INSPIRES Act

Summary: Inspiring New STEM Professionals by Investing in Renovation of Education Spaces Act or the INSPIRES Act  Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to direct the Department of Education (ED) to support local educational agencies (LEAs), community colleges, and other appropriate entities in modernizing, renovating, or repairing facilities used to provide science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or career and technical education to public elementary, secondary school, or community college students. Requires ED to furnish such support by providing eligible entities with grants or loan guarantees or by making payments of interest on the financial instruments they use to fund the modernization, renovation, or repair of those facilities. Prohibits the use of that support for new construction or the payment of routine maintenance costs. Requires ED to direct at least 25% of the funds made available under this Act to: (1) public schools or secondary schools served by high-need LEAs, or (2) community colleges that serve a substantial number of rural students.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Inspiring New STEM Professionals by 
Investing in Renovation of Education Spaces Act'' or the ``INSPIRES 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Over the past 10 years, the growth in jobs requiring 
        science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (referred to 
        in this section as ``STEM'') skills was three times faster than 
        the growth in non-STEM jobs.
            (2) STEM skills and knowledge are now required in a wide 
        range of occupations, including many that are not traditionally 
        considered to be science or engineering related.
            (3) Over 50 percent of jobs that require STEM skills do not 
        require a baccalaureate degree, and demand for these middle-
        skill STEM workers is distributed nationwide.
            (4) When including sub-baccalaureate workers (those with 2-
        year degrees or occupational licenses or certifications), there 
        may be as many as 26,000,000 jobs in the United States that 
        require STEM competency in at least 1 field.
            (5) In recent years, the unemployment rate for STEM workers 
        has been approximately half of the unemployment rate of non-
        STEM workers, and the average annual wage for STEM workers has 
        been substantially higher than that of non-STEM workers.
            (6) In order for students to be high-performing, the 
        education facilities used by the students must also be high-
        performing.
            (7) Many school facilities required for STEM and career and 
        technical education are inefficient and outdated.

SEC. 3. CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION FACILITIES.

    (a) Career and Technical Education Facilities.--Part D of title V 
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7241 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

        ``Subpart 22--Career and Technical Education Facilities

``SEC. 5621. DEFINITIONS.

    ``In this subpart:
            ``(1) Career and technical education.--The term `career and 
        technical education' has the meaning given the term in section 
        3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 
        2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302).
            ``(2) Community college.--The term `community college' 
        means--
                    ``(A) a junior or community college, as that term 
                is defined in section 312(f) of the Higher Education 
                Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058(f)); or
                    ``(B) an institution of higher education (as 
                defined in section 101 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1001)) 
                that awards a significant number of degrees and 
                certificates, as determined by the Secretary, that are 
                not--
                            ``(i) baccalaureate degrees (or an 
                        equivalent); or
                            ``(ii) master's, professional, or other 
                        advanced degrees.
            ``(3) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means a 
        local educational agency, community college, or other entity 
        determined appropriate by the Secretary.
            ``(4) Qualified project.--The term `qualified project'--
                    ``(A) means the modernization, renovation, or 
                repair of a facility that will be used to improve the 
                quality and availability of science, technology, 
                engineering, mathematics, or career and technical 
                education instruction to public elementary school or 
                secondary school, or community college, students, and 
                that may include--
                            ``(i) improving the energy efficiency of 
                        the facility;
                            ``(ii) improving the cost-effectiveness of 
                        the facility in delivering quality education;
                            ``(iii) improving student, faculty, and 
                        staff health and safety at the facility;
                            ``(iv) improving, installing, or upgrading 
                        educational technology infrastructure;
                            ``(v) retrofitting an existing building for 
                        career and technical education purposes; and
                            ``(vi) a one-time repair of serviceable 
                        equipment at the facility, or replacement of 
                        equipment at the facility that is at the end of 
                        its serviceable lifespan, that will be used to 
                        further educational outcomes; and
                    ``(B) does not include new construction or the 
                payment of routine maintenance costs.

``SEC. 5622. CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION FACILITIES IMPROVEMENT.

