I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5989 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to enhance the 

credit program for charter schools through green initiatives, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 30, 2010 

Mr. POLIS of Colorado introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

to enhance the credit program for charter schools 

through green initiatives, 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 ‘‘Green Credit Enhance5 ment Program Act of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GREEN CREDIT ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM. 

7 (a) Section 5205 of the Elementary and Secondary 

8 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221 et seq.) is amend9 ed— 


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1 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub2 section (d); and 

3 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol4 lowing new subsection: 

5 ‘‘(d) GREEN CREDIT ENHANCEMENT INITIATIVES TO

6 ASSIST CHARTER SCHOOL FACILITY ACQUISITION, CON7 STRUCTION, AND RENOVATION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this subsection 

9 is to provide grants to eligible entities to permit such 

10 entities to demonstrate innovative credit enhance11 ment initiatives of assisting charter schools for ad12 dressing the costs of acquiring, constructing, and 

13 renovating facilities. 

14 ‘‘(2) GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 

15 ‘‘(A) GRANTS.—Subject only to subpara16 graph (E), the Secretary shall award not less 

17 than three grants to eligible entities that have 

18 submitted applications that have been approved 

19 under this subsection for use to demonstrate in20 novative methods of assisting charter schools in 

21 addressing the cost of acquiring, constructing, 

22 and renovating facilities by enhancing the avail23 ability of loans or bond financing. 

24 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY.—For purposes of this 

25 subsection, an eligble entity is— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a public entity, such as a State or 

2 local governmental entity; 

3 ‘‘(ii) a private nonprofit entity; or 

4 ‘‘(iii) a consortium of entities de5 scribed in clauses (i) or (ii). 

6 ‘‘(C) GRANTEE SELECTION.— 

7 ‘‘(i) EVALUATION OF APPLICATION.— 

8 The Secretary shall evaluate each applica9 tion submitted under paragraph (3), and 

10 may approve only applications that the 

11 Secretary determines are sufficient to 

12 merit approval. 

13 ‘‘(ii) PRIORITY.—In evaluating each 

14 application, the Secretary shall give pri15 ority to the applications of eligible entities 

16 that propose to use at least 65 percent of 

17 the amounts received from a grant under 

18 this subsection to fund modernization, ren19 ovation, repair, or construction projects 

20 consistent with the applicable provisions of 

21 any one of the green building certification 

22 programs specified in paragraph (4)(B)(i). 

23 ‘‘(iii) DISTRIBUTION OF GRANTS.—If 

24 a sufficient number of applications are 

25 submitted that the Secretary determines 


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1 are of sufficient quality to merit approval, 

2 the Secretary shall award at least one 

3 grant to an eligible entity described in sub4 paragraph (A)(i), at least one grant to an 

5 eligible entity described in paragraph 

6 (A)(ii), and at least one grant to an eligi7 ble entity described in paragraph (A)(iii). 

8 ‘‘(D) GRANT CHARACTERISTICS.—Grants 

9 under this subsection shall be of a sufficient 

10 size, scope, and quality so as to ensure an effec11 tive demonstration of an innovative means of 

12 enhancing credit for the financing of charter 

13 school acquisition, construction, or renovation. 

14 ‘‘(E) SPECIAL RULE.—If the Secretary de15 termines that the funds made available under 

16 this subsection are insufficient to permit the 

17 Secretary to award three or more grants in ac18 cordance with subparagraphs (A), (C), and (D), 

19 the requirement to award three grants under 

20 subparagraph (A) and the requirements related 

21 to the distribution of grants under subpara22 graph (C)(iii) shall not apply, and the Secretary 

23 may determine the appropriate number of 

24 grants to be awarded in accordance with sub25 paragraph (D). 


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1 ‘‘(3) APPLICATIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to re3 ceive a grant under this subsection, an eligible 

4 entity shall submit to the Secretary an applica5 tion in such form as the Secretary may reason6 ably require. 

