Reopen and Rebuild America’s Schools Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 96 To provide for the long-term improvement of public school facilities, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 28, 2021 Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. BROWN, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. CARDIN, Ms. SMITH, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. MURPHY, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. ROSEN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mrs. SHA- HEEN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. CASEY, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. WAR- REN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. HASSAN, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. COONS, and Ms. STABENOW) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To provide for the long-term improvement of public school facilities, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Reopen and Rebuild America’s Schools Act of 2021’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:17 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S96.IS S96 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 96 IS TITLE I—GRANTS FOR THE LONG-TERM IMPROVEMENT OF PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITIES Sec. 101. Purpose and reservation. Sec. 102. Allocation to States. Sec. 103. Need-based grants to qualified local educational agencies. Sec. 104. Annual report on grant program. Sec. 105. Authorization of appropriations. TITLE II—SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE BONDS Sec. 201. Restoration of certain qualified tax credit bonds. Sec. 202. School infrastructure bonds. Sec. 203. Annual report on bond program. TITLE III—USES OF FUNDS Sec. 301. Allowable uses of funds. Sec. 302. Prohibited uses. Sec. 303. Requirements for hazard-resistance and energy and water conserva- tion. Sec. 304. Green Practices. Sec. 305. Use of American iron, steel, and manufactured products. TITLE IV—REPORTS AND OTHER MATTERS Sec. 401. Comptroller General report. Sec. 402. Study and report on physical condition of public schools. Sec. 403. Development of data standards. Sec. 404. Information clearinghouse. TITLE V—IMPACT AID CONSTRUCTION Sec. 501. Temporary increase in funding for impact aid construction. TITLE VI—ASSISTANCE FOR REPAIR OF SCHOOL FOUNDATIONS AFFECTED BY PYRRHOTITE Sec. 601. Allocations to States. Sec. 602. Grants to local educational agencies. Sec. 603. Definitions. Sec. 604. Authorization of appropriations. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 3 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 4 mittees’’ means the Committee on Education and 5 Labor of the House of Representatives and the Com- 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:17 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S96.IS S96 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 96 IS mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 1 of the Senate. 2 (2) BUREAU-FUNDED SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘Bu- 3 reau-funded school’’ has the meaning given that 4 term in section 1141 of the Education Amendments 5 of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2021). 6 (3) COVERED FUNDS.—The term ‘‘covered 7 funds’’ means funds received— 8 (A) under title I of this Act; 9 (B) from a school infrastructure bond; or 10 (C) from a qualified zone academy bond 11 (as such term is defined in section 54E of the 12 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as restored by 13 section 201)). 14 (4) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘elementary 15 school’’, ‘‘outlying area’’, and ‘‘secondary school’’ 16 have the meanings given those terms in section 8101 17 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 18 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 19 (5) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 20 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 21 that term in section 8101 of the Elementary and 22 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801) 23 except that such term does not include a Bureau- 24 funded school. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:17 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S96.IS S96 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 96 IS (6) PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITIES.—The term 1 ‘‘public school facilities’’ means the facilities of a 2 public elementary school or a public secondary 3 school. 4 (7) QUALIFIED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN- 5 CY.—The term ‘‘qualified local educational agency’’ 6 means a local educational agency that receives funds 7 under part A of title I of the Elementary and Sec- 8 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et 9 seq.). 10 (8) SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE BOND.—The 11 term ‘‘school infrastructure bond’’ has the meaning 12 given such term in section 54BB of the Internal 13 Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by section 202). 14 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 15 the Secretary of Education. 