    ``(a) Program Authorized.--From amounts appropriated under section 
5401(b), the Secretary shall carry out a program to improve career and 
technical education facilities by--
            ``(1) awarding grants to eligible entities to enable the 
        eligible entities to carry out qualified projects;
            ``(2) guaranteeing loans made to eligible entities for 
        qualified projects; or
            ``(3) making payments of interest on bonds, loans, or other 
        financial instruments (other than a refinancing) that are 
        issued to eligible entities for qualified projects.
    ``(b) Application.--An eligible entity that desires to receive a 
grant, loan guarantee, or payment of interest under this subpart shall 
submit an application to the Secretary at such a time, in such a 
manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. 
The application shall include--
            ``(1) a detailed description of the qualified project;
            ``(2) in the case of a qualified project described in 
        section 5621(4)(A)(vi), a description of the educational 
        outcomes to be furthered by the one-time repair of serviceable 
        equipment or replacement of equipment;
            ``(3) an indication as to whether the eligible entity 
        prefers to receive a grant, loan guarantee, or payment of 
        interest;
            ``(4) a description of the need for the qualified project;
            ``(5) a description of how the eligible entity will ensure 
        that the qualified project will be adequately maintained;
            ``(6) an identification of any public elementary school or 
        secondary school or community college that will benefit from 
        the qualified project;
            ``(7) a description of how the qualified project will 
        improve instruction and educational outcomes at the facility, 
        including any opportunities to integrate project activities 
        within the curriculum of such school or community college;
            ``(8) a description of how the facility supported by the 
        qualified project will be used for providing educational 
        services in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or 
        career and technical education;
            ``(9) a description of how the eligible entity will ensure 
        that the modernization, renovation, or repair supported by the 
        qualified project meets Leadership in Energy and Environmental 
        Design (LEED) building rating standards, Energy Star standards, 
        Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) criteria, 
        Green Building Initiative environmental design and rating 
        standards (Green Globes), the Living Building Challenge 
        certification standards, or equivalent standards adopted by 
        entities with jurisdiction over or related to the eligible 
        entity;
            ``(10) a description of the fiscal capacity of the eligible 
        entity;
            ``(11) the percentage of students enrolled in the public 
        elementary school or secondary school or community college to 
        be served by the qualified project who are from low-income 
        families;
            ``(12) in the case of a qualified project at a facility 
        that is used by students in a secondary school, the secondary 
        school graduation rates; and
            ``(13) such additional information and assurances as the 
        Secretary may require.
    ``(c) Priority.--In making awards under this subpart, the Secretary 
shall use not less than a total of 25 percent of the funds appropriated 
under section 5401(b) to eligible entities for qualified projects to 
benefit--
            ``(1) public elementary schools or secondary schools served 
        by high-need local educational agencies, as described in 
        section 2102(3)(A); or
            ``(2) community colleges serving a substantial number of 
        rural students, as determined by the Secretary.
    ``(d) Supplement Not Supplant.--Funds made available under this 
subpart shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, other Federal 
and State funds available to carry out the activities supported under 
this subpart.
    ``(e) Technical Assistance and Administrative Costs.--The Secretary 
may reserve not more than 3 percent of funds appropriated under section 
5401(b) for the administrative costs of this subpart and to provide 
technical assistance to community colleges and local educational 
agencies concerning best practices in school facility renovation, 
repair, and modernization.
    ``(f) Reporting Requirements.--Not later than 1 year after funds 
are appropriated to carry out this subpart, and every 2 years 
thereafter, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the appropriate 
committees of Congress a report on the effect of the qualified projects 
supported under this subpart on improving academic achievement.''.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 5401 of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7241) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking the matter preceding paragraph (1) and 
        inserting the following:
    ``(a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out this part (except for subpart 22) the following amounts:''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Authorization for Subpart 22.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out subpart 22 $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2016 
and each succeeding fiscal year.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendments.--The table of contents in section 2 of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended by 
inserting after the item relating to section 5618 the following:

        ``subpart 22--career and technical education facilities

``Sec. 5621. Definitions.
``Sec. 5622. Career and technical facilities improvement.''.