FY 2026 Spending Bill Locks in $15.5 Billion for Special Education, Tweaks H-2B Worker Rules

This massive appropriations bill sets the spending plan for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education for Fiscal Year 2026. Think of it as the government’s annual budget blueprint, detailing exactly how billions will flow to everything from job training grants and cancer research to student aid and veteran services. Key allocations include over $15.5 billion for Special Education (IDEA) programs, nearly $25 billion for Federal Student Aid programs (setting the maximum Pell Grant at $6,335 for 2026–2027), and $7.3 billion for the National Cancer Institute alone. This bill is less about new programs and more about maintaining the massive federal machinery that impacts daily life, but it comes packed with administrative rules and a few policy changes that matter to your wallet and job.

The Workforce Training Scorecard

If you or someone you know relies on federal job training, this bill locks in the funding for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The Department of Labor gets nearly $4 billion for WIOA grants, with the money split between adult training, youth programs, and helping dislocated workers get back on their feet. For a worker recently laid off from a factory, this means the local career center still has the funds to pay for retraining in a new field, like coding or advanced manufacturing. A major change here is a tweak to the H-2B temporary worker program. The bill prohibits the use of funds to enforce specific worker protections, like the “corresponding employment” and “three-fourths guarantee” rules (Sec. 111). Translation: for certain temporary workers, the government won't be using this money to police the wage floor or guarantee a minimum number of work hours. This is a win for employers seeking maximum flexibility, but it could weaken protections for foreign workers competing for those jobs.

Health and Human Services: Where the Big Money Lives

nUnsurprisingly, HHS gets the lion's share of the budget. On the health side, the bill provides $7.3 billion for cancer research and over $3.9 billion for heart, lung, and blood research, ensuring continuity for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). For those concerned about healthcare access, the bill allocates over $1.8 billion for primary health care programs, including community health centers. For parents, the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) receives over $8.8 billion, money that must supplement state funds to help low-income families afford childcare. The bill also includes a significant $1.5 billion allocation for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), available through 2028, signaling a long-term commitment to high-risk, high-reward medical breakthroughs.

Education: Grants, Loans, and the Pell Promise

For students and schools, the bill provides huge numbers. Title I grants for disadvantaged students receive over $19 billion. Crucially for families with special needs children, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is funded at $15.5 billion (Sec. 306). The bill also sets the maximum Federal Pell Grant for the 2026–2027 award year at $6,335 (Sec. 311). If you’re one of the millions navigating student loan repayment, the bill sets aside $2.3 million specifically for outreach efforts to ensure borrowers who qualify for loan cancellation under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program know how to switch to the correct repayment plan (Sec. 316). They’re trying to make sure you don’t miss out on debt relief just because of confusing paperwork.

The Policy Riders: What You Can’t Do with the Money

Like almost all spending bills, this one is loaded with policy restrictions, or “riders,” dictating what federal agencies cannot do with the funds. The bill maintains long-standing prohibitions against using federal money for abortions (except in cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment) and bans using funds to promote gun control. More subtly, the bill prohibits the NIH from using its funds to create or finalize a unique health identifier for individuals (Sec. 511). This stops the government from implementing a single, universal ID number for all health records, a privacy concern for many. Finally, the bill includes a restriction on using funds to advocate for the legalization of any Schedule I controlled substance (Sec. 509), creating a clear line between federal research (which is allowed) and advocacy (which is not) in the ongoing drug policy debate.