II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1597 

To provide assistance for the modernization, renovation, and repair of elementary school and secondary school buildings in public school districts 

and community colleges across the United States in order to support 

the achievement of improved educational outcomes in those schools, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 21, 2011 

Mr. BROWN of Ohio (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. SANDERS, 

Mr. FRANKEN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. AKAKA) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To provide assistance for the modernization, renovation, and 

repair of elementary school and secondary school buildings in public school districts and community colleges 

across the United States in order to support the achievement of improved educational outcomes in those schools, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Fix America’s Schools Today Act of 2011’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; Table of Contents. 

TITLE I—ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS 

Sec. 101. Purpose. 

Sec. 102. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 103. Allocation of funds. 

Sec. 104. State use of funds. 

Sec. 105. State and local applications. 

Sec. 106. Use of funds. 

Sec. 107. Additional provisions. 

TITLE II—COMMUNITY COLLEGE MODERNIZATION 

Sec. 201. Federal assistance for community college modernization. 

TITLE III—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Sec. 301. Definitions. 

Sec. 302. Buy American. 

Sec. 303. Compliance with Davis-Bacon Act. 

Sec. 304. Reports. 

3 TITLE I—ELEMENTARY AND 

4 SECONDARY SCHOOLS 

5 SEC. 101. PURPOSE. 

6 The purpose of this title is to provide assistance for 

7 the modernization, renovation, and repair of elementary 

8 school and secondary school buildings for schools that are 

9 served by local educational agencies across the United 

10 States, in order to support the achievement of improved 

11 educational outcomes in such schools. 

12 SEC. 102. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; APPRO13 PRIATION OF FUNDS. 

14 There are authorized to be appropriated, and there 

15 are appropriated, $25,000,000,000 to carry out this title, 


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1 which shall be available for obligation by the Secretary 

2 until September 30, 2012. 

3 SEC. 103. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS. 

4 (a) RESERVATIONS.—From the amount made avail5 able to carry out this title, the Secretary shall reserve— 

6 (1) one-half of 1 percent for the Secretary of 

7 the Interior to carry out modernization, renovation, 

8 and repair activities described in section 106 in 

9 schools operated or funded by the Bureau of Indian 

10 Education; 

11 (2) one-half of 1 percent to make grants to the 

12 outlying areas for modernization, renovation, and re13 pair activities described in section 106; and 

14 (3) such funds as the Secretary determines are 

15 needed— 

16 (A) to conduct a survey, through the Na17 tional Center for Education Statistics, of the 

18 school construction, modernization, renovation, 

19 and repair needs of the public schools of the 

20 United States; and 

21 (B) to encourage the States to coordinate 

22 and share information about school facilities 

23 standards and best practices. 

24 (b) STATE ALLOCATION.—From the amount made 

25 available to carry out this title, and not reserved under 


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1 subsection (a), the Secretary shall allocate funds among 

2 the States in proportion to their respective allocations 

3 under part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary 

4 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) for fiscal 

5 year 2011, except that— 

6 (1) the Secretary shall allocate 40 percent of 

7 such funds to the 100 local educational agencies 

8 with the largest numbers of children ages 5 to 17 

9 living in poverty, as determined using the most re10 cent data available from the Department of Com11 merce that are satisfactory to the Secretary, in pro12 portion to such local educational agencies’ respective 

13 allocations under part A of title I of the Elementary 

14 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

15 6311 et seq.) for fiscal year 2011; and 

16 (2) the allocation to any State shall be reduced 

17 by the aggregate amount of the allocations under 

18 paragraph (1) to local educational agencies in such 

19 State. 

20 (c) REMAINING ALLOCATION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a State does not apply for 

22 its allocation under subsection (b), applies for less 

23 than the full allocation for which it is eligible, or 

24 does not use the allocation in a timely manner, the 

25 Secretary may— 


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1 (A) reallocate all or a portion of the alloca2 tion to the other States in accordance with sub3 section (b); or 

4 (B) use all or a portion of the allocation to 

5 make direct allocations to local educational 

6 agencies within the State based on their respec7 tive allocations under part A of title I of the El8 ementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

9 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) for fiscal year 2011 or 

10 such other method as the Secretary may deter11 mine. 

