Sponsors (21)
The bill directs large new federal investments and coordination toward modernizing and making school facilities safer, greener, and more connected—benefiting students, staff, and local economies—but does so while increasing federal and local fiscal obligations, imposing significant compliance and procurement constraints, and leaving some equity and flexibility challenges unresolved.
State and local education agencies (and the schools they serve) gain access to large, new dedicated funding streams — notably $20 billion/year (FY2027–FY2031) for school infrastructure plus restored QZAB allocations (~$400M/yr) and $100M/yr in Impact Aid construction — enabling major construction, renovation, and safety projects nationwide.
Students, teachers, and staff will benefit from funded health-and-safety work — removal/reduction of lead, PFAS, asbestos, PCBs, radon; improved drinking water and indoor air; and targeted structural repairs (including pyrrhotite-affected schools) — reducing immediate health and safety risks.
Schools and districts can pursue energy- and water-efficiency upgrades (including on-site renewables and all‑electric systems) and use a new statutory net-zero energy school definition to access funds, lowering long-term utility costs and improving climate resilience.
Taxpayers and state/local budgets face higher costs: refundable issuer credits, new authorizations (including $100M/yr Impact Aid), recurring nationwide studies, and multiple matching requirements (e.g., 10% match required by states, up to 40% or 50% cost‑share in some programs) increase federal outlays and impose fiscal pressure on states and districts.
LEAs and taxpayers may see higher project costs and delays because Buy American/domestic-sourcing rules and prevailing-wage/labor standards raise construction costs, constrain supplier options, and can slow procurement and completion of projects.
State education agencies and local districts face substantial administrative and compliance burdens — new state plans, 10‑year master plans, searchable inventories, frequent reporting, Treasury/annual reports, and tight application/disbursement timelines — stretching staff capacity, especially in small or rural districts.
Based on analysis of 14 sections of legislative text.
Establishes FY2027–FY2031 grants and revived tax‑credit bond authority to finance construction, repairs, energy upgrades, safety, accessibility, and studies for public school facilities.
Introduced February 4, 2026 by John F. Reed · Last progress February 4, 2026
Creates a multi-year federal program to repair, modernize, and build public K–12 school facilities and to fund related studies and tax-credit bond authority. It authorizes grants for school construction, health and safety work, energy upgrades (including on-site renewables and electrification), accessibility improvements, and major maintenance for fiscal years 2027–2031, and revives and updates tax-credit bond rules to help finance these projects. Allocations are largely tied to prior Title I funding, with reserved shares for outlying areas and Bureau-funded (tribal) schools. The Department of Education would create a new Office of School Infrastructure and Sustainability, carry out school facility condition studies every five years, and the Comptroller General would report on program results; a separate program funds repairs for school foundations damaged by pyrrhotite minerals.