This bill authorizes certain construction grants under the Impact Aid program for four fiscal years. The Impact Aid program provides funding to local educational agencies (LEAs) that have lost property tax revenue due to the presence of tax-exempt federal property or to those that have experienced increased expenditures due to enrollment of federally connected children (e.g., children living on Indian lands or military bases).
Specifically, the bill directs the Department of Education (ED), based on applications submitted by LEAs that are eligible to receive payments under the Impact Aid program, to establish a priority listing for grant awards based on facility condition.
Further, ED must comply with specified requirements when making grant payments under this bill. For example, ED must provide a grant in full to an LEA that (1) has a facility in violation of a building code that represents a health hazard and which fails to meet other standards, and (2) has no capacity to issue bonds. ED must also require an LEA that has the capacity to issue bonds to pay a percentage of the total cost of the project supported with grant funds.
ED must annually report to Congress on the projects carried out under this bill and make the report publicly available.