12 (2) REALLOCATION OF LOCAL EDUCATIONAL

13 AGENCY FUNDS.—If a local educational agency does 

14 not apply for its allocation under subsection (b)(1), 

15 applies for less than the full allocation for which it 

16 is eligible, or does not use the allocation in a timely 

17 manner, the Secretary may reallocate all or a por18 tion of such local educational agency’s allocation to 

19 the State in which such agency is located. 

20 SEC. 104. STATE USE OF FUNDS. 

21 (a) RESERVATION.—Each State that receives a grant 

22 under this title may reserve not more than 1 percent of 

23 the State’s allocation under section 103(b) for the purpose 

24 of administering the grant. 

25 (b) FUNDS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.— 


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1 (1) FORMULA SUBGRANTS.—From the grant 

2 funds that are not reserved under subsection (a), a 

3 State shall allocate not less than 50 percent to local 

4 educational agencies, including charter schools that 

5 are local educational agencies, that did not receive 

6 funds under section 103(b)(1) from the Secretary, in 

7 accordance with their respective allocations under 

8 part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary 

9 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) for 

10 fiscal year 2011, except that no such local edu11 cational agency shall receive less than $10,000. 

12 (2) ADDITIONAL SUBGRANTS.—The State shall 

13 use any funds remaining, after reserving funds 

14 under subsection (a) and allocating funds under 

15 paragraph (1), for subgrants to local educational 

16 agencies that did not receive funds under section 

17 103(b)(1), including charter schools that are local 

18 educational agencies, to support modernization, ren19 ovation, and repair projects that the State deter20 mines, using objective criteria, are most needed in 

21 the State, with priority given to projects in rural 

22 local educational agencies. 

23 (c) REMAINING FUNDS.—If a local educational agen24 cy does not apply for an allocation under subsection 

25 (b)(1), applies for less than its full allocation, or fails to 


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1 use the allocation in a timely manner, the State may re2 allocate any unused portion to other local educational 

3 agencies in accordance with subsection (b). 

4 SEC. 105. STATE AND LOCAL APPLICATIONS. 

5 (a) STATE APPLICATION.—A State that desires to re6 ceive a grant under this title shall submit an application 

7 to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con8 taining such information and assurances as the Secretary 

9 may require, which shall include— 

10 (1) an identification of the State agency or enti11 ty that will administer the program; 

12 (2) a description of the State’s process for de13 termining how the grant funds will be distributed 

14 and administered, including— 

15 (A) how the State will determine the cri16 teria and priorities in making subgrants under 

17 section 104(b)(2); 

18 (B) any additional criteria the State will 

19 use in determining which projects the State will 

20 fund under such section; 

21 (C) a description of how the State will con22 sider— 

23 (i) the needs of local educational 

24 agencies for assistance under this title; 


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1 (ii) the impact of potential projects on 

2 job creation in the State; 

3 (iii) the fiscal capacity of local edu4 cational agencies applying for assistance; 

5 (iv) the percentage of children in such 

6 local educational agencies who are from 

7 low-income families; and 

8 (v) the potential for leveraging assist9 ance provided by the grant program 

10 through matching or other financing mech11 anisms; 

12 (D) a description of how the State will en13 sure that the local educational agencies receiv14 ing subgrants under this title meet the require15 ments of this title; 

16 (E) a description of how the State will en17 sure that the State and the local educational 

18 agencies in the State meet the deadlines estab19 lished in section 107; 

20 (F) a description of how the State will give 

21 priority to the use of green practices that are 

22 certified, verified, or consistent with any appli23 cable provisions of— 

24 (i) the LEED Green Building Rating 

25 System; 


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1 (ii) Energy Star; 

2 (iii) the CHPS Criteria; 

3 (iv) Green Globes; or 

4 (v) an equivalent program adopted by 

5 the State or another jurisdiction with au6 thority over the local educational agency; 

7 and 

8 (G) a description of the steps that the 

9 State will take to ensure that local educational 

10 agencies receiving subgrants will adequately 

11 maintain any facilities that are modernized, 

12 renovated, or repaired with subgrant funds 

13 under this title. 

14 (b) LOCAL APPLICATION.—A local educational agen15 cy that is eligible to receive a grant under section 

16 103(b)(1) and desires to receive such grant shall submit 

17 an application to the Secretary at such time, in such man18 ner, and containing such information and assurances as 

19 the Secretary may require, which shall include— 

20 (1) a description of how the local educational 

21 agency will meet the deadlines and requirements of 

22 this title; and 

23 (2) a description of the steps that the local edu24 cational agency will take to adequately maintain any 


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1 facilities that are modernized, renovated, or repaired 

2 with funds under this title. 