7 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—An application sub8 mitted under subparagraph (A) shall contain— 

9 ‘‘(i) a statement identifying the activi10 ties the eligible entity proposes to under11 take with funds received under this sub12 section, including the methods such entity 

13 shall use to determine which charter 

14 schools receive assistance, and how much 

15 and what types of assistance charter 

16 schools shall receive; 

17 ‘‘(ii) a description of the involvement 

18 of charter schools in the development of 

19 such application and the design of the pro20 posed activities described in such applica21 tion; 

22 ‘‘(iii) a description of the expertise of 

23 the eligible entity in capital market financ24 ing; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) a description of how the pro2 posed activities leverage the maximum 

3 amount of private-sector capital relative to 

4 the amount of government funding used 

5 and how such activities otherwise enhance 

6 credit available to charter schools, includ7 ing how the eligible entity plans to offer a 

8 combination of financing rates and terms 

9 more favorable than such rates and terms 

10 that a charter school could receive without 

11 assistance under this subsection; 

12 ‘‘(v) a description of how the eligible 

13 entity possesses sufficient expertise in edu14 cation to evaluate the likelihood of success 

15 of a charter school program for which fa16 cilities financing is sought; 

17 ‘‘(vi) in the case of an application 

18 submitted by a State governmental entity, 

19 a description of the actions that the entity 

20 has taken, or intends to take, to ensure 

21 that charter schools within the State re22 ceive the funding the charter schools need 

23 to have adequate facilities; and 

24 ‘‘(vii) such other information as the 

25 Secretary may reasonably require. 


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1 ‘‘(4) CHARTER SCHOOL OBJECTIVES.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara3 graph (B), an eligible entity receiving a grant 

4 under this subsection shall use the funds depos5 ited in the reserve account established under 

6 paragraph (5)(A) to assist one or more charter 

7 schools to access private-sector capital to ac8 complish one or both of the following objectives: 

9 ‘‘(i) The acquisition (by purchase, 

10 lease, donation, or otherwise) of an interest 

11 (including an interest held by a third party 

12 for the benefit of a charter school) in im13 proved or unimproved real property that is 

14 necessary to commence or continue the op15 eration of a charter school. 

16 ‘‘(ii) The construction of new facilities 

17 (including predevelopment costs), or the 

18 renovation, repair, or alteration of existing 

19 facilities, necessary to commence or con20 tinue the operation of a charter school. 

21 ‘‘(B) CONDITION.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro23 vided in clause (ii), as a condition of re24 ceiving a grant under this subsection, an 

25 eligible entity shall agree to use not less 


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1 than 50 percent of the amounts received 

2 from a grant under this subsection to fund 

3 projects consistent with the applicable pro4 visions of any one of the following green 

5 building certification programs: 

6 ‘‘(I) The United States Green 

7 Building Council Leadership in En8 ergy and Environmental Design green 

9 building rating standard referred to 

10 as LEED Green Building Rating Sys11 tem. 

12 ‘‘(II) The Energy Star program 

13 of the United States Department of 

14 Energy and the United States Envi15 ronmental Protection Agency. 

16 ‘‘(III) The CHPS green building 

17 rating program developed by the Col18 laborative for High Performance 

19 Schools. 

20 ‘‘(IV) The Green Building Initia21 tive environmental design and rating 

22 system referred to as Green Globes. 

23 ‘‘(V) Any other program adopted 

24 by a State or entity within a State 

25 having authority over a local eduVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:46 Aug 03, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5989.IH H5989

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1 cational agency that provides for 

2 green building certification. 

3 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULE.—The condition 

4 under clause (i) shall not apply if— 

5 ‘‘(I) the Secretary waives such 

6 condition upon application to the Sec7 retary for such waiver by the eligible 

8 entity; or 

9 ‘‘(II) compliance with such condi10 tion causes the cost of a project fund11 ed under the grant to increase by 

12 more than 10 percent. 

13 ‘‘(5) RESERVE ACCOUNT.— 

14 ‘‘(A) USE OF FUNDS.—To assist charter 

15 schools to accomplish the objectives described in 

16 paragraph (4), an eligible entity receiving a 

17 grant under this subsection shall, in accordance 

18 with State and local law, directly or indirectly, 

19 alone or in collaboration with others, deposit 

20 the funds received under this subsection (other 

21 than funds used for administrative costs in ac22 cordance with paragraph (6)) in a reserve ac23 count established and maintained by the eligible 

24 entity. Amounts deposited in such account shall 

25 be used by the eligible entity for the objectives 


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1 described in paragraph (4) through one or more 

2 of the following methods: 

3 ‘‘(i) Guaranteeing, insuring, and rein4 suring bonds, notes, evidences of debt, 

5 loans, and interests therein. 

6 ‘‘(ii) Guaranteeing and insuring leases 