II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2259 

To require the Secretary of Education to establish a Climate Change 

Resilience Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 24, 2021 

Mr. MARKEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Education to establish a Climate 

Change Resilience Program, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Resilient Schools Act 

5 of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) The climate crisis is a current and future 

9 danger, and will affect students’ learning opportuni10 ties if schools are not resilient to climate disasters. 


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1 (2) In order to create a conducive learning envi2 ronment, schools will need to be resilient to current 

3 and future climate disasters. 

4 (3) Students who live in communities that are 

5 most at risk to climate disasters are at higher risk 

6 of losing school days to those disasters. 

7 (4) Students need climate-disaster safe build8 ings to ensure that they are able to keep learning in 

9 the face of climate disasters. 

10 (5) School resiliency provides an opportunity to 

11 create broader climate resiliency in the surrounding 

12 community. 

13 (6) Public schools, more so than any other 

14 widely dispersed institution in the United States, lie 

15 within frontline communities, low-income commu16 nities, and communities of color. 

17 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

18 In this Act: 

19 (1) CLIMATE JUSTICE.—The term ‘‘climate jus20 tice’’ means the fair treatment and meaningful in21 volvement of all people, regardless of race, color, cul22 ture, national origin, or income, with respect to the 

23 development, implementation, and enforcement of 

24 policies and projects to ensure that each person enVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:07 Jul 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2259.IS S2259

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1 joys the same degree of protection from the adverse 

2 effects of climate change. 

3 (2) COMMUNITY RESILIENCY CENTER.—The 

4 term ‘‘community resiliency center’’ means a center 

5 that provides community resources and improves dis6 aster preparedness, response, or recovery in the com7 munity and— 

8 (A) may conduct, or provide space for, tar9 geted activities such as helping reach commu10 nity members not well-served by existing re11 sources or preparedness programs, and serving 

12 as a shelter or communications center in emer13 gencies, distributing food, energy and other 

14 basic needs during or after a disaster, and ena15 bling faster recovery through connecting com16 munity members with services; and 

17 (B) may distribute food, energy, or other 

18 basic needs on an ongoing basis. 

19 (3) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE.—The term ‘‘en20 vironmental justice’’ means the fair treatment and 

21 meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of 

22 race, color, culture, national origin, or income, with 

23 respect to the development, implementation, and en24 forcement of environmental laws, regulations, and 

25 policies to ensure that each person enjoys— 


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1 (A) the same degree of protection from en2 vironmental and health hazards; and 

3 (B) equal access to any Federal agency ac4 tion on justice issues related to the environment 

5 in order to have a healthy environment in which 

6 to live, learn, work, and recreate. 

7 (4) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY.— 

8 The term ‘‘environmental justice community’’ means 

9 a community with significant representation of com10 munities of color, low-income communities, or Tribal 

11 and indigenous communities that experiences, or is 

12 at risk of experiencing, higher or more adverse 

13 human health or environmental effects as compared 

14 to other communities. 

15 (5) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY; STATE EDU16 CATIONAL AGENCY.—The terms ‘‘local educational 

17 agency’’ and ‘‘State educational agency’’ have the 

18 meanings given those terms in section 8101 of the 

19 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

20 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

21 (6) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

22 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization de23 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 

24 Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under 

25 501(a) of that Code. 


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1 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of Education. 

3 SEC. 4. CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCY PROGRAM. 

4 The Secretary shall establish a Climate Change Resil5 iency Program to— 

6 (1) increase the resiliency of the United States 

7 public school system during— 

8 (A) climate change-related events and nat9 ural disasters, including extreme weather 

10 events, droughts, hurricanes, coastal and inland 

11 flooding, sea level rise, increased storm surge, 

12 wildfires, mudslides, extreme temperatures, tor13 nadoes, earthquakes, and volcanos; and 

14 (B) public health crises; 

15 (2) increase the ability of the United States 

16 public school system to advance climate justice and 

17 environmental justice by serving as community resil18 iency centers; 

19 (3) build partnerships among local businesses, 

20 labor unions, apprenticeship programs, nonprofit or21 ganizations, and educators to facilitate applied 

22 STEM and social science learning opportunities re23 lated to climate resiliency for students and create 

24 local jobs; and 


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1 (4) prioritize public educational institutions as 

2 centers of innovation and pathways to green collar 

3 jobs through investments in vocational and technical 

4 education in public schools that connect to labor or5 ganization apprenticeships and other high-road jobs. 

6 SEC. 5. GRANT PROGRAM. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—As part of the Climate Change 

8 Resiliency Program established under section 4, the Sec9 retary shall establish a program to make grants to State 

10 educational agencies, in partnership with local educational 

11 agencies and local nonprofit organizations, for the develop12 ment and implementation of Statewide, regional, or local 

13 climate resiliency plans or climate resiliency projects for 

14 kindergarten through grade 12 public schools, with the 

15 aim of enabling public schools to serve as community resil16 iency centers. 

