[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3021 Engrossed in House (EH)]
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 3021
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To direct the Secretary of Education to make grants to State
educational agencies for the modernization, renovation, or repair of
public school facilities, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``21st Century Green
High-Performing Public School Facilities Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
TITLE I--GRANTS FOR MODERNIZATION, RENOVATION, OR REPAIR OF PUBLIC
SCHOOL FACILITIES
Sec. 101. Purpose.
Sec. 102. Allocation of funds.
Sec. 103. Allowable uses of funds.
TITLE II--SUPPLEMENTAL GRANTS FOR LOUISIANA, MISSISSIPPI, AND ALABAMA
Sec. 201. Purpose.
Sec. 202. Allocation to States.
Sec. 203. Allowable uses of funds.
TITLE III--GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 301. Impermissible uses of funds.
Sec. 302. Supplement, not supplant.
Sec. 302A. Prohibition regarding State aid.
Sec. 303. Maintenance of effort.
Sec. 304. Special rule on contracting.
Sec. 305. Special rule on use of iron and steel produced in the United
States.
Sec. 306. Application of GEPA.
Sec. 307. Green Schools.
Sec. 308. Reporting.
Sec. 309. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 310. Special rules.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) The term ``Bureau-funded school'' has the meaning given
to such term in section 1141 of the Education Amendments of
1978 (25 U.S.C. 2021).
(2) The term ``charter school'' has the meaning given such
term in section 5210 of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965.
(3) The term ``local educational agency''--
(A) has the meaning given to that term in section
9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965, and shall also include the Recovery School
District of Louisiana and the New Orleans Public
Schools; and
(B) includes any public charter school that
constitutes a local educational agency under State law.
(4) The term ``outlying area''--
(A) means the United States Virgin Islands, Guam,
American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands; and
(B) includes the freely associated states of the
Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States
of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.
(5) The term ``State'' means each of the 50 States, the
District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(6) The term ``LEED Green Building Rating System'' means
the United States Green Building Council Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design green building rating standard
referred to as LEED Green Building Rating System.
(7) The term ``Energy Star'' means the Energy Star program
of the United States Department of Energy and the United States
Environmental Protection Agency.
(8) The term ``CHPS Criteria'' means the green building
rating program developed by the Collaborative for High
Performance Schools.
(9) The term ``public school facilities'' includes charter
schools.
(10) The term ``Green Globes'' means the Green Building
Initiative environmental design and rating system referred to
as Green Globes.
TITLE I--GRANTS FOR MODERNIZATION, RENOVATION, OR REPAIR OF PUBLIC
SCHOOL FACILITIES
SEC. 101. PURPOSE.
Grants under this title shall be for the purpose of modernizing,
renovating, or repairing public school facilities, based on their need
for such improvements, to be safe, healthy, high-performing, and up-to-
date technologically.
SEC. 102. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.
(a) Reservation.--From the amount appropriated to carry out this
title for each fiscal year pursuant to section 309(a), the Secretary
shall reserve 1 percent of such amount, consistent with the purpose
described in section 101--
(1) to provide assistance to the outlying areas; and
(2) for payments to the Secretary of the Interior to
provide assistance to Bureau-funded schools.
(b) Allocation to States.--
(1) State-by-state allocation.--Of the amount appropriated
to carry out this title for each fiscal year pursuant to
section 309(a), and not reserved under subsection (a), each
State shall be allocated an amount in proportion to the amount
received by all local educational agencies in the State under
part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 for the previous fiscal year relative to the total
amount received by all local educational agencies in every
State under such part for such fiscal year.
(2) State administration.--A State may reserve up to 1
percent of its allocation under paragraph (1) to carry out its
responsibilities under this title, including--
(A) providing technical assistance to local
educational agencies;
(B) developing within 6 months of receiving its
allocation under paragraph (1) a plan to develop a
database that includes an inventory of public school
facilities in the State and the modernization,
renovation, and repair needs of, energy use by, and the
carbon footprint of such schools; and
(C) developing a school energy efficiency quality
plan.
