[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1942 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1942

 To amend part D of title V of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
      Act of 1965 to provide grants for the renovation of schools.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 2, 2007

 Mr. Harkin (for himself, Mr. Kennedy, Mrs. Clinton, and Ms. Mikulski) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
          Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend part D of title V of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
      Act of 1965 to provide grants for the renovation of schools.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Public School Repair and Renovation 
Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Providing safe, healthy, and up-to-date public 
        elementary and secondary school facilities is a crucial 
        component of improving student academic performance and 
        retaining high-quality, committed educators.
            (2) The 2005 Infrastructure Report Card compiled by the 
        American Society of Civil Engineers gives public schools a D 
        grade.
            (3) The General Accounting Office, in 1995, reported that 
        the Nation's elementary and secondary schools require 
        approximately $112,000,000,000 to repair or upgrade facilities.
            (4) Since 1995, public elementary and secondary school 
        enrollment increased by more than 3,000,000 students. Since 
        1995, more than half of the construction funds for such schools 
        were spent on new school construction, although repair and 
        renovation of existing schools are critically needed, 
        particularly in school districts with disadvantaged 
        populations, where local educational agencies are working to 
        close achievement gaps between subgroups of students.
            (5) A report issued by the National Education Association 
        in 2000 estimated that $322,000,000,000 was needed to repair 
        and upgrade the Nation's elementary and secondary schools, 
        including construction of new schools.
            (6) The Department of Education documented in 1998 that the 
        average age of a public elementary or secondary school building 
        is estimated at 42 years old, an age when schools tend to 
        deteriorate.
            (7) School districts spent more than $304,000,000,000 (in 
        2005 dollars) for public school construction contracts from 
        1995 through 2004, according to data collected by McGraw-Hill 
        Construction.
            (8) According to a 2006 report by the Building Educational 
        Success Together (referred to in this section as ``BEST'') 
        coalition, the per-student investment made in the most affluent 
        school districts to repair or construct schools was nearly 
        double the amount of the per-student investment made in the 
        most disadvantaged school districts.
            (9) The BEST report also found that students in school 
        districts with predominantly Caucasian enrollment benefitted 
        from about $2,000 more per student in school repair and 
        construction spending than their peers living in schools 
        districts with predominantly minority enrollment.
            (10) Since 1998, the Iowa Demonstration Construction Grant 
        Program has provided $116,000,000 in Federal assistance to over 
        260 school districts for school repair and construction. That 
        Federal investment in school repair and construction has 
        generated millions of dollars of additional local funding 
        through a match required by the State government.

SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR SCHOOL RENOVATION.

    Part D of title V of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7241 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

                    ``Subpart 22--School Renovation

``SEC. 5621. GRANTS FOR SCHOOL RENOVATION.

