The Strength in Diversity Act of 2026 aims to support comprehensive strategies for increasing diversity, including racial and socioeconomic diversity, in publicly funded early childhood, elementary, and secondary schools. Its primary purpose is to address the detrimental effects of racial isolation and concentrated poverty on students and educational environments. The bill seeks to foster more integrated learning settings to improve overall student experiences and outcomes. To achieve this, the Act authorizes a competitive grant program for eligible entities, such as State and local educational agencies or consortia thereof, that demonstrate significant achievement gaps and segregation. The Secretary of Education may award both planning grants , for up to one year, and implementation grants , for up to three years with a possible two-year extension. These grants are intended to help entities develop or put into practice plans that reduce or eliminate racial and socioeconomic isolation. In awarding grants, the Secretary will prioritize entities that previously applied for a similar federal program, propose to address racial isolation, or suggest inter-district or regional programs. Further priority is given to applicants who demonstrate meaningful coordination with local housing agencies to enhance access to schools with fewer low-income students. Grant decisions will be based on the quality of the application, the likelihood of improving student outcomes, and the potential for a meaningful reduction in isolation. Applicants for these grants must submit a detailed plan outlining how the funds will improve academic and life outcomes for students in isolated schools by increasing diversity. This includes providing evidence or a research-based rationale for the program's effectiveness and describing how racial isolation or socioeconomic status will be identified. A crucial component of the application is a plan for sustaining the program beyond the grant period and a method for assessing its impact on student achievement, enrollment diversity, and teacher diversity. A significant requirement for all applicants is robust parent and community engagement throughout the planning and implementation phases. This involves consultation with tribal officials, community entities, and public forums, ensuring outreach to parents and students in understandable languages. Such engagement is designed to inform the development of any formal strategy to increase diversity and ensure broad community support. Planning grants can be used for activities such as conducting comprehensive assessments of educational outcomes, racial and socioeconomic stratification, and teacher diversity within the served geographic area. Funds may also support developing robust family and community engagement plans, exploring options for improving diversity (e.g., weighted lotteries, boundary redesign), and building capacity for data collection and analysis. Additionally, planning grants can help develop implementation plans for court-ordered desegregation or to replace competitive entrance exams with diversity-promoting assignment methods. Implementation grants require a high-quality plan with strategies designed to improve academic outcomes for all students, particularly students of color and low-income students, by increasing diversity. These grants can fund activities like recruiting and training additional teachers and staff, investing in specialized academic programs to encourage inter-district attendance, or developing transportation plans. Other permissible activities include creating innovative and equitable school assignment plans, fostering engagement between diverse student groups, and improving enrollment systems to promote access to diverse schools. The Secretary is mandated to establish performance measures for all grant programs, tracking progress in improving academic and non-cognitive outcomes for various student subgroups. These measures include indicators such as increased school readiness, reduced achievement gaps, higher graduation rates, and improved access to mental health services. Grantees must submit annual reports detailing their efforts to increase inclusivity, progress on performance measures, and plans for sustaining diversity and reducing isolation. The bill authorizes the appropriation of necessary sums for fiscal year 2027 and the subsequent five fiscal years to carry out its provisions. Importantly, the Act includes a prohibition against federal control, explicitly stating that no provision should be construed to authorize federal direction, supervision, or control over the curriculum, instruction, administration, or personnel of any educational institution or school system.