(3) Grants to local educational agencies.--From the amount
allocated to a State under paragraph (1), each local
educational agency in the State that meets the requirements of
section 1112(a) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 shall receive an amount in proportion to the amount
received by such local educational agency under part A of title
I of that Act for the previous fiscal year relative to the
total amount received by all local educational agencies in the
State under such part for such fiscal year, except that no
local educational agency that received funds under part A of
title I of that Act for such fiscal year shall receive a grant
of less than $5,000 in any fiscal year under this title.
(4) Special rule.--Section 1122(c)(3) of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 shall not apply to paragraph
(1) or (3).
(c) Special Rules.--
(1) Distributions by secretary.--The Secretary shall make
and distribute the reservations and allocations described in
subsections (a) and (b) not later than 30 days after an
appropriation of funds for this title is made.
(2) Distributions by states.--A State shall make and
distribute the allocations described in subsection (b)(3)
within 30 days of receiving such funds from the Secretary.
(3) Distributions by local educational agencies.--A local
educational agency receiving a grant under this title may give
priority, in using the grant, to projects to be carried out in
a public secondary school recognized as a Science and
Technology High School or as a secondary school with a science
and technology program.
SEC. 103. ALLOWABLE USES OF FUNDS.
A local educational agency receiving a grant under this title shall
use the grant for modernization, renovation, or repair of public school
facilities, including--
(1) repairing, replacing, or installing roofs, including
extensive, intensive or semi-intensive green roofs, electrical
wiring, plumbing systems, sewage systems, lighting systems, or
components of such systems, windows, or doors, including
security doors;
(2) repairing, replacing, or installing heating,
ventilation, air conditioning systems, or components of such
systems (including insulation), including indoor air quality
assessments;
(3) bringing public schools into compliance with fire,
health, and safety codes, including professional installation
of fire/life safety alarms, including modernizations,
renovations, and repairs that ensure that schools are prepared
for emergencies, such as improving building infrastructure to
accommodate security measures;
(4) modifications necessary to make public school
facilities accessible 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), except
that such modifications shall not be the primary use of the
grant;
(5) asbestos or polychlorinated biphenyls abatement or
removal from public school facilities;
(6) implementation of measures designed to reduce or
eliminate human exposure to lead-based paint hazards through
methods including interim controls, abatement, or a combination
of each;
(7) implementation of measures designed to reduce or
eliminate human exposure to mold or mildew;
(8) upgrading or installing educational technology
infrastructure to ensure that students have access to up-to-
date educational technology;
(9) modernization, renovation, or repair of science and
engineering laboratory facilities, libraries, and career and
technical education facilities, including those related to
energy efficiency and renewable energy, and improvements to
building infrastructure to accommodate bicycle and pedestrian
access;
(10) renewable energy generation and heating systems,
including solar, photovoltaic, wind, geothermal, or biomass,
including wood pellet, systems or components of such systems;
(11) other modernization, renovation, or repair of public
school facilities to--
(A) improve teachers' ability to teach and
students' ability to learn;
(B) ensure the health and safety of students and
staff;
(C) make them more energy efficient; or
(D) reduce class size; and
(12) required environmental remediation related to public
school modernization, renovation, or repair described in
paragraphs (1) through (11).
TITLE II--SUPPLEMENTAL GRANTS FOR LOUISIANA, MISSISSIPPI, AND ALABAMA
SEC. 201. PURPOSE.
Grants under this title shall be for the purpose of modernizing,
renovating, repairing or constructing public school facilities, based
on their need for such improvements, to be safe, healthy, high-
performing, and up-to-date technologically.
SEC. 202. ALLOCATION TO STATES.
(a) State-by-State Allocation.--Of the amount appropriated to carry
out this title for each fiscal year pursuant to section 309(b), the
Secretary shall allocate to Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama an
amount equal to the number of schools in each of those States that were
closed for 60 days or more during the period beginning on August 29,
2005, and ending on December 31, 2005, due to Hurricane Katrina or
Hurricane Rita, relative to the number of schools in all of those
States combined that were so closed.