16 (10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 17 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the 18 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 19 (11) ZERO ENERGY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘zero 20 energy school’’ means a public elementary school or 21 public secondary school that— 22 (A) generates renewable energy on-site; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:17 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S96.IS S96 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 96 IS (B) on an annual basis, exports an amount 1 of such renewable energy that equals or exceeds 2 the total amount of renewable energy that is 3 delivered to the school from outside sources. 4 TITLE I—GRANTS FOR THE 5 LONG-TERM IMPROVEMENT 6 OF PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILI- 7 TIES 8 SEC. 101. PURPOSE AND RESERVATION. 9 (a) PURPOSE.—Funds made available under this title 10 shall be for the purpose of supporting long-term improve- 11 ments to public school facilities in accordance with this 12 Act. 13 (b) RESERVATION FOR OUTLYING AREAS AND BU- 14 REAU-FUNDED SCHOOLS.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—For each of fiscal years 16 2022 through 2026, the Secretary shall reserve, 17 from the amount appropriated to carry out this 18 title— 19 (A) one-half of 1 percent, to make alloca- 20 tions to the outlying areas in accordance with 21 paragraph (3); and 22 (B) one-half of 1 percent, for payments to 23 the Secretary of the Interior to provide assist- 24 ance to Bureau-funded schools. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:17 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S96.IS S96 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 96 IS (2) USE OF RESERVED FUNDS.— 1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Funds reserved under 2 paragraph (1) shall be used in accordance with 3 title III. 4 (B) SPECIAL RULES FOR BUREAU-FUNDED 5 SCHOOLS.— 6 (i) APPLICABILITY.—The provisions 7 of title III shall apply to a Bureau-funded 8 school that receives assistance under para- 9 graph (1)(B) in the same manner that 10 such provisions apply to a qualified local 11 educational agency that receives covered 12 funds. The facilities of a Bureau-funded 13 school shall be treated as public school fa- 14 cilities for purposes of the application of 15 such provisions. 16 (ii) TREATMENT OF TRIBALLY OPER- 17 ATED SCHOOLS.—The Secretary of the In- 18 terior shall provide assistance to Bureau- 19 funded schools under paragraph (1)(B) 20 without regard to whether such schools are 21 operated by the Bureau of Indian Edu- 22 cation or by an Indian Tribe. In the case 23 of a Bureau-funded school that is a con- 24 tract or grant school (as that term is de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:17 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S96.IS S96 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 96 IS fined in section 1141 of the Education 1 Amendments of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2021)) 2 operated by an Indian Tribe, the Secretary 3 of the Interior shall provide assistance 4 under such paragraph to the Indian Tribe 5 concerned. 6 (3) ALLOCATION TO OUTLYING AREAS.—From 7 the amount reserved under paragraph (1)(A) for a 8 fiscal year, the Secretary shall allocate to each out- 9 lying area an amount in proportion to the amount 10 received by the outlying area under part A of title 11 I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 12 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) for the previous 13 fiscal year relative to the total such amount received 14 by all outlying areas for such previous fiscal year. 15 SEC. 102. ALLOCATION TO STATES. 16 (a) ALLOCATION TO STATES.— 17 (1) STATE-BY-STATE ALLOCATION.— 18 (A) FISCAL YEAR 2022.—Of the amount 19 appropriated to carry out this title for fiscal 20 year 2022 and not reserved under section 21 101(b), not later than 30 days after such funds 22 are appropriated, each State that provides an 23 assurance to the Secretary that the State will 24 comply with the requirements of subsection (c) 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:17 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S96.IS S96 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 96 IS shall be allocated an amount in proportion to 1 the amount received by all local educational 2 agencies in the State under part A of title I of 3 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 4 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) for the pre- 5 vious fiscal year relative to the total amount re- 6 ceived under such part for such fiscal year by 7 all local educational agencies in every State that 8 provides such an assurance to the Secretary. 9 (B) OTHER FISCAL YEARS.