This bill authorizes the Director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture to use appropriated funds to support African American history education programs. The Director may develop and share accurate resources (including digital, print, and traveling exhibitions), convene experts, increase technical and content capacity, and create or expand scholarly work and curricula. The bill allows language translation, expands collection acquisition and access (including digitization and conservation), and supports teacher-facing work such as professional development, workshops, teacher fellowships, and engagement with schools and local education leaders. It also allows museum-driven innovations, evaluation of those innovations, and the development and maintenance of educator- and family-focused website content. Ongoing activities that the museum already carries out may be continued with these funds.
The bill requires the Director to submit an annual report by February 1 to Congress and the public describing how funds were used, and to brief two congressional committees within 6 months of first funding and annually thereafter. The reporting and briefing requirements end on September 30, 2030. The bill includes a "sense of Congress" statement encouraging accurate education of minority histories and urging other Smithsonian museum directors to develop similar materials. It authorizes $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2027 and each of the four succeeding fiscal years to carry out the Act.
The bill authorizes $4,000,000 to be appropriated for fiscal year 2027 and for each of the four succeeding fiscal years to carry out the Act. No publicly available information on estimated total federal outlays beyond this authorization or on how funds will be allocated internally is provided in the bill text. Appropriation and spending depend on future appropriations acts.
The bill's text and its "sense of Congress" language state that supporters see accurate education of minority histories, taught through a social justice and anti-bias lens, as important. The bill urges a federal leadership role in improving teaching about African American and other minority histories and seeks to empower museum directors to develop and share historically accurate education materials.
No publicly available information.