3 SEC. 106. USE OF FUNDS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency that 

5 receives funds under this title shall use such funds only 

6 for one or both of the following modernization, renovation, 

7 and repair activities in facilities that are used for elemen8 tary or secondary education or for early learning pro9 grams: 

10 (1) Direct payments for school modernization, 

11 renovation, and repair. 

12 (2) Payment of interest on bonds or payments 

13 for other financing instruments that are newly 

14 issued for the purpose of financing school mod15 ernization, renovation, and repair. 

16 (b) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds made 

17 available under this title shall be used to supplement, and 

18 not supplant, other Federal, State, and local funds that 

19 would otherwise be expended to modernize, renovate, or 

20 repair eligible school facilities. 

21 (c) PROHIBITION.—Funds awarded to local edu22 cational agencies under this title shall not be used for— 

23 (1) new construction; 

24 (2) routine janitorial costs; or 


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1 (3) modernization, renovation, and repair of 

2 stadiums or other facilities primarily used for ath3 letic contests or exhibitions or other events for which 

4 admission is charged to the general public. 

5 SEC. 107. ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS. 

6 (a) FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR OBLIGATION FOR TWO

7 YEARS.—Funds appropriated under section 102 shall be 

8 available for obligation by local educational agencies re9 ceiving grants from the Secretary under section 103(b)(1), 

10 by States reserving funds under section 104(a), and by 

11 local educational agencies receiving subgrants under sec12 tion 104(b)(1) only during the period that ends 24 months 

13 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

14 (b) FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR OBLIGATION FOR THREE

15 YEARS.—Funds appropriated under section 102 shall be 

16 available for obligation by local educational agencies re17 ceiving subgrants under section 104(b)(2) only during the 

18 period that ends 36 months after the date of enactment 

19 of this Act. 

20 (c) LABOR STANDARDS.—Section 439 of the General 

21 Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232b) shall apply 

22 to funds available under this title. 

23 (d) NOT CONSIDERED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN24 CIES.—For purposes of section 103(b)(1), Hawaii, the 


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1 District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto 

2 Rico are not local educational agencies. 

3 SEC. 108. REPORTS. 

4 (a) DIRECT GRANTS TO LEAS.—Each local edu5 cational agency that receives a grant under section 

6 103(b)(1) shall, not later than September 30, 2012, and 

7 annually thereafter for each fiscal year in which the local 

8 educational agency expends funds received under such sec9 tion, submit to the Secretary a report that includes— 

10 (1) a description of the projects for which the 

11 grant was, or will be, used; and 

12 (2) the number of jobs created by the projects 

13 funded under such section. 

14 (b) SUBRANTS TO LEAS THROUGH THE STATE.— 

15 Each local educational agency that receives a subgrant 

16 from a State under paragraph (1) or (2) of section 104(b) 

17 shall, not later than September 30, 2012, and annually 

18 thereafter for each fiscal year in which the local edu19 cational agency expends funds received under such section, 

20 submit to the State a report that includes— 

21 (1) a description of the projects for which the 

22 subgrant was, or will be, used; and 

23 (2) the number of jobs created by the projects 

24 funded under such section. 


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1 (c) STATE REPORT TO THE SECRETARY.—Each 

2 State that receives a report described under subsection (b) 

3 shall submit a report to the Secretary containing the infor4 mation in each report that such State receives in accord5 ance with subsection (b). 

6 TITLE II—COMMUNITY COLLEGE 

7 MODERNIZATION 

8 SEC. 201. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE FOR COMMUNITY COL9 LEGE MODERNIZATION. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

11 (1) GRANT PROGRAM.—From the amount made 

12 available under subsection (g), the Secretary shall 

13 award grants to States to modernize, renovate, or 

14 repair existing facilities at community colleges. 

15 (2) ALLOCATION.— 

16 (A) RESERVATIONS.—From the amount 

17 made available to carry out this title for a fiscal 

18 year, the Secretary shall reserve— 

19 (i) not more than 0.25 percent for 

20 grants to institutions that are eligible to 

21 receive a grant under section 316 of the 

22 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

23 1059c) to provide for modernization, ren24 ovation, and repair activities described in 

25 this title; and 


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1 (ii) not more than 0.25 percent for 

2 grants to the outlying areas to provide for 

3 modernization, renovation, and repair ac4 tivities described in this title. 