(b) State Administration.--A State that receives funds under this
title may reserve one-half of one percent of such funds for
administrative purposes related to this title.
(c) Grants to Local Educational Agencies.--States receiving funds
under subsection (a) shall allocate such funds to local educational
agencies within the State according to the criteria described in
subsection (a).
(d) Special Rules.--
(1) Distributions by secretary.--The Secretary shall make
and distribute the allocations described in subsection (a) not
later than 30 days after an appropriation of funds for this
title is made.
(2) Distributions by states.--A State shall make and
distribute the allocations described in subsection (c) within
30 days of receiving such funds from the Secretary.
SEC. 203. ALLOWABLE USES OF FUNDS.
A local educational agency receiving a grant under this title shall
use the grant for one or more of the activities described in section
103, except that an agency receiving a grant under this title also may
use such grant for such activities for the construction of new public
school facilities.
TITLE III--GENERAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 301. IMPERMISSIBLE USES OF FUNDS.
No funds received under this Act may be used for--
(1) payment of maintenance costs;
(2) stadiums or other facilities primarily used for
athletic contests or exhibitions or other events for which
admission is charged to the general public; or
(3) purchasing carbon offsets.
SEC. 302. SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.
A local educational agency receiving a grant under this Act shall
use such Federal funds only to supplement and not supplant the amount
of funds that would, in the absence of such Federal funds, be available
for modernization, renovation, repair, and construction of public
school facilities.
SEC. 302A. PROHIBITION REGARDING STATE AID.
A State shall not take into consideration payments under this Act
in determining the eligibility of any local educational agency in that
State for State aid, or the amount of State aid, with respect to free
public education of children.
SEC. 303. MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.
(a) In General.--A local educational agency may receive a grant
under this Act for any fiscal year only if either the combined fiscal
effort per student or the aggregate expenditures of the agency and the
State involved with respect to the provision of free public education
by the agency for the preceding fiscal year was not less than 90
percent of the combined fiscal effort or aggregate expenditures for the
second preceding fiscal year.
(b) Reduction in Case of Failure to Meet.--
(1) In general.--The State educational agency shall reduce
the amount of a local educational agency's grant in any fiscal
year in the exact proportion by which a local educational
agency fails to meet the requirement of subsection (a) of this
section by falling below 90 percent of both the combined fiscal
effort per student and aggregate expenditures (using the
measure most favorable to the local agency).
(2) Special rule.--No such lesser amount shall be used for
computing the effort required under subsection (a) of this
section for subsequent years.
(c) Waiver.--The Secretary shall waive the requirements of this
section if the Secretary determines that a waiver would be equitable
due to--
(1) exceptional or uncontrollable circumstances, such as a
natural disaster; or
(2) a precipitous decline in the financial resources of the
local educational agency.
SEC. 304. SPECIAL RULE ON CONTRACTING.
Each local educational agency receiving a grant under this Act
shall ensure that, if the agency carries out modernization, renovation,
repair, or construction through a contract, the process for any such
contract ensures the maximum number of qualified bidders, including
local, small, minority, and women- and veteran-owned businesses,
through full and open competition.
SEC. 305. SPECIAL RULE ON USE OF IRON AND STEEL PRODUCED IN THE UNITED
STATES.
(a) In General.--A local educational agency shall not obligate or
expend funds received under this Act for a project for the
modernization, renovation, or repair of public school facility unless
all of the iron and steel used in such project is produced in the
United States.
(b) Exceptions.--The provisions of subsection (a) shall not apply
in any case in which the local educational agency finds that--
(1) their application would be inconsistent with the public
interest;
(2) iron and steel are not produced in the United States in
sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a
satisfactory quality;
(3) inclusion of iron and steel produced in the United
States will increase the cost of the overall project contract
by more than 25 percent.
SEC. 306. APPLICATION OF GEPA.
The grant programs under this Act are applicable programs (as that
term is defined in section 400 of the General Education Provisions Act
(20 U.S.C. 1221)) subject to section 439 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1232b).
