Legislative Affairs

This week, the Senate passed a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, "The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act," on a 69–30 vote. The bill will now go to the House for consideration. However, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi indicated the chamber will not take up the bipartisan bill until the Senate also passes a separate budget reconciliation package that provides funding for Democratic policy priorities.

The infrastructure bill proposes nearly $550 billion in new spending over five years, but includes very little funding for school infrastructure. While this bill is historic for recognizing and including public schools as national infrastructure, it would provide only $500 million in competitive grants over federal fiscal years (FYs) 2022-2026 through the Department of Energy (DOE) for energy efficiency improvements in public schools.

The grants can be used for any improvement, repair, or renovation to a school that:

• Results in a direct reduction in school energy costs, including "improvements to the envelope, air conditioning system, ventilation system, heating system, domestic hot water heating system, compressed air system, distribution system, lighting system, power system, and controls of a building."
• Leads to an improvement in teacher and student health, including indoor air quality, and that achieves energy savings.
• Involves installation of renewable energy technologies.
• Involves installation of alternative fueled vehicle infrastructure on school grounds for school buses/fleets, or students, or the general public.
• Involves the purchase or lease of alternative fueled vehicles to be used by a school, including buses, fleet vehicles, and other operational vehicles.

(See Subtitle D–Schools and Nonprofits section, starting on page 1719 of the bill text for more information on this program.)

In terms of scale, in relation to other infrastructure, even though school district capital outlay is the second largest sector for capital outlay-nearly the same as for highways, nationally-this bill dedicates only .04% toward public school infrastructure, which falls very short of what is needed. Moreover, the funds focus on energy improvements instead of holistic facilities improvements, which may inadvertently lead to poor planning, design, and construction for schools because there is insufficient funding to address other facility needs.

In addition to the $500 million grant program, the bill has  some other "education-adjacent" provisions worth noting:

• $65 billion for broadband investments to ensure everyone has access to high-speed internet and help more low-income families access the internet and afford devices (though this is not school-specific funding).
• $55 billion to replace lead water service lines to schools, child care centers, and families ($200 million over five years would address lead contamination in school drinking water).
• $5 billion for environment-friendly school buses, including $2.5 billion for zero-emission buses and $2.5 billion for low-emission buses.
• Reauthorizes and extends until 2023 the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act, which helps fund schools in 700 counties that have federal forest land.

 
ASBO International will continue to monitor this legislation, but is also advocating with other national education organizations to include the Reopen and Rebuild America's Schools Act (RRASA) in the budget reconciliation package, which would provide $100 billion in direct federal grants and $30 billion in bonds for K–12 facilities. For more education policy information, stay tuned to the Legislative Affairs Community for updates. If you'd like to advocate with us for RRASA's inclusion in the budget reconciliation package, see our advocacy alert here.