5 (B) ALLOCATION.— 

6 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

7 in clause (ii), from the funds made avail8 able to carry out this title for a fiscal year, 

9 and not reserved under subparagraph (A), 

10 the Secretary shall allocate to each State 

11 that has an application approved by the 

12 Secretary an amount that bears the same 

13 relation to such funds as the total number 

14 of students in such State who are enrolled 

15 in institutions described in section 

16 301(2)(A) plus the number of students 

17 who are estimated to be enrolled in and 

18 pursuing a degree or certificate that is not 

19 a baccalaureate, master’s, professional, or 

20 other advanced degree at institutions de21 scribed in section 301(2)(B), based on the 

22 proportion of degrees or certificates award23 ed by such institutions that are not bacca24 laureate, master’s, professional, or other 

25 advanced degrees, as reported to the InteVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:45 Sep 22, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1597.IS S1597

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1 grated Postsecondary Data System bears 

2 to the estimated total number of such stu3 dents in all States. 

4 (ii) MINIMUM ALLOCATION.—No State 

5 shall receive an allocation under clause (i) 

6 for a fiscal year that is less than 

7 $2,500,000. 

8 (C) REALLOCATION.—Amounts not allo9 cated under this section to a State because the 

10 State either did not submit an application 

11 under subsection (b), the State submitted an 

12 application that the Secretary determined did 

13 not meet the requirements of such subsection, 

14 or the State cannot demonstrate to the Sec15 retary a sufficient demand for projects to war16 rant the full allocation of the funds, shall be 

17 proportionately reallocated under this para18 graph to the other States that have a dem19 onstrated need for, and are receiving, alloca20 tions under this section. 

21 (D) STATE ADMINISTRATION.—A State 

22 that receives a grant under this section may use 

23 not more than 1 percent of such grant for ad24 ministration costs. 


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1 (3) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds 

2 made available under this section shall be used to 

3 supplement, and not supplant, other Federal, State, 

4 and local funds that would otherwise be expended to 

5 modernize, renovate, or repair existing community 

6 college facilities. 

7 (b) APPLICATION.—A State that desires to receive a 

8 grant under this section shall submit an application to the 

9 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 

10 such information and assurances as the Secretary may re11 quire. Such application shall include a description of— 

12 (1) how the funds provided under this section 

13 will improve— 

14 (A) instruction at community colleges in 

15 the State, including how faculty and staff will 

16 be consulted regarding uses of funds for 

17 projects that will improve instruction at com18 munity colleges in the State; and 

19 (B) the ability of such colleges to educate 

20 and train students to meet the workforce needs 

21 of employers in the State; 

22 (2) the projected start date of each project; and 

23 (3) the estimated number of persons who will 

24 be employed through each project. 

25 (c) PROHIBITED USES OF FUNDS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Funds awarded under this 

2 section shall not be used for— 

3 (A) routine janitorial costs; 

4 (B) construction, modernization, renova5 tion, and repair of stadiums or other facilities 

6 primarily used for athletic contests or exhibi7 tions or other events for which admission is 

8 charged to the general public; or 

9 (C) construction, modernization, renova10 tion, and repair of facilities— 

11 (i) used for sectarian instruction, reli12 gious worship, or a school or department 

13 of divinity; or 

14 (ii) in which a substantial portion of 

15 the functions of the facilities are subsumed 

16 in a religious mission. 

17 (2) 4-YEAR INSTITUTIONS.—Funds awarded to 

18 a 4-year public institution of higher education under 

19 this section shall not be used for any facility, service, 

20 or program of the institution that is not available to 

21 students who are pursuing a degree or certificate 

22 that is not a baccalaureate, master’s, professional, or 

23 other advanced degree. 

24 (d) GREEN PROJECTS.—In providing assistance to 

25 community college projects under this section, the State 


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1 shall consider the extent to which a community college’s 

2 project involves activities that are certified, verified, or 

3 consistent with the applicable provisions of— 

4 (1) the LEED Green Building Rating System; 

5 (2) Energy Star; 

6 (3) the CHPS Criteria, as applicable; 

7 (4) Green Globes; or 

8 (5) an equivalent program adopted by the State 

9 or the State higher education agency that includes 

10 a verifiable method to demonstrate compliance with 

11 such program. 

12 (e) APPLICATION OF GEPA.—Section 439 of the 

13 General Education Provisions Act such Act (20 U.S.C. 

14 1232b) shall apply to funds available under this title. 

