[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1505 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1505

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 4, 2015

  Mr. Schatz 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 repair, renovation, and 
           construction of elementary and secondary 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 ``School Building Fairness Act of 
2015''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Providing safe, healthy, and modern public elementary 
        school and secondary school facilities is a crucial component 
        of improving student academic performance and retaining 
        effective, high-quality educators.
            (2) The Department of Education reports that a growing body 
        of research has linked student achievement and behavior to the 
        physical condition of school buildings.
            (3) The 2013 Infrastructure Report Card compiled by the 
        American Society of Civil Engineers gives the Nation's public 
        schools a D grade.
            (4) In 2014, the National Center for Education Statistics 
        reported that a majority (53 percent) of the Nation's 
        elementary schools and secondary schools are in need of 
        renovations, modernization, or repairs to be brought into 
        ``good condition''. The estimated cost for this work is 
        $197,000,000,000, or an average of $4,500,000 per school.
            (5) From 2000-2008, approximately $20,000,000,000 was spent 
        annually on school construction; since the start of the Great 
        Recession in 2008, that spending has declined by half, to 
        approximately $10,000,000,000 per year by 2012.
            (6) In 1998, the Department of Education reported that the 
        average age of a public elementary school or secondary school 
        building was estimated to be 42 years old.
            (7) Due to the absence of national data on school 
        facilities for more than a decade, a complete picture of the 
        condition of the Nation's schools remains mostly unknown.
            (8) According to the 2006 report ``Greening America's 
        Schools: Costs and Benefits'', green schools use 33 percent 
        less energy and 32 percent less water than conventionally built 
        schools, generating financial savings of about $70 per square 
        foot.
            (9) On average, green schools save $100,000 per year on 
        operating costs.

SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR SCHOOL REPAIR, RENOVATION, AND CONSTRUCTION.

    (a) In General.--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 Facilities