    ``(a) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
            ``(1) Charter school.--The term `charter school' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 5210.
            ``(2) High-need local educational agency.--The term `high-
        need local educational agency' has the meaning given the term 
        in section 2102(3)(A).
            ``(3) Poor children and child poverty.--The terms `poor 
        children' and `child poverty' refer to children 5 to 17 years 
        of age, inclusive, who are from families with incomes below the 
        poverty line (as defined by the Office of Management and Budget 
        and revised annually in accordance with section 673(2) of the 
        Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) 
        applicable to a family of the size involved for the most recent 
        fiscal year for which data satisfactory to the Secretary are 
        available.
            ``(4) Rural local educational agency.--The term `rural 
        local educational agency' means a local educational agency that 
        the State determines is located in a rural area using objective 
        data and a commonly employed definition of the term `rural'.
            ``(5) State.--The term `State' means each of the several 
        states of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the 
        Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
    ``(b) Allocation of Funds.--From the funds appropriated under 
subsection (j) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall allocate to each 
State educational agency serving a State an amount that bears the same 
relation to the amount appropriated under subsection (j) for the fiscal 
year as the amount the State received under part A of title I for 
fiscal year 2008 bears to the amount all States received under such 
part for fiscal year 2008, except that no such State educational agency 
shall receive less than 0.5 percent of the amount allocated under this 
subsection.
    ``(c) Within-State Allocations.--
            ``(1) Administrative costs.--
                    ``(A) State educational agency administration.--
                Except as provided in subparagraph (D), each State 
                educational agency may reserve not more than 2 percent 
                of its allocation under subsection (b) for the purpose 
                of administering the distribution of grants under this 
                subsection.
                    ``(B) Required uses.--The State educational agency 
                shall use a portion of the reserved funds to establish 
                or support a State-level database of public school 
                facility inventory, condition, design, and utilization.
                    ``(C) Permissible uses.--The State educational 
                agency may use a portion of the reserved funds for--
                            ``(i) developing a statewide educational 
                        facility master plan;
                            ``(ii) developing policies, procedures, and 
                        standards for high quality public school 
                        facilities;
                            ``(iii) supporting interagency 
                        collaboration that will lead to broad community 
                        use of public school facilities, and school-
                        based services for students served by high-need 
                        local educational agencies or rural local 
                        educational agencies; and
                            ``(iv) helping to defray the cost of 
                        issuing State bonds to finance public school 
                        repair and renovation.
                    ``(D) State entity administration.--If the State 
                educational agency transfers funds to a State entity 
                described in paragraph (2)(A), the State educational 
                agency shall transfer to such entity 0.75 of the amount 
                reserved under this paragraph for the purpose of 
                administering the distribution of grants under this 
                subsection.
            ``(2) Reservation for competitive school repair and 
        renovation grants to local educational agencies.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to the reservation under 
                paragraph (1), of the funds allocated to a State 
                educational agency under subsection (b), the State 
                educational agency shall distribute 100 percent of such 
                funds to local educational agencies or, if such State 
                educational agency is not responsible for the financing 
                of education facilities, the State educational agency 
                shall transfer such funds to the State entity 
                responsible for the financing of education facilities 
                (referred to in this section as the `State entity') for 
                distribution by such entity to local educational 
                agencies in accordance with this paragraph, to be used, 
                consistent with subsection (d), for school repair and 
                renovation.
                    ``(B) Competitive grants to local educational 
                agencies.--The State educational agency or State entity 
                shall carry out a program awarding grants, on a 
                competitive basis, to local educational agencies for 
                the purpose described in subparagraph (A). Of the total 
                amount available for distribution to local educational 
                agencies under this paragraph, the State educational 
                agency or State entity, shall, in carrying out the 
                grant competition--
                            ``(i) award to high-need local educational 
                        agencies, in the aggregate, at least an amount 
                        which bears the same relationship to such total 
                        amount as the aggregate amount such high-need 
                        local educational agencies received under part 
                        A of title I for fiscal year 2008 bears to the 
                        aggregate amount received for such fiscal year 
                        under such part by all local educational 
                        agencies in the State;
                            ``(ii) award to rural local educational 
                        agencies in the State, in the aggregate, at 
                        least an amount which bears the same 
                        relationship to such total amount as the 
                        aggregate amount such rural local educational 
                        agencies received under part A of title I for 
                        fiscal year 2008 bears to the aggregate amount 
                        received for such fiscal year under such part 
                        by all local educational agencies in the State; 
                        and
                            ``(iii) award the remaining funds to local 
                        educational agencies not receiving an award 
                        under clause (i) or (ii), including high-need 
                        local educational agencies and rural local 
                        educational agencies that did not receive such 
                        an award.
                    ``(C) Criteria for awarding grants.--In awarding 
                competitive grants under this paragraph, a State 
                educational agency or State entity shall take into 
                account the following criteria:
                            ``(i) Percentage of poor children.--The 
                        percentage of poor children 5 to 17 years of 
                        age, inclusive, in a local educational agency.
                            ``(ii) Need for school repair and 
                        renovation.--The need of a local educational 
                        agency for school repair and renovation, as 
                        demonstrated by the condition of the public 
                        school facilities of the local educational 
                        agency.
                            ``(iii) Fiscal capacity.--The fiscal 
                        capacity of a local educational agency to meet 
                        the needs of the local educational agency for 
                        repair and renovation of public school 
                        facilities without assistance under this 
                        section, including the ability of the local 
                        educational agency to raise funds through the 
                        use of local bonding capacity and otherwise.
                            ``(iv) Charter school access to funding.--
                        In the case of a local educational agency that 
                        proposes to fund a repair or renovation project 
