# 119-s-1400: Adult Education WORKS Act

119-s-1400, Adult Education WORKS Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI] (D-RI); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2025-12-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1400
- As of: 2025-12-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-1400
- Congress: 119
- Title: Adult Education WORKS Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-04-09
- Sponsor: Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI] (D-RI)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Labor and Employment
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2025-12-21

## Summary

**Strengthens and funds adult education by expanding Title II, embedding digital and information literacy, and creating library- and community-based college and career navigators.** It pushes professional standards for adult educators and aligns adult education more tightly with the workforce system to boost credential attainment and job connections. - Adults and families: Expands access to career navigation, digital literacy, and information literacy so adult learners can combine education and training, pursue recognized credentials, and get help with postsecondary transitions. Programs will track measurable skill gains and post-exit outcomes. - Libraries and community organizations: Allows public libraries and community groups to be official one-stop partners and host navigator services, including mobile sites, to reach remote or transportation-disadvantaged communities. - Educators and state/local systems: Requires professionalization and voluntary credentialing for adult educators, new staffing models and career ladders, clearer state and local board collaboration, and standardized participant reporting across core programs. *Authorizes increased federal spending, setting Title II funding at $810 million in FY2026 rising to $1.4 billion in FY2030 and adding a separate $135 million per year for navigators for FY2026–FY2030.*

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Young, Todd [R-IN] (R-IN), 2025-04-09T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Bigger Title II funding and definitions: benefit, high. This bill would authorize much larger annual grants for adult education (Title II). It sets funding at $810 million for FY2026, $945 million for FY2027, $1.08 billion for FY2028, $1.215 billion for FY2029, and $1.35 billion for FY2030. It would also raise a reserved Title II line from $15 million t…
- Grants for library career navigators: benefit, medium. This bill would create grants to place college and career navigators in public libraries and community groups. It would authorize $135 million per year starting in FY2026 for these grants. Local workforce boards could partner with libraries and use local funds when libraries show they provide workf…
- Stronger state and board rules: benefit, medium. This bill would require State plans and local boards to cover family literacy, digital skills, and how training costs are shared. It would push States to support teacher credentialing, career ladders, and allow local admin funds for professional development. States must post non-Federal contributio…
- New performance rules and pilots: benefit, medium. This bill would make Title II adult education follow WIOA performance rules and set measurable skill-gain and after-exit indicators. States could use interim adult-education indicators. Agencies could run five-year pilot accountability systems with a 90-day decision timeline. The bill funds nationa…
- Allow digital and information literacy: benefit, low. This bill would explicitly allow digital literacy and information literacy training as part of workforce and adult education programs. If enacted, programs could offer courses on using technology, finding and judging information, and safe digital habits as part of job and literacy training.

## Related bills

- 119-s-1541: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act
- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-s-1120: Unity through Service Act of 2025
- 119-s-2461: Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act of 2025
- 119-s-1241: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-s-1400 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1400)

## Related
- [119-s-1541: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1541)
- [119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1748)
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [119-s-1120: Unity through Service Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1120)
- [119-s-2461: Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2461)
- [119-s-1241: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1241)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1400 (as of 2025-12-21).