11. Department of Education · Notable · Needs Congress
Eliminate GEAR UP
Printed page 361 11. Department of Education
“GEAR UP should be eliminated, and its functions should instead be handled privately or at the state and local levels, where policymakers are better equipped to increase college preparedness within their school districts.”
What has happened
- Attempted
The FY2026 Discretionary Budget Request asked Congress to eliminate TRIO and GEAR UP together, a $1.579 billion cut, on the reasoning that they are "a relic of the past when financial incentives were needed to motivate Institutions of Higher Education to engage with low-income students" and that institutions "should be using their own resources". That is a formal administration request and so `attempted` (playbook §3b). Congress declined: the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 continues to fund the GEAR UP authority (chapter 2 of subpart 2 of part A of title IV of the HEA) and the FY2027 Budget does not repeat the request. The program has run normally throughout — new partnership and state grant competitions on 2025-06-11 and an application information collection renewed on 2026-06-25.
- Fiscal Year 2026 Discretionary Budget Request — TRIO programs and Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), –$1,579 million
- Public Law 119-75, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 — Department of Education, Higher Education account (funds chapter 2 of subpart 2 of part A of title IV of the HEA)
Research log
What was searched, and what didn’t count as evidence
Research notes
- Nothing has been transferred to states, localities or private hands, which is the second half of the Quote: no Federal Register document, interagency agreement or Department announcement moves GEAR UP’s functions anywhere.
- A search of the titles of the bills we keep and search for “GEAR UP” and “Gaining Early Awareness” found no bill that would eliminate the program.
- Action
- eliminate
- Object
- GEAR UP program
- ID
- 921