National Parents Union

This was never about a test score.

The kids struggling to read today grow up to read your medical records, build your house, and measure your medication tomorrow. Low literacy already costs the U.S. an estimated $224 billion a year, plus $40 billion in lost business productivity.

The READ Act fixes the root. But it only becomes law if we make noise.

📞 Call your senators: (202) 224-3121. Tell them to pass the READ Act, S.4689.
🔗 nationalparentsunion.org/campaigns/read-act

Congress created the U.S. Department of Education in 1979. Under the Constitution, only Congress can abolish it or reassign what it does. Not a president. Not a cabinet secretary. Not an executive order.

Yet our kids' civil rights, special education, and student aid are already being scattered across six agencies — with one office eliminated outright — and Congress has authorized none of it.

This is an end-run around the law, using our children as the bargaining chip. The Department's role cannot be erased through executive action alone.

Our kids. Our voice. The fight isn't over. ocrwatch.org

One front door. That's what the Department of Education was supposed to be — one accountable place for our kids' civil rights, special education, English-learner support, and student aid.

Now it's six doors, and none of them were built for schools:
→ Civil rights: Department of Justice
→ Special education (IDEA): Health & Human Services
→ Student aid: Treasury
→ K-12 & college oversight: Department of Labor
→ English-learner support: eliminated outright
Picture a parent whose child has been harassed at school or denied services they're legally owed. Now they have to figure out which federal bureaucracy to call — each one designed for something else entirely.
The maze is the point. Our kids deserve better. ocrwatch.org

Parents did the math, and the priorities are clear. 81% say building a new White House ballroom is a bad use of taxpayer money. But 85% say expanding tutoring access for K-12 students is money well spent — and 79% support boosting the Child Tax Credit for working families. The message to Washington is simple: invest in our children, not vanity projects.

Read more: https://tinyurl.com/yc8nnbat

Want to do one concrete thing for kids today? Pick up the phone.

Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121, ask for your senators, and tell them to pass the READ Act (S.4689).

Here's why: roughly 1 in 3 students graduate unable to understand basic text, and there's not a single state where most kids read on grade level. The READ Act — bipartisan and parent-built — makes the science of reading the standard, funds early screening, and gives parents honest information when a child is behind.

Good bills don't pass themselves. They pass when enough of us call. Say: "I'm a parent and a voter. Please support the READ Act, S.4689, so every kid learns to read."

📞 (202) 224-3121 · 🔗 nationalparentsunion.org/campaigns/read-act

This month, we’re putting the spotlight where it belongs: on the fathers, male caretakers, and educators who show up, lean in, and put kids first every single day.

The National Parents Union is hosting our Fathers & Families Forum on Thursday, June 25, 2026 at 6:30 p.m. We’ve got a stacked lineup of powerhouse voices from across our partner network, including:

Curtis Valentine — President, Male Educator Network and Policy Institute (MEN)
Kirby Rabalais — Got4titude
Mohan Sivaloganathan — Co-Founder, Dads for All
Brett Roer — AI Leadership Coach, Enthusiast & Advocate
Kunal Dalal — AI Parentologist

We’re connecting their work to the Kids First Agenda—because kids don’t need lip service, they need people who show up.

📌Register today—and while you’re at it, subscribe to the NPU YouTube Channel so you never miss a moment.

Pull up. Bring your people. Let’s get to work.

Registration link: https://streamyard.com/watch/ZyyFFTnx8xwy

They didn't close the Department of Education. They're chopping it up and shipping the pieces to six different agencies — and Congress never signed off.

This is our kids' civil rights, special education, and student aid being scattered across a government maze on purpose. When the office meant to protect our children is "somewhere out there," families can't find the front door. Read our statement here: https://tinyurl.com/yn5p32b6

Congress built this Department in 1979. Only Congress can take it apart. This isn't reform — it's chaos by executive fiat.

The fight isn't over. See the receipts: ocrwatch.org

Name another issue where President Bush AND President Obama's education secretaries agree. We'll wait. 🤝

Arne Duncan (Obama): "There is nothing partisan about a child learning to read."
Margaret Spellings (Bush): reading is "more than just an education issue."

The READ Act is bipartisan because reading is — which means there's no excuse not to pass it. Your senators need to hear that from you.

📞 Call (202) 224-3121 and tell them to pass the READ Act, S.4689.
🔗 nationalparentsunion.org/campaigns/read-act

When it comes to protecting our kids online, parents aren't divided. 90% say AI chatbots should be legally required to alert them when a child asks about harmful or illegal behavior — 89% of Republicans and 92% of Democrats. That's not a red issue or a blue issue. It's a parent issue. It's time for guardrails that put families first. Learn more at ParentsOnAI.org.

Washington didn't think this up. Parents did. 💪

For years, 70%+ of parents have said the government should do more to help kids read. The last time parents reshaped federal education like this was 1975. We don't stop now. When parents call, Washington listens.

Make the next move: call your senators and tell them to pass the READ Act (S.4689).

📞 (202) 224-3121
🔗 nationalparentsunion.org/campaigns/read-act