SEC. 307. GREEN SCHOOLS.
(a) In General.--In a given fiscal year, a local educational agency
shall use not less than the applicable percentage of funds received
under this Act described in subsection (b) for public school
modernization, renovation, repairs, or construction that are certified,
verified, or consistent with any applicable provisions of--
(1) the LEED Green Building Rating System;
(2) Energy Star;
(3) the CHPS Criteria;
(4) Green Globes; or
(5) an equivalent program adopted by the State or another
jurisdiction with authority over the local educational agency.
(b) Applicable Percentages.--The applicable percentages described
in subsection (a) are--
(1) in fiscal year 2009, 50 percent;
(2) in fiscal year 2010, 60 percent;
(3) in fiscal year 2011, 70 percent;
(4) in fiscal year 2012, 80 percent; and
(5) in fiscal year 2013, 90 percent.
(c) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary, in consultation with the
Secretary of Energy and the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency, shall provide outreach and technical assistance to
States and school districts concerning the best practices in school
modernization, renovation, repair, and construction, including those
related to student academic achievement and student and staff health,
energy efficiency, and environmental protection.
SEC. 308. REPORTING.
(a) Reports by Local Educational Agencies.--Local educational
agencies receiving a grant under this Act shall annually compile a
report describing the projects for which such funds were used,
including--
(1) the number of public schools in the agency, including
the number of charter schools;
(2) the total amount of funds received by the local
educational agency under this Act and the amount of such funds
expended, including the amount expended for modernization,
renovation, repair, or construction of charter schools;
(3) the number of public schools in the agency with a
metro-centric locale code of 41, 42, or 43 as determined by the
National Center for Education Statistics and the percentage of
funds received by the agency under title I or title II of this
Act that were used for projects at such schools;
(4) the number of public schools in the agency that are
eligible for schoolwide programs under section 1114 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and the
percentage of funds received by the agency under title I or
title II of this Act that were used for projects at such
schools;
(5) for each project--
(A) the cost;
(B) the standard described in section 307(a) with
which the use of the funds complied or if the use of
funds did not comply with a standard described in
section 307(a), the reason such funds were not able to
be used in compliance with such standards and the
agency's efforts to use such funds in an
environmentally sound manner;
(C) if flooring was installed, whether--
(i) it was low- or no-VOC (Volatile Organic
Compounds) flooring;
(ii) it was made from sustainable
materials; and
(iii) use of flooring described in clause
(i) or (ii) was cost-effective; and
(D) any demonstrable or expected benefits as a
result of the project (such as energy savings, improved
indoor environmental quality, improved climate for
teaching and learning, etc.); and
(6) the total number and amount of contracts awarded, and
the number and amount of contracts awarded to local, small,
minority, women, and veteran-owned businesses.
(b) Availability of Reports.--A local educational agency shall--
(1) submit the report described in subsection (a) to the
State educational agency, which shall compile such information
and report it annually to the Secretary; and
(2) make the report described in subsection (a) publicly
available, including on the agency's website.
(c) Reports by Secretary.--Not later than December 31 of each
fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Education
and Labor of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a report on grants made
under this Act, including the information described in subsection
(b)(1), the types of modernization, renovation, repair, and
construction funded, and the number of students impacted, including the
number of students counted under section 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
SEC. 309. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) Title I.--To carry out title I, there are authorized to be
appropriated $6,400,000,000 for fiscal year 2009 and such sums as may
be necessary for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2013.
(b) Title II.--To carry out title II, there are authorized to be
appropriated $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013.
SEC. 310. SPECIAL RULES.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, none of the funds
authorized by this Act may be--
(1) used to employ workers in violation of section 274A of
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a); or
(2) distributed to a local educational agency that does not
have a policy that requires a criminal background check on all
employees of the agency.
Passed the House of Representatives June 4, 2008.
Attest:
Clerk.
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 3021
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To direct the Secretary of Education to make grants to State
educational agencies for the modernization, renovation, or repair of
public school facilities, and for other purposes.