—Of the 10 amount appropriated to carry out this title for 11 each fiscal year other than fiscal year 2022 and 12 not reserved under section 101(b), each State 13 that has a plan approved by the Secretary 14 under subsection (b) shall be allocated an 15 amount in proportion to the amount received by 16 all local educational agencies in the State under 17 part A of title I of the Elementary and Sec- 18 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 19 et seq.) for the previous fiscal year relative to 20 the total amount received under such part for 21 such fiscal year by all local educational agencies 22 in every State that has a plan approved by the 23 Secretary under subsection (b). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:17 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S96.IS S96 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 96 IS (2) STATE RESERVATION.—A State may reserve 1 not more than 1 percent of its allocation under para- 2 graph (1) to carry out its responsibilities under this 3 Act, which— 4 (A) shall include— 5 (i) providing technical assistance to 6 local educational agencies, including by— 7 (I) identifying which State agen- 8 cies have programs, resources, and ex- 9 pertise relevant to the activities sup- 10 ported by the allocation under this 11 section; and 12 (II) coordinating the provision of 13 technical assistance across such agen- 14 cies; 15 (ii) in accordance with the guidance 16 issued by the Secretary under section 403, 17 developing an online, publicly searchable 18 database that contains an inventory of the 19 infrastructure of all public school facilities 20 in the State (including the facilities of Bu- 21 reau-funded schools, as appropriate), in- 22 cluding, with respect to each such facility, 23 an identification of— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:17 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S96.IS S96 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 96 IS (I) the information described in 1 subclauses (I) through (VII) of clause 2 (vi); 3 (II) the age (including an identi- 4 fication of the date of any retrofits or 5 recent renovations) of— 6 (aa) the facility; 7 (bb) its roof; 8 (cc) its lighting system; 9 (dd) its windows; 10 (ee) its ceilings; 11 (ff) its plumbing; and 12 (gg) its heating, ventilation, 13 and air conditioning system; 14 (III) fire safety inspection re- 15 sults; 16 (IV) the proximity of the facili- 17 ties to toxic sites or the vulnerability 18 of the facilities to natural disasters, 19 including the extent to which facilities 20 that are vulnerable to seismic natural 21 disasters are seismically retrofitted; 22 (V) any previous inspections 23 showing the presence of toxic sub- 24 stances; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:17 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S96.IS S96 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 96 IS (VI) any improvements that are 1 needed to support indoor and outdoor 2 social distancing, personal hygiene, 3 and building hygiene (including with 4 respect to heating, ventilation, and air 5 conditioning usage) in school facilities, 6 consistent with guidance issued by the 7 Centers for Disease Control and Pre- 8 vention; 9 (iii) updating the database developed 10 under clause (ii) not less frequently than 11 once every 2 years; 12 (iv) ensuring that the information in 13 the database developed under clause (ii)— 14 (I) is posted on a publicly acces- 15 sible State website; and 16 (II) is regularly distributed to 17 local educational agencies and Tribal 18 governments in the State; 19 (v) issuing and reviewing regulations 20 to ensure the health and safety of students 21 and staff during construction or renovation 22 projects; 23 (vi) issuing or reviewing regulations to 24 ensure safe, healthy, and high-performing 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:17 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S96.IS S96 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 96 IS school buildings, including regulations gov- 1 erning— 2 (I) indoor environmental quality 3 and ventilation, including exposure to 4 carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, 5 lead-based paint, and other combus- 6 tion by-products such as oxides of ni- 7 trogen; 8 (II) mold, mildew, and moisture 9 control; 10 (III) the safety of drinking water 11 at the tap and water used for meal 12 preparation, including regulations 13 that— 14 (aa) address the presence of 15 lead and other contaminants in 16 such water; and 17 (bb) require the regular test- 18 ing of the potability of water at 19 the tap; 20 (IV) energy and water efficiency; 21 (V) excessive classroom noise due 22 to activities allowable under section 23 301; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:17 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S96.IS S96 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 96 IS (VI) the levels of maintenance 1 work, operational spending, and cap- 2 ital investment needed to maintain the 3 quality of public school facilities; and 4 (VII) the construction or renova- 5 tion of such facilities, including appli- 6 cable building codes; and 7 (vii) creating a plan to reduce or 8 eliminate exposure to toxic substances, in- 9 cluding mercury, radon, PCBs, lead, vapor 10 intrusions, and asbestos; and 11 (B) may include the development of a plan 12 to increase the numb [Text truncated for display. 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