15 (f) REPORTS.—Each State that receives a grant 

16 under this title, shall, not later than September 30, 2012, 

17 and annually thereafter for each fiscal year in which the 

18 State expends funds received under this title, submit to 

19 the Secretary a report that includes— 

20 (1) a description of the projects for which the 

21 grant was, or will be, used; 

22 (2) a description of the amount and nature of 

23 the assistance provided to each community college 

24 under this title; and 


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1 (3) the number of jobs created by the projects 

2 funded under this title. 

3 (g) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.— 

4 (1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; AP5 PROPRIATION OF FUNDS.—There are authorized to 

6 be appropriated, and there are appropriated, to 

7 carry out this section (in addition to any other 

8 amounts appropriated to carry out this section and 

9 out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise ap10 propriated), $5,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2012. 

11 (2) FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR OBLIGATION.— 

12 Funds appropriated under this subsection shall be 

13 available for obligation by community colleges only 

14 during the period that ends 36 months after the 

15 date of enactment of this Act. 

16 TITLE III—GENERAL 

17 PROVISIONS 

18 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this Act: 

20 (1) ESEA TERMS.—Except as otherwise pro21 vided, the terms ‘‘elementary school’’, ‘‘secondary 

22 school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘Secretary’’, 

23 and ‘‘State educational agency’’ have the meanings 

24 given such terms in section 9101 of the Elementary 


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1 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

2 7801). 

3 (2) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘‘commu4 nity college’’ means— 

5 (A) a junior or community college, as that 

6 term is defined in section 312(f) of the Higher 

7 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058(f)); or 

8 (B) a 4-year public institution of higher 

9 education (as defined in section 101 of the 

10 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

11 1001)) that awards a significant number of de12 grees and certificates, as determined by the 

13 Secretary, that are not— 

14 (i) baccalaureate degrees (or an equiv15 alent); or 

16 (ii) master’s, professional, or other 

17 advanced degrees. 

18 (3) CHPS CRITERIA.—The term ‘‘CHPS Cri19 teria’’ means the green building rating program de20 veloped by the Collaborative for High Performance 

21 Schools. 

22 (4) ENERGY STAR.—The term ‘‘Energy Star’’ 

23 means the Energy Star program of the Department 

24 of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agen25 cy. 


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1 (5) GREEN GLOBES.—The term ‘‘Green 

2 Globes’’ means the Green Building Initiative envi3 ronmental design and rating system referred to as 

4 Green Globes. 

5 (6) LEED GREEN BUILDING RATING SYS6 TEM.—The term ‘‘LEED Green Building Rating 

7 System’’ means the United States Green Building 

8 Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental 

9 Design green building rating standard referred to as 

10 the LEED Green Building Rating System. 

11 (7) MODERNIZATION, RENOVATION, AND RE12 PAIR.—The term ‘‘modernization, renovation and re13 pair’’ means— 

14 (A) comprehensive assessments of facilities 

15 to identify— 

16 (i) facility conditions or deficiencies 

17 that could adversely affect student and 

18 staff health, safety, performance, or pro19 ductivity or energy, water, or materials ef20 ficiency; and 

21 (ii) needed facility improvements; 

22 (B) repairing, replacing, or installing roofs 

23 (which may be extensive, intensive, or semi-in24 tensive ‘‘green’’ roofs), electrical wiring, water 

25 supply and plumbing systems, sewage systems, 


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1 storm water runoff systems, lighting systems 

2 (or components of such systems); or building 

3 envelope, windows, ceilings, flooring, or doors, 

4 including security doors; 

5 (C) repairing, replacing, or installing heat6 ing, ventilation, or air conditioning systems, or 

7 components of those systems (including insula8 tion), including by conducting indoor air quality 

9 assessments; 

10 (D) repairing, replacing, or installing an 

11 interior or exterior system that may include 

12 paint or coatings, wall covering, drywall or plas13 ter, ceiling, baseboards, or floor covering; 

14 (E) compliance with fire, health, seismic, 

15 and safety codes, including professional installa16 tion of fire and life safety alarms, and mod17 ernizations, renovations, and repairs that en18 sure that facilities are prepared for such emer19 gencies as acts of terrorism, campus violence, 

20 and natural disasters, such as improving build21 ing infrastructure to accommodate security 

22 measures and installing or upgrading tech23 nology to ensure that a school or incident is 