17 (b) CLIMATE RESILIENCY PLANS AND PROJECTS.— 

18 Each climate resiliency plan or climate resiliency project 

19 under subsection (a) shall include 1 or more of the fol20 lowing depending on the needs of the schools and sur21 rounding communities to be served: 

22 (1) Improvements to school buildings and 

23 grounds, including projects such as— 

24 (A) securing and insulating the school en25 velope, ensuring that the school building can 


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1 maintain a habitable temperature, and avoid 

2 catastrophic damage during climate disasters 

3 and power outages; 

4 (B) improving air conditioning, monitoring, 

5 and purifying via installation of high-efficiency 

6 heat pumps that provide both cooling and heat7 ing, air purifiers, air filtration systems, and air 

8 quality monitoring systems integrated with en9 ergy systems and energy efficiency consider10 ations in preparation for future natural hazards 

11 and public health crises such as wildfire, smog, 

12 extreme heat events, and pandemics; 

13 (C) providing integrated solutions that 

14 combine any measures related to efficiency, 

15 temperature control, air quality, toxic substance 

16 remediation, energy storage, and renewable en17 ergy; 

18 (D) installing on-site distributed genera19 tion that combines energy efficient devices, en20 ergy storage, and renewable energy to allow the 

21 school to access essential energy during power 

22 outages and optimize use of on-site and off-site 

23 energy sources for emissions reductions; 

24 (E) upgrading school kitchen facilities to 

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1 dent meals that use whole ingredients and are 

2 rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole 

3 grains; 

4 (F) projects that generate and maintain 

5 publicly accessibly integrated sustainability data 

6 and building management platforms; 

7 (G) improving walkability and accessibility 

8 on school grounds and in school buildings; and 

9 (H) acquiring relevant disaster response 

10 equipment and carrying out disaster response 

11 training. 

12 (2) Green infrastructure projects and projects 

13 to increase food supply resiliency, such as— 

14 (A) wetlands, drainage ponds, and any 

15 other green infrastructure to protect schools 

16 from projected severe effects with respect to ex17 treme weather, natural disasters, or climate 

18 change-related events, including sea-level rise, 

19 flooding, and increased risk of wildfire; 

20 (B) green rooftops, walls, and indoor 

21 plantings, particularly those that can provide 

22 temperature management and air quality im23 provements; 


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1 (C) tree plantings and green playgrounds 

2 that, at appropriate times, can act as a green 

3 space for the community; 

4 (D) community gardens that may be used 

5 by the school to provide healthy food for stu6 dents or by the community to provide healthy 

7 food for community residents; 

8 (E) procurement of local, organic, and 

9 sustainably-produced food, including a focus on 

10 healthy, plant-based options; and 

11 (F) large scale food composting operations, 

12 and other projects to reduce single-use plastic 

13 and promote zero-waste options. 

14 (3) Projects to enable remote learning in the 

15 event that a school building is unusable due to a 

16 natural disaster, climate- or climate-change related 

17 event, severe weather, or infectious disease out18 breaks. 

19 (4) Projects for climate resiliency education, in20 cluding STEM and social science education and ca21 reer preparation, such as projects that combine up22 grades to school buildings and grounds with career 

23 and technical education opportunities. 

24 (5) Any other type of plan or project carried 

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1 retary determines will increase the resiliency of a 

2 school or school infrastructure provided, operated, or 

3 owned by the State educational agency with respect 

4 to the events described in section 4(1). 

5 (c) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall develop metrics 

6 to evaluate grant applications and give priority to applica7 tions for climate resiliency plans or climate resiliency 

8 projects that focus on improving schools in neighborhoods 

9 that experience low air quality, lack green space and 

10 healthy food, bear higher cumulative pollution burdens, or 

11 are at high risk of experiencing the adverse effects of cli12 mate change. 

13 (d) COMPONENTS.—The Secretary, directly or 

14 through partnerships with States and nonprofit organiza15 tion, shall provide technical assistance to support grantees 

16 in developing and implementing climate resiliency plans or 

17 climate resiliency projects that— 

18 (1) provide hands-on education and applied 

19 STEM and social science learning opportunities to 

20 students; 

21 (2) demonstrate a commitment to provide job 

22 training, apprenticeship programs, and contracting 

23 opportunities to residents and small businesses 

24 owned by residents of the community that the school 

25 serves; 


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1 (3) identify and further community priority ac2 tions and conduct robust community engagement; 

3 (4) utilize climate change data for a proactive 

4 solutions; 

5 (5) employ nature-based solutions that focus on 

6 protection, restoration, or management of ecological 

7 systems to safeguard public health, provide clean air 

8 and water, increase natural hazard resilience, and 

9 sequester carbon; 

10 (6) increase equitable outcomes for and support 

11 strong partnerships with environmental justice com12 munities and climate vulnerable populations; 

13 (7) achieve broad and multiple community ben14 efits; and 

15 (8) monitor project success and maintaining the 

16 project into the future. 