                        for a charter school, the extent to which the 
                        school has access to funding for the project 
                        through the financing methods available to 
                        other public schools or local educational 
                        agencies in the State.
                            ``(v) Likelihood of maintaining the 
                        facility.--The likelihood that the local 
                        educational agency will maintain, in good 
                        condition, any facility whose repair or 
                        renovation is assisted under this section.
                    ``(D) Possible matching requirement.--
                            ``(i) In general.--A State educational 
                        agency or State entity may require local 
                        educational agencies to match funds awarded 
                        under this subsection.
                            ``(ii) Match amount.--The amount of a match 
                        described in clause (i) may be established by 
                        using a sliding scale that takes into account 
                        the relative poverty of the population served 
                        by the local educational agency.
    ``(d) Rules Applicable to School Repair and Renovation.--With 
respect to funds made available under this section that are used for 
school repair and renovation, the following rules shall apply:
            ``(1) Permissible uses of funds.--School repair and 
        renovation shall be limited to 1 or more of the following:
                    ``(A) Emergency repairs or renovations.--Emergency 
                repairs or renovations to public school facilities only 
                to ensure the health and safety of students and staff, 
                including--
                            ``(i) repairing, replacing, or installing 
                        roofs, windows, doors, electrical wiring, 
                        plumbing systems, or sewage systems;
                            ``(ii) repairing, replacing, or installing 
                        heating, ventilation, or air conditioning 
                        systems (including insulation); and
                            ``(iii) bringing public schools into 
                        compliance with fire and safety codes.
                    ``(B) Modifications for compliance with the 
                americans with disabilities act of 1990.--School 
                facilities modifications necessary to render public 
                school facilities accessible in order to comply with 
                the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
                12101 et seq.).
                    ``(C) Modifications for compliance with section 504 
                of the rehabilitation act of 1973.--School facilities 
                modifications necessary to render public school 
                facilities accessible in order to comply with section 
                504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794).
                    ``(D) Asbestos abatement or removal.--Asbestos 
                abatement or removal from public school facilities.
                    ``(E) Charter school building infrastructure.--
                Renovation and repair needs related to the building 
                infrastructure of a charter school.
            ``(2) Impermissible uses of funds.--No funds received under 
        this section may be used for--
                    ``(A) payment of maintenance costs in connection 
                with any projects constructed in whole or part with 
                Federal funds provided under this section;
                    ``(B) the construction of new facilities; or
                    ``(C) stadiums or other facilities primarily used 
                for athletic contests or exhibitions or other events 
                for which admission is charged to the general public.
            ``(3) Supplement, not supplant.--Excluding the uses 
        described in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (1), a 
        local educational agency shall use Federal funds subject to 
        this subsection only to supplement the amount of funds that 
        would, in the absence of such Federal funds, be made available 
        from non-Federal sources for school repair and renovation.
    ``(e) Qualified Bidders; Competition.--Each local educational 
agency that receives funds under this section shall ensure that, if the 
local educational agency carries out repair or renovation through a 
contract, any such contract process ensures the maximum number of 
qualified bidders, including small, minority, and women-owned 
businesses, through full and open competition.
    ``(f) Public Comment.--Each local educational agency receiving 
funds under paragraph (2) of subsection (c)--
            ``(1) shall provide parents, educators, and all other 
        interested members of the community the opportunity to consult 
        on the use of funds received under such paragraph;
            ``(2) shall provide the public with adequate and efficient 
        notice of the opportunity described in paragraph (1) in a 
        widely read and distributed medium; and
            ``(3) shall provide the opportunity described in paragraph 
        (1) in accordance with any applicable State and local law 
        specifying how the comments may be received and how the 
        comments may be reviewed by any member of the public.
    ``(g) Reporting.--
            ``(1) Local reporting.--Each local educational agency 
        receiving funds made available under subsection (b) shall 
        submit a report to the State educational agency, at such time 
        as the State educational agency may require, describing the use 
        of such funds for school repair and renovation.
            ``(2) State reporting.--Each State educational agency 
        receiving funds made available under subsection (b) shall 
        submit to the Secretary, not later than December 31, 2010, a 
        report on the use of funds received under subsection (b) and 
        made available to local educational agencies for school repair 
        and renovation.
    ``(h) Reallocation.--If a State educational agency does not apply 
for an allocation of funds under subsection (b) for a fiscal year, or 
does not use its entire allocation for such fiscal year, then the 
Secretary may reallocate the amount of the State educational agency's 
allocation (or the remainder thereof, as the case may be) for such 
fiscal year to the remaining State educational agencies in accordance 
with subsection (b).
    ``(i) GAO Study.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Comptroller General of the United 
        States shall conduct a study relating to the--
                    ``(A) costs of repair, renovation, and construction 
                for public elementary schools and secondary schools in 
                the United States; and
                    ``(B) expenditures of Federal, State, local, and 
                private funds for such costs.
            ``(2) Estimates and measures.--In conducting the study, the 
        Comptroller General shall--
                    ``(A) estimate the costs needed to repair, 
                renovate, and construct all schools described in 
                paragraph (1)(A) to good overall condition; and
                    ``(B) measure the expenditures described in 
                paragraph (1)(B) for the period beginning with fiscal 
                year 2001 and ending with the most recent fiscal year 
                for which data are available.
            ``(3) Analysis.--In conducting the study, the Comptroller 
        General shall examine trends in expenditures of Federal, State, 
        local, and private funds since fiscal year 2001 for repair, 
        renovation, and construction activities for public elementary 
        schools and secondary schools, including examining--
                    ``(A) the differences between the types of schools 
                assisted, and the types of repair, renovation, and 
                construction activities conducted, with those 
                expenditures;
                    ``(B) how the expenditures were allocated among 
                improvements to land, buildings, and equipment; and
                    ``(C) how Federal funds appropriated for fiscal 
                year 2001 for such activities for schools described in 
                this paragraph were distributed.
            ``(4) Report.--The Comptroller General shall prepare and 
        submit to Congress a report containing the results of the 
        study.
    ``(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section, $1,600,000,000 for fiscal year 
2008, and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2009 
through 2012.''.
                                 <all>