott is the leading voice in Congress for protecting student scholarship to the 1890s Land Grant Institutions for students pursuing agriculture-related degrees. He introduced the 1890s Land Grant Scholarships Act, which would make the scholarship program permanent and secured more than $80 million in funding in the FY 2025 Continuing Appropriations law.
In his effort to expand and diversify STEM, Rep. David Scott introduced the Making Advances Kinetic Education, Research, and Skills (MAKERS) Act, which would provide grants to HBCUs, Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), and community colleges to expand their makerspaces.
He is a cosponsor of the Performance, Resources, Inclusion, Matters, for Equity (PRIME) Act, which invests in historically underfunded athletic programs at HBCUs and MSIs; he requested a FY 2026 funding level of $103 million to strengthen the Historically Black Graduate Institutions (HBGI) program from Republican cuts.
College Affordability
For FY 2026, Rep. David Scott is fighting to prevent dangerous cuts to Pell grants while continuing to lead the charge to provide necessary increases, so the maximum individual award will be $13,000—which is nearly double the current student award.
He requested funding increases of $1.3 billion for Federal TRIO Programs, which are designed to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds in k-12 and college.
Rep. David Scott also submitted a FY 2026 funding request of almost $2.7 billion for the Student Aid Administration (SAA), which oversees the FAFSA application process.
As the proud father of a Georgia nurse, he strongly supports medical education programs and protecting our future healthcare workforce. That is why he is fighting to prevent the elimination of the Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education Program (CHGME) and protecting its $738 million FY 2026 funding level.
Students with Disabilities
To better support arts education for students with disabilities, Rep. David Scott introduced the Reimagining Inclusive Arts Education Act, which provides grants for arts educators to gain professional development training aimed at offering disabled students more targeted arts, music, and visual craft curriculums.
Rep. David Scott is a strong supporter of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and a cosponsor of the IDEA Full Funding Act, which raises the annual federal funding contribution to support students with disabilities.
Each appropriation cycle, he also submits a funding letter to include no less than $932 million for Part C Early Intervention and Part B Section 619 Preschool Special Education of the IDEA.
For college students with disabilities, getting housing should be seamless, that is why he cosponsored the Respond, Innovate, Succeed, and Empower (RISE) Act.
Safety and Mental Health
Rep. David Scott submitted a FY 2026 funding request to provide a $1.5 billion for the Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) Program, which includes funding for school mental health services and new technologies in the classroom.
He is committed to preserving the safety of Georgia students when they enter a classroom, which is why he is a strong backer of the Safe Schools Improvement Act, a bill that would require K-12 schools to adopt codes of conduct specifically prohibiting bullying and harassment.
He cosponsored the Stop Campus Hazing Act, requiring hazing incidents be included in a college’s annual crime report and require higher education institutions to establish a campus-wide, research-based program to educate students about the dangers of hazing.
Rep. David Scott voted in favor of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act which became law in 2022 and provides funding for school safety initiatives, out-of-school programs, and school mental health counselors, to ensure that our young people are protected from the ravages of gun violence.
