U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) engaged in a robust discussion with Education Secretary Linda McMahon during a Senate Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing, focusing on the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Budget Request for the Department of Education.
Britt’s questioning highlighted critical educational priorities for Alabama and the nation, including support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), expanding school choice, and improving literacy rates.
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She kicked off the hearing by putting Alabama’s 14 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) at the forefront.
“Alabama has more HBCUs than any other state in the nation. We are proud of the work that is done on those campuses,” Britt declared, highlighting their crucial role in strengthening communities and the workforce.
She asked Secretary McMahon how the FY26 budget would supercharge these institutions, especially with the “Strengthening HBCU program” already pumping $300 million annually into their operations.
“We are continuing the educational support and the budget support that have been for HBCUs. It’s one of the promises that the President made, and that’s exactly what we’re going to continue to do,” Secretary McMahon responded, additionally affirming assistance for grant administration or technical assistance will remain in place.
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Britt then pivoted to a topic close to her heart: educational freedom.
She lauded Secretary McMahon’s proposed $60 million increase for charter school programs in the FY26 budget, bringing the total to a whopping $500 million.
“When this department was founded, you said since 1980, we’ve spent about $3 trillion, but yet student scores have not improved,” Britt challenged, expressing her determination to “close the gap between the haves and have-nots.”
Drawing on Alabama’s successful Accountability Act, which provides scholarships and tax credits for educational access, Britt pushed McMahon on how these new funds would empower families in rural and underserved communities.
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McMahon responded with a powerful statement: “It’s very important to the President that all students have access, equal access, to a quality education… no child should be trapped in a failing school.”
“I am a public school kid, and I’m really proud of it. I want to make sure that where we have children who are trapped in a failing school, that they have an option and an opportunity and a pathway forward because education is the great equalizer,” Britt responded.
The Senator spotlighted Alabama’s groundbreaking success in literacy and announced that since passing the Alabama Literacy Act in 2019, the state’s fourth-grade reading scores have soared from 49th to 34th nationally.
“We believe with intentionality and evidence-based reading instruction and early intervention, you can make a difference,” Britt asserted, offering Alabama as a national model.
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She challenged McMahon on her plans to replicate this success nationwide, and McMahon accepted the challenge.
“Literacy is number one on my priority list. And I want to make sure that we are providing the information and the tools to states for them to see the success that other states have had. I mean, other governors, just like you said in Alabama, have put in place, kind of a return to basics, or that science of reading, and they have seen incredible results. And that’s what I want to continue to see across the country,” the Secretary responded.
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