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H.R. 10251House119th Congress (2025-2027)In Committee

Back-to-School Supplies Affordability Act

Sponsored by Brendan F. BoyleRep. Brendan F. Boyle (D-PA)
Introduced September 3, 2026

AI-Generated Summary

Updated September 4, 2026 at 8:51 AM UTC

The Back-to‑School Supplies Affordability Act aims to keep tariffs on school‑related products from rising above the rates that were in effect on Jan. 19, 2025. By limiting duties on a defined list of classroom items, the bill seeks to lower costs for students, families, teachers, schools, and local governments. It applies to imports of those items and gives the Commerce and Education departments authority to designate additional products, while allowing Congress to block any designation it disagrees with.

Key Provisions

  • Prohibits any tariff on listed school‑supply items from exceeding the duty rate that existed on Jan. 19, 2025, except for duties imposed under specific trade‑act authorities.
  • Defines the covered items by specific Harmonized Tariff Schedule codes (e.g., office/school supplies, backpacks, notebooks, children’s books, calendars, keyboards, hairbrushes, pencils, pens, etc.) and by any item the Secretary of Commerce designates in coordination with the Secretary of Education.
  • Requires the Secretary of Commerce to report to the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees every 180 days, listing both exempt items and newly designated items.
  • Allows Congress to pass a joint resolution of disapproval to remove any designated item from the duty‑exemption list, using expedited procedures under the Trade Act of 1974.

Legislative Activity

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HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Ways and Means Committee

September 3, 2026

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

September 3, 2026

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Ways and Means Committee

September 3, 2026

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued September 3, 2026

I

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 10251

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 3, 2026

Mr. Boyle of Pennsylvania (for himself, Ms. Bynum, Ms. Craig, Ms. Norton, Ms. McBride, Mr. Vargas, and Mr. Krishnamoorthi) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To limit the duties that may be imposed with respect to school supplies and educational materials, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Back-to-School Supplies Affordability Act.

2.

Sense of Congress

It is the sense of Congress that arbitrary and chaotic tariffs increase the cost of school supplies for students, families, teachers, schools, and local governments.

3.

Limitation on imposition of duties on school supplies and educational material

(a)

In general

Beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, no duty described in subsection (b) applies with respect to any item described in subsection (c).

(b)

Duty described

A duty is described in this subsection if the duty imposed on an article exceeds the duty in effect for the article on January 19, 2025, except if the duty was—

(1)

imposed pursuant to title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1671 et seq.); or

(2)

proclaimed pursuant to section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2251).

(c)

Items described

An item is described in this subsection if—

(1)

the item is an item used in an elementary or secondary school classroom, as designated through regulations issued by the Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the Secretary of Education, unless there is enacted into law a joint resolution of disapproval under subsection (e) with respect to the item; or

(2)

the item is classified under any of the following headings, subheadings, and statistical reporting numbers of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States:

(A)

3926.10 (Office or school supplies).

(B)

4202.92 (Backpack and lunchboxes).

(C)

4820.10.20 (Diaries, notebooks and address books, bound, memorandum pads, letter pads, and similar articles).

(D)

4903 (Children’s picture, drawing, or coloring books).

(E)

4910 (Calendars).

(F)

8471.60.20 (Keyboards).

(G)

9603.29.8010 (Hairbrushes).

(H)

9606 (Pencils, crayons, pencil leads, pastels, drawing charcoals, writing or drawing chalks and tailors' chalks).

(I)

9608 (Ball point pens, felt tipped and other porous tipped pens and markers, fountain pens, pencil-holders and similar holders, parts of the foregoing articles).

(d)

Report to Congress

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter, the Secretary of Commerce shall submit to the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives a report that includes—

(1)

a list of the items exempt from the application of duties pursuant to this Act; and

(2)

a list of the items designated, during the period covered by the report, by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (c)(1).

(e)

Joint resolution of disapproval

(1)

Joint resolution of disapproval defined

In this section, the term joint resolution of disapproval means a joint resolution the sole matter after the resolving clause of which is as follows: That Congress disapproves the designation of _____ as a school supply eligible for exemption from duties under section 3 of the Back-to-School Supplies Affordability Act, notice of which was submitted to Congress on ______., with the first blank space being filled with the name of the item and the second blank space being filled with the date the report that contained the designation of the item was submitted to Congress.

(2)

Expedited procedures

The provisions of subsections (b) through (f) of section 152 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2192) apply to a joint resolution of disapproval to the same extent that such subsections apply to joint resolutions under such section 152.

(3)

Rules of the senate and the house of representatives

This subsection is enacted by Congress—

(A)

as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate and the House of Representatives, respectively, and as such is deemed a part of the rules of each House, respectively, but applicable only with respect to the procedure to be followed in that House in the case of a joint resolution of disapproval, and supersedes other rules only to the extent that it is inconsistent with such rules; and

(B)

with full recognition of the constitutional right of either House to change the rules (so far as relating to the procedure of that House) at any time, in the same manner, and to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of that House.