HR7099-119

What This Bill Does

The PATH to Education Act adds transit grant authority to 49 U.S.C. 5307 and 5311 for projects that connect students and Head Start families to eligible education sites. Eligible institutions include community colleges, minority-serving institutions, Head Start and Early Head Start agencies operating center-based programs, area career and technical education schools, and rural-serving institutions of higher education. Eligible recipients are public transportation providers partnering with one or more eligible institutions. Grant funds can add bus or rail stops or routes, add complementary paratransit, increase frequency, adjust route times so students can get to class, help Head Start participants and families reach programs, and cover eligible operating costs. Applications must explain how the project improves transit access, and the Secretary must prioritize partnerships with institutions where more than 25 percent of students receive Pell Grants. The bill also sets aside $1 million in fiscal year 2027, $2 million in 2028, $3 million in 2029, $4 million in 2030, and $5 million in 2031 for these grants under rural and urban transit formula programs.

Who Benefits and How

Community college students, Pell Grant recipients, minority-serving institutions, Head Start families, career and technical education students, rural-serving colleges, and public transit agencies benefit because the grants can pay for routes, stops, frequency changes, paratransit, and operating costs that make education sites easier to reach. Low-income students benefit most because the priority favors institutions with more than 25 percent Pell enrollment.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Federal Transit Administration staff, transit agencies, education partners, Head Start agencies, and grant writers must build partnerships, prepare applications, document access improvements, manage operating funds, and report on projects. Other transit formula priorities may face competition because the bill reserves dedicated amounts for PATH grants in fiscal years 2027 through 2031.

Key Provisions

• Adds PATH to Education grant authority for public transportation providers partnering with eligible education institutions.
• Authorizes projects adding bus, rail, and paratransit connections to community colleges, Head Start programs, career schools, minority-serving institutions, and rural-serving colleges.
• Funds route frequency, schedule adjustments, and eligible operating costs that help students and Head Start families reach programs.
• Requires applications to show improved transit access for students and Head Start participants.
• Requires grant priority for partnerships with institutions where more than 25 percent of students receive Pell Grants.
• Reserves $1 million in 2027, $2 million in 2028, $3 million in 2029, $4 million in 2030, and $5 million in 2031 for the program.