24 able to respond to such emergencies; 


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1 (F) making modifications necessary to 

2 make educational facilities accessible in compli3 ance with the Americans with Disabilities Act 

4 of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) and section 

5 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 

6 U.S.C. 794), except that such modifications 

7 shall not be the primary use of a grant or 

8 subgrant; 

9 (G) abatement, removal, or interim con10 trols of asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls, 

11 mold, mildew, or lead-based hazards, including 

12 lead-based paint hazards; 

13 (H) retrofitting necessary to increase en14 ergy efficiency, which may include insulation or 

15 reducing heating and cooling costs through 

16 thermal coating of school facility roofs; 

17 (I) measures, such as selection and substi18 tution of products and materials, and imple19 mentation of improved maintenance and oper20 ational procedures, such as ‘‘green cleaning’’ 

21 programs, to reduce or eliminate potential stu22 dent or staff exposure to— 

23 (i) volatile organic compounds; 

24 (ii) particles such as dust and pollens; 

25 or 


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1 (iii) combustion gases; 

2 (J) modernization, renovation, or repair 

3 necessary to reduce the consumption of coal, 

4 electricity, land, oil, or water; 

5 (K) installation or upgrading of edu6 cational technology infrastructure; 

7 (L) installation or upgrading of renewable 

8 energy generation and heating systems, includ9 ing solar, photovoltaic, wind, biomass (including 

10 wood pellet and woody biomass), waste-to-en11 ergy, solar-thermal, fuel cell, and geothermal 

12 systems, and energy audits; 

13 (M) modernization, renovation, or repair 

14 activities related to energy efficiency and renew15 able energy, including— 

16 (i) insulation of systems functioning 

17 as heating, venting, or air conditioning; 

18 and 

19 (ii) improvements to building infra20 structures to accommodate bicycle and pe21 destrian access; 

22 (N) required environmental remediation re23 lated to facilities modernization, renovation, or 

24 repair activities described in subparagraphs (A) 

25 through (M); 


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1 (O) ground improvements, storm water 

2 management, landscaping and environmental 

3 clean-up when necessary; 

4 (P) other modernization, renovation, or re5 pair to— 

6 (i) improve teachers’ ability to teach 

7 and students’ ability to learn; 

8 (ii) ensure the health and safety of 

9 students and staff; or 

10 (iii) improve classroom, laboratory, 

11 and vocational facilities in order to en12 hance the quality of science, technology, 

13 engineering, and mathematics instruction; 

14 and 

15 (Q) measures designed to reduce or elimi16 nate human exposure to classroom noise and 

17 environmental noise pollution. 

18 (8) OUTLYING AREA.—The term ‘‘outlying 

19 area’’ means the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Amer20 ican Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern 

21 Mariana Islands, and the Republic of Palau. 

22 (9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

23 the 50 States of the United States, the Common24 wealth of Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. 


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1 SEC. 302. BUY AMERICAN. 

2 Section 1605 of division A of the American Recovery 

3 and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–5) shall 

4 apply to funds made available under this Act. 

5 SEC. 303. COMPLIANCE WITH DAVIS-BACON ACT. 

6 All laborers and mechanics employed by contractors 

7 and subcontractors on projects funded directly by or as8 sisted in whole or in part pursuant to this Act shall be 

9 paid wages at rates not less than those prevailing on 

10 projects of a character similar in the locality as deter11 mined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with sub12 chapter IV of chapter 31 of part A of title 40, United 

13 States Code. With respect to the labor standards specified 

14 in this section, the Secretary of Labor shall have the au15 thority and functions set forth in Reorganization Plan 

16 Numbered 14 of 1950 (64 Stat. 1267; 5 U.S.C. App.) and 

17 section 3145 of title 40, United States Code. 

18 SEC. 304. REPORTS. 

19 (a) REPORT BY THE SECRETARY.—The Secretary 

20 shall submit to the appropriations committees and the au21 thorizing committees (as defined in section 103 of the 

22 Higher Education Act of 1965 (U.S.C. 1003)) of the 

23 House of Representatives and the Senate an annual report 

24 regarding the grants made under this Act, including the 

25 information described in sections 108 and 201(f). 


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1 (b) GAO.—Not later than 2 years after the date of 

2 enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 

3 United States shall submit to Congress a report evaluating 

4 the programs carried out under this Act that includes an 

5 assessment of the impact and benefits of each school im6 provement project funded under this Act. 

Æ 


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