H.R. 10773: Religious Education Liberty Assurance Act of 2026 (119th Congress) Bill Summary

This bill would change federal tax law to protect the independence of certain scholarship organizations and private schools, especially religious schools, when they participate in a federal education-related tax provision.

What it would do

Prevent government control over scholarship groups: It says that scholarship-granting organizations participating under this section of the tax code should not be treated as acting on behalf of the government.
Limit government direction: It bars federal, state, or local officials from mandating, directing, or controlling any part of a participating scholarship organization’s operations.
Give scholarship groups broad freedom: The bill says the law should be interpreted to allow these organizations as much freedom as possible to serve participants without government control.
Protect private and religious schools from government control: It says governments cannot use this tax provision to control any aspect of private or religious elementary and secondary schools.
Keep education expenses at private and religious schools eligible: It prohibits governments from imposing conditions that would exclude education expenses at private or religious K-12 schools from counting as qualified education expenses under the provision.
Prohibit discrimination based on religious character: It says governments may not exclude, discriminate against, or otherwise disadvantage schools because they are religious or have religiously based or mission-based policies or practices.
Protect parents’ use of scholarships: It bars governments from discouraging families from using scholarships from participating scholarship organizations at private, nonprofit, and faith-based schools.

Practical effect

In plain terms, the bill would make it harder for governments to attach rules or restrictions to certain scholarship programs and would aim to ensure that private and religious schools can continue to participate in those programs without being treated differently because of their religious status.