17 (e) EXISTING INITIATIVES.—The Secretary may en18 courage and give priority to climate resiliency plans or cli19 mate resiliency projects that integrate with and inform ex20 isting sustainability initiatives, such as the Department of 

21 Education Green Ribbon Schools program. 

22 (f) ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH.—The Secretary may 

23 develop and encourage metrics to support consistent re24 porting of environmental health best practices and other 

25 outcomes. 


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1 (g) COORDINATION WITH ENVIRONMENTAL PROTEC2 TION AGENCY.—The Secretary shall coordinate with the 

3 Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to 

4 provide technical guidance or assistance to State edu5 cational agencies in designing and carrying out climate re6 siliency plans or climate resiliency projects funded by the 

7 grant program as they relate to healthy schools. 

8 (h) COORDINATION WITH DEPARTMENT OF EN9 ERGY.—The Secretary shall coordinate with the Secretary 

10 of Energy to develop metrics to evaluate grant applica11 tions and provide technical assistance to State and local 

12 educational agencies in designing and carrying out climate 

13 resiliency plans or climate resiliency projects. 

14 (i) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITIES.—The 

15 Secretary shall ensure that not less than 50 percent of 

16 funds awarded under this section are used for projects lo17 cated in environmental justice communities. 

18 (j) WAGE RATE REQUIREMENTS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

20 provision of law, all laborers and mechanics em21 ployed by contractors and subcontractors on projects 

22 funded directly by a grant under this section shall 

23 be paid wages at rates not less than those prevailing 

24 on projects of a similar character in the locality, as 

25 determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance 


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1 with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United 

2 States Code (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Davis3 Bacon Act’’). 

4 (2) AUTHORITY.—With respect to the labor 

5 standards specified in paragraph (1), the Secretary 

6 of Labor shall have the authority and functions set 

7 forth in Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 

8 (64 Stat. 1267; 5 U.S.C. App.) and section 3145 of 

9 title 40, United States Code. 

10 (k) USE OF AMERICAN IRON, STEEL, AND MANUFAC11 TURED PRODUCTS.— 

12 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

13 (A) MANUFACTURED PRODUCT.—The term 

14 ‘‘manufactured product’’ means any construc15 tion material or end product (as those terms 

16 are defined in part 25.003 of the Federal Ac17 quisition Regulation) that is not an iron or steel 

18 product, including— 

19 (i) electrical components; and 

20 (ii) non-ferrous building materials, in21 cluding aluminum, polyvinylchloride, glass, 

22 fiber optics, plastic, wood, masonry, rub23 ber, manufactured stone, any other non24 ferrous metals, and any unmanufactured 

25 construction material. 


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1 (B) PRODUCED IN THE UNITED STATES.— 

2 The term ‘‘produced in the United States’’ 

3 means the following: 

4 (i) When used with respect to a man5 ufactured product, the product was manu6 factured in the United States and the cost 

7 of the components of that product that 

8 were mined, produced, or manufactured in 

9 the United States exceeds 60 percent of 

10 the total cost of all components of the 

11 product. 

12 (ii) When used with respect to iron or 

13 steel products, or an individual component 

14 of a manufactured product, all manufac15 turing processes for those iron or steel 

16 products or components, from the initial 

17 melting stage through the application of 

18 coatings, occurred in the United States, ex19 cept that the term does not include— 

20 (I) steel or iron material or prod21 ucts manufactured abroad from semi22 finished steel or iron from the United 

23 States; or 

24 (II) steel or iron material or 

25 products manufactured in the United 


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1 States from semi-finished steel or iron 

2 of foreign origin. 

3 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—A State that receives 

4 funds under this section shall ensure that any iron, 

5 steel, and manufactured products used in a project 

6 carried out with those funds are produced in the 

7 United States. 

8 (3) WAIVER AUTHORITY.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

10 waive the requirement under paragraph (2) if 

11 the Secretary determines that— 

12 (i) applying the requirement would be 

13 inconsistent with the public interest; 

14 (ii) iron, steel, and manufactured 

15 products produced in the United States are 

16 not produced in a sufficient and reasonably 

17 available quantity or are not of a satisfac18 tory quality; or 

19 (iii) using iron, steel, and manufac20 tured products produced in the United 

21 States will increase the cost of the applica22 ble overall project by more than 25 per23 cent. 

24 (B) PUBLICATION.—Before issuing a waiv25 er under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall 


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1 publish in the Federal Register a detailed writ2 ten explanation of the waiver determination. 

3 (4) CONSISTENCY WITH INTERNATIONAL

4 AGREEMENTS.—This subsection shall be applied in a 

5 manner consistent with the obligations of the United 

6 States under international agreements. 

7 SEC. 6. REPORT. 

8 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

9 of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall 

10 submit to Congress a report that evaluates the effective11 ness of the activities carried out under this Act. 

12 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro14 priated to the Department of Education to carry out this 

15 Act $4,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 

16 2032. 

17 (b) LIMITATION.—Not more than 5 percent of the 

18 funds appropriated to carry out this Act shall be used for 

19 projects described in section 5(b)(3). 

Æ 


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