What This Bill Does
This bill transfers money that was set aside for energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements at public schools to the Attorney General. The Attorney General will use this money to give grants to states. States will then give subgrants to schools and school districts to pay for security improvements.
Who It Affects
States receive grants from the Attorney General. Local school districts, Indian tribes and tribal organizations, and individual elementary and secondary schools receive subgrants from their states. School students and staff benefit from security improvements funded by these grants.
Key Provisions
• The Attorney General receives transferred funds to award grants to states for school safety and security purposes (Sec. 2(b), Sec. 2(c)(1))
• Each state must set aside at least 95 percent of its grant money to give subgrants to eligible schools and school districts for security improvements (Sec. 2(c)(3)(A))
• Eligible schools can use subgrant money to install metal detectors, security cameras, reinforced doors and windows, alert systems for law enforcement, digital monitoring technology for school communications, and hire school security officers (Sec. 2(c)(4)(C))
• States must provide matching funds equal to 20 percent of their grant amount, and schools must provide matching funds equal to 5 percent of their subgrant amount (Sec. 2(5)(A) and Sec. 2(5)(B))
• States can waive the 5 percent school matching requirement for rural areas, high-poverty areas, or tribal lands, and must then cover that amount themselves (Sec. 2(5)(B)(ii))
What Changes
Money previously designated for school energy efficiency projects is redirected to school security improvements instead. Schools now have a new source of federal funding to improve safety and security on their campuses. States must establish and manage grant programs to distribute these funds to eligible schools.
Important Definitions
"Eligible entity" means a local educational agency, Indian tribe or tribal organization, or an elementary or secondary school (Sec. 2(a)(1)).
"State" means each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Sec. 2(a)(2)).
Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 809
To transfer funds for Energy Efficiency Improvements and Renewable Energy
Improvements at Public School Facilities to the Attorney General to
award grants to States to promote safety and security in schools.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 15, 2023
Mr. ROUNDS (for himself, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, and Ms.
LUMMIS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred
to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
A BILL
To transfer funds for Energy Efficiency Improvements and
Renewable Energy Improvements at Public School Facili-
ties to the Attorney General to award grants to States
to promote safety and security in schools.
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.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Security to Avoid Vio-
4
lence in Educational Settings Act’’ or the ‘‘SAVES Act’’.
5
SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM FOR STATES FOR SCHOOL SAFE-
6
TY AND SECURITY.
7
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
8
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(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
1
ty’’ means—
2
(A) a local educational agency, as defined
3
in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec-
4
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
5
7801);
6
(B) an Indian Tribe or Tribal organiza-
7
tion, as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-
8
Determination and Education Assistance Act
9
(25 U.S.C. 5304); or
10
(C) an elementary school or secondary
11
school, as such terms are defined in section
12
8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
13
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
14
(2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of
15
the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the
16
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
17
(b) TRANSFER
OF FUNDS.—The amount appro-
18
priated for Energy Efficiency Improvements and Renew-
19
able Energy Improvements at Public School Facilities, as
20
authorized under section 40541 of the Infrastructure In-
21
vestment and Jobs Act (42 U.S.C. 18831), under the In-
22
frastructure Investments and Jobs Appropriations Act (di-
23
vision B of Public Law 117–58) is transferred to the At-
24
torney General to carry out subsection (c).
25
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•S 809 IS
(c) GRANT PROGRAM
FOR STATES
FOR SCHOOL
1
SAFETY AND SECURITY.—
2
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall
3
use the amount transferred under subsection (b) to
4
award grants to States from allotments under para-
5
graph (2) for each of fiscal years 2023 through
6
2027. From the amount transferred, $100,000,000
7
shall be available to be allotted for each fiscal year.
8
(2) STATE ALLOTMENTS.—
9
(A) ALLOTMENT.—
10
(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clauses
11
(ii) and (iii), from the amount available to
12
be allotted for a fiscal year under para-
13
graph (1), the Attorney General shall allot
14
to each State for the fiscal year an amount
15
that bears the same relationship to the
16
amount available as the number of individ-
17
uals residing in the State who are aged 5
18
through 17, bears to the number of such
19
individuals residing in all States.
20
(ii) SMALL
STATE
MINIMUM.—No
21
State receiving an allotment under this
22
subparagraph for a fiscal year shall receive
23
less than 0.75 percent of the total amount
24
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•S 809 IS
allotted under this subparagraph for the
1
fiscal year.
2
(iii) PUERTO RICO.—The amount al-
3
lotted under this subparagraph to the
4
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for a fiscal
5
year may not exceed 0.75 percent of the
6
total amount allotted under this subpara-
7
graph for the fiscal year.
8
(B) REALLOTMENT.—If a State does not
9
receive an allotment under this paragraph for a
10
fiscal year, the Attorney General shall reallot
11
the amount of the State’s allotment to the re-
12
maining States for the fiscal year in accordance
13
with this paragraph.