``SEC. 5621. GRANTS FOR SCHOOL REPAIR, RENOVATION, AND CONSTRUCTION.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Charter school.--The term `charter school' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 5210.
            ``(2) CHPS criteria.--The term `CHPS Criteria' means the 
        green building rating criteria developed by the Collaborative 
        for High Performance Schools.
            ``(3) Early learning facility.--The term `early learning 
        facility' means a public facility that--
                    ``(A) serves children who are not yet in 
                kindergarten; and
                    ``(B) is under the jurisdiction of a local 
                educational agency.
            ``(4) Energy star.--The term `Energy Star' means the Energy 
        Star program of the Department of Energy and the Environmental 
        Protection Agency.
            ``(5) Green globes.--The term `Green Globes' means the 
        Green Building Initiative environmental design and rating 
        system.
            ``(6) High-need local educational agency.--The term `high-
        need local educational agency' has the meaning given the term 
        in section 2102(3)(A).
            ``(7) LEED green building rating system.--The term `LEED 
        Green Building Rating System' means the United States Green 
        Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design 
        green building rating system.
            ``(8) Living building challenge.--The term `Living Building 
        Challenge' means the Living Building Challenge building 
        certification program.
            ``(9) Public school facility.--The term `public school 
        facility' means a public elementary or secondary school 
        facility, including a public charter school facility or an 
        existing facility planned for adaptive reuse as a public 
        charter school facility.
            ``(10) Rural local educational agency.--The term `rural 
        local educational agency' means a local educational agency that 
        meets the eligibility requirements under--
                    ``(A) section 6211(b) for participation in the 
                program described in subpart 1 of part B of title VI; 
                or
                    ``(B) section 6221(b) for participation in the 
                program described in subpart 2 of part B of title VI.
            ``(11) 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.--
            ``(1) Reservations.--From the funds appropriated under 
        subsection (i) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve 1 
        percent to provide assistance to the outlying areas and for 
        payments to the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance 
        to schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Education. Funds 
        allocated under this paragraph shall be reserved by the 
        Secretary for distribution among the outlying areas and the 
        Secretary of the Interior on the basis of their relative need 
        for public elementary school and secondary school repair, 
        renovation, and construction, as determined by the Secretary.
            ``(2) Allocation to state educational agencies.--From the 
        funds appropriated under subsection (i) for a fiscal year that 
        are not reserved under paragraph (1) for the fiscal year, the 
        Secretary shall allocate to each State educational agency 
        serving a State an amount that bears the same relation to the 
        funds as the amount the State received under part A of title I 
        for the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the 
        determination is made bears to the amount all States received 
        under such part for such preceding fiscal year, except that no 
        such State educational agency shall receive less than 0.5 
        percent of the amount allocated under this subsection.
    ``(c) Within-State Distributions.--
            ``(1) Administrative and other costs.--
                    ``(A) State educational agency administration and 
                other costs.--Except as provided in subparagraph (D), 
                each State educational agency may reserve not more than 
                1 percent of the State educational agency's allocation 
                under subsection (b) for the purposes of administering 
                the distribution of grants under this subsection and 
                awarding grants under subparagraph (C)(v).
                    ``(B) Required uses.--The State educational agency 
                shall use a portion of the funds reserved under 
                subparagraph (A)--
                            ``(i) to provide technical assistance to 
                        local educational agencies; and
                            ``(ii) to establish or support a State-
                        level database of public school facility 
                        inventory, condition, design, and utilization, 
                        which shall include for each school facility--
                                    ``(I) the age of the facility;
                                    ``(II) the total square footage of 
                                the facility that is used for academic 
                                or technical classroom instruction; and
                                    ``(III) the year of the last major 
                                renovation of the facility.
                    ``(C) Permissible uses.--The State educational 
                agency may use a portion of the funds reserved under 
                subparagraph (A) for--
                            ``(i) developing a statewide public school 
                        educational facility master plan;
                            ``(ii) developing policies, procedures, and 
                        standards for high-quality, energy efficient 
                        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;
                            ``(iv) helping to defray the cost of 
                        issuing State bonds to finance public 
                        elementary school and secondary school repair, 
                        renovation, and construction; and
                            ``(v) awarding grants to State-operated or 
                        State-supported schools, such as a State school 
                        for the deaf or for the blind, to enable such 
                        schools to carry out school repair, renovation, 
                        and construction activities in accordance with 
                        subsection (d).
                    ``(D) State entity administration and other 
                costs.--If the State educational agency transfers funds 
                to a State entity described in paragraph (2)(A), the 
                State educational agency shall transfer to such State 
                entity not less than 75 percent of the amount reserved 
                under subparagraph (A) for the purpose of carrying out 
                the activities described in subparagraph (C).
            ``(2) Distribution of competitive school repair, 
        renovation, and construction grants to local educational 
        agencies.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Of the funds allocated to a 
                State educational agency under subsection (b) that are 
                not reserved under paragraph (1), the State educational 
                agency shall distribute 100 percent of such funds to 
                local educational agencies or, if the State educational 
                agency is not responsible for the financing of public 
                school facilities, the State educational agency shall 
                transfer such funds to the State entity responsible for 
                the financing of public school facilities (referred to 
                in this section as the `State entity') for distribution 
                by such State entity to local educational agencies in 
                accordance with this paragraph, to be used, consistent 
                with subsection (d), for public elementary school or 
                secondary school repair, renovation, and construction.
                    ``(B) Competitive grants to local educational 
                agencies.--The State educational agency or State entity 
                shall carry out a program to award grants, on a 
                competitive basis, to local educational agencies for 
                public elementary school or secondary school repair, 
                renovation, and construction. 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, not less than 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 the fiscal year 
                        preceding the fiscal year for which the 
                        determination is made bears to the aggregate 
                        amount received for such preceding 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, not 
                        less than 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 
                        the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for 
                        which the determination is made bears to the 
                        aggregate amount received for such preceding 
                        fiscal year under such part by all local 
                        educational agencies in the State; and
                            ``(iii) award the remaining funds to local 
                        educational agencies in the State that did not 
                        receive a grant award under clause (i) or (ii), 
                        including to high-need local educational 
                        agencies and rural local educational agencies 
                        that did not receive a grant award under clause 
                        (i) or (ii).
                    ``(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 children served by the local 
                        educational agency who are between 5 to 17 
                        years of age, inclusive, and who are from 
                        families with incomes below the poverty line.
                            ``(ii) Need for school repair, renovation, 
                        and construction.--The need of a local 
                        educational agency for school repair, 
                        renovation, and construction, as demonstrated 
                        by the condition of the public school 
                        facilities of the local educational agency or 
                        the local educational agency's need for such 
                        facilities.
                            ``(iii) Green schools.--The extent to which 
                        a local educational agency will make use, in 
                        the repair, renovation, or construction to be 
                        undertaken, of green practices that are 
                        certified, verified, or consistent with any 
                        applicable provisions of--
                                    ``(I) the LEED Green Building 
                                Rating System;
                                    ``(II) Energy Star;
                                    ``(III) the CHPS Criteria;
                                    ``(IV) the Living Building 
                                Challenge;
                                    ``(V) Green Globes; or
                                    ``(VI) an equivalent program 
                                adopted by the State or another 
                                jurisdiction with authority over the 
                                local educational agency.
                            ``(iv) Fiscal capacity.--The fiscal 
                        capacity of a local educational agency to meet 
                        the needs of the local educational agency for 
                        repair, renovation, and construction 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.
                            ``(v) Likelihood of maintaining the 
                        facility.--The likelihood that a local 
                        educational agency will maintain, in good 
                        condition, any public school facility whose 
                        repair, renovation, or construction is assisted 
                        under this section.
                            ``(vi) Charter school equitable access to 
                        funding.--In the case of a local educational 
                        agency that proposes to fund a repair, 
                        renovation, or construction project for a 
                        public charter school, the extent to which the 
                        public charter school lacks access to funding 
                        for school repair, renovation, and construction 
                        through the financing methods available to 
                        other public schools or local educational 
                        agencies in the State.
                    ``(D) Matching requirement.--
                            ``(i) In general.--A State educational 
                        agency or State entity shall require local 
                        educational agencies to match funds awarded 
                        under this paragraph.
                            ``(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, Renovation, and 
Construction.--With respect to funds made available under this section 
that are used for school repair, renovation, and construction, the 
following rules shall apply:
            ``(1) Permissible uses of funds.--School repair, 
        renovation, and construction shall be limited to 1 or more of 
        the following:
                    ``(A) Upgrades, repair, construction, or 
                replacement of public elementary school or secondary 
                school building systems or components to improve the 
                quality of education and ensure the health and safety 
                of students and staff, including--
                            ``(i) repairing, replacing, or constructing 
                        early learning facilities at public elementary 
                        schools (including renovation of existing 
                        facilities to serve children under 5 years of 
                        age);
                            ``(ii) repairing, replacing, or installing 
                        roofs, windows, doors, electrical wiring, 
                        plumbing systems, or sewage systems;
                            ``(iii) repairing, replacing, or installing 
                        heating, ventilation, or air conditioning 
                        systems (including insulation); and
                            ``(iv) bringing such public schools into 
                        compliance with fire and safety codes.
                    ``(B) Public 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.) and section 504 
                of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794).
                    ``(C) Improvements to the environmental conditions 
                of public elementary school or secondary school sites, 
                including asbestos abatement or removal, and the 
                reduction or elimination of human exposure to lead-
                based paint, mold, or mildew.
                    ``(D) Measures designed to reduce or eliminate 
                human exposure to classroom noise and environmental 
                noise pollution.
                    ``(E) Modifications necessary to reduce the 
                consumption of electricity, natural gas, oil, water, 
                coal, or land.
                    ``(F) Upgrades or installations of educational 
                technology infrastructure to ensure that students have 
                access to up-to-date educational technology.
                    ``(G) Measures that will broaden or improve the use 
                of public elementary school or secondary school 
                buildings and grounds by the community in order to 
                improve educational outcomes.
            ``(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) purchase or upgrade of vehicles;
                    ``(C) improvement or construction of stand-alone 
                facilities whose purpose is not the education of 
                children, including central office administration or 
                operations or logistical support facilities;
                    ``(D) purchase of information technology hardware, 
                including computers, monitors, or printers;
                    ``(E) stadiums or other facilities primarily used 
                for athletic contests or exhibitions or other events 
                for which admission is charged to the general public; 
                or
                    ``(F) purchase of carbon offsets.
            ``(3) Supplement, not supplant.--A local educational agency 
        or State-operated or State-supported school 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, 
        renovation, and construction.
    ``(e) Qualified Bidders; Competition.--Each local educational 
agency that receives funds under subsection (c)(2) shall ensure that, 
if the local educational agency carries out repair, renovation, or 
construction 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 subsection (c)(2)--
            ``(1) shall provide an opportunity for public comment, and 
        ensure that parents, educators, and all other interested 
        members of the community in which the school to be assisted is 
        located have the opportunity to consult, on the use of the 
        funds received under such subsection;
            ``(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 under subsection (c)(2) 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, renovation, and construction.
            ``(2) State reporting.--Each State educational agency 
        receiving funds under subsection (b) shall submit to the 
        Secretary, at such time as the Secretary may require, a report 
        on the use of funds received under this section and made 
        available to local educational agencies (and, if applicable, to 
        State-operated or State-sponsored schools) for school repair, 
        renovation, and construction.
    ``(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 the State educational agency's 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) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section, $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 
2016, and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2017 
through 2020.

``SEC. 5622. NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS STUDY.

    ``(a) In General.--The Commissioner of the National Center for 
Education Statistics shall conduct a study of the condition of public 
school facilities in the United States.
    ``(b) Estimates and Measures.--In conducting the study, the 
Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics shall--
            ``(1) estimate the costs needed to repair and renovate all 
        public elementary schools and secondary schools in the United 
        States to good overall condition; and
            ``(2) measure recent expenditures of Federal, State, local, 
        and private funds for public elementary school and secondary 
        school repair, renovation, and construction costs in the United 
        States.
    ``(c) Analysis.--In conducting the study, the Commissioner of the 
National Center for Education Statistics 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 in the United States, 
including examining the differences between the types of schools 
assisted, and the types of repair, renovation, and construction 
activities conducted, with those expenditures.
    ``(d) Report.--The Commissioner of the National Center for 
Education Statistics shall prepare and submit to Congress a report 
containing the results of the study.''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents in section 2 of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 5618 the following:

                    ``Subpart 22--School Facilities

``Sec. 5621. Grants for school repair, renovation, and construction.
``Sec. 5622. National Center for Education Statistics study.''.
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