14
(3) USE OF ALLOTMENT.—Each State that re-
15
ceives an allotment under paragraph (2) for a fiscal
16
year shall—
17
(A) reserve not less than 95 percent of the
18
allotment to make subgrants to eligible entities
19
under paragraph (4);
20
(B) reserve not more than 1 percent of the
21
allotment for the administrative costs of car-
22
rying out its responsibilities under this section,
23
including public reporting on how funds made
24
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•S 809 IS
available under this section are being expended
1
by eligible entities; and
2
(C) use the amount made available to the
3
State and not reserved under subparagraphs
4
(A) and (B) for activities designed to support
5
eligible entities in identifying, planning, and im-
6
plementing school security improvements.
7
(4) SUBGRANTS TO ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—
8
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Each State that re-
9
ceives an allotment under paragraph (2) shall
10
award subgrants to eligible entities to support
11
the eligible entities in identifying, planning, and
12
implementing school security improvements.
13
(B) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity
14
that desires to receive a subgrant grant under
15
this paragraph shall submit an application to
16
the State at such time, in such manner, and ac-
17
companied by such information as the State
18
may require.
19
(C) USE OF SUBGRANT FUNDS.—An eligi-
20
ble entity that receives a subgrant under this
21
paragraph shall use the subgrant funds, subject
22
to any rules established by the State, for the
23
purpose of planning and designing school build-
24
ings and facilities, installing infrastructure, and
25
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•S 809 IS
implementing technology or other measures,
1
that strengthen security on school premises,
2
which may include—
3
(i) controlling access to school prem-
4
ises or facilities, through the use of metal
5
detectors, or other measures, or tech-
6
nology, with evidence-based effectiveness
7
(to the extent the State involved deter-
8
mines that such evidence is reasonably
9
available), in accordance with the needs of
10
the school;
11
(ii) implementing any technology or
12
measure, or installing any infrastructure,
13
to cover and conceal students within the
14
school during crisis situations;
15
(iii) implementing technology to pro-
16
vide notification to relevant law enforce-
17
ment and first responders during crisis sit-
18
uations;
19
(iv) implementing any technology or
20
measure, including hiring school security
21
officers, or installing any infrastructure,
22
with evidence-based effectiveness (to the
23
extent the State involved determines that
24
such evidence is reasonably available) to
25
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•S 809 IS
increase the safety of school students and
1
staff;
2
(v) implementing any digital content
3
monitoring technology to assist in the mon-
4
itoring of communication on school-pro-
5
vided platforms, as long as the system does
6
not transmit data outside of the United
7
States and uses human review instead of
8
automated alerts to increase safety of
9
school students and staff;
10
(vi) implementing any technology or
11
measure, or installing any infrastructure,
12
for school safety reinforcement, including
13
bullet-resistant doors and windows; and
14
(vii) implementing any technology or
15
system that would reduce the time needed
16
to disseminate official information to par-
17
ents regarding the safety of their children
18
during and immediately following a crisis.
19
(D) RESTRICTION ON DOJ.—The Attorney
20
General may not promulgate a rule that re-
21
stricts a State’s ability to determine the eligible
22
uses of subgrant funds awarded under this
23
paragraph.
24
(5) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.—
25
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•S 809 IS
(A) STATE MATCH.—Each State that re-
1
ceives a grant under this section shall provide
2
non-Federal matching funds equal to 20 per-
3
cent of the amount of the grant toward the cost
4
of carrying out the activities described in this
5
section.
6
(B) ELIGIBLE ENTITY MATCH.—
7
(i) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity
8
that receives a subgrant under this section
9
shall provide matching funds, in cash or
10
through in-kind contributions, from Fed-
11
eral, State, local, or private sources in an
12
amount equal to 5 percent of the amount
13
of the subgrant toward the cost of carrying
14
out the activities described in this section.
15
(ii) WAIVER.—
16
(I) IN GENERAL.—A State may
17
waive the matching funds requirement
18
under clause (i), on a case-by-case
19
basis, upon a showing of exceptional
20
circumstances, such as—
21
(aa) the difficulty of raising
22
matching funds for a program to
23
serve a rural area;
24
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•S 809 IS
(bb) the difficulty of raising
1
matching funds in areas with a
2
concentration of local educational
3
agencies or schools with a high
4
percentage of students aged 5
5
through 17—
6
(AA) who are in pov-
7
erty, as counted in the most
8
recent census data approved
9
by the Attorney General;
10
(BB) who are eligible
11
for a free or reduced price
12
lunch under the Richard B.
13
Russell
National
School
14
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751
15
et seq.);
16
(CC) whose families re-
17
ceive assistance under the
18
State program funded under
19
part A of title IV of the So-
20
cial Security Act (42 U.S.C.
21
601 et seq.); or
22
(DD) who are eligible
23
to receive medical assistance
24
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•S 809 IS
under the Medicaid pro-
1
gram; and
2
(cc) the difficulty of raising
3
funds on tribal land.
4
(II) STATE TO COVER ELIGIBLE
5
ENTITY MATCH.—A State that waives
6
the
matching
funds
requirement
7
under clause (i), shall provide the
8
amount waived in addition to the
9
State match required under subpara-
10
graph (A).
11
(iii) CONSIDERATION.—A State shall
12
not consider an eligible entity’s ability to
13
match funds when determining which eligi-
14
ble entity will receive subgrants under this
15
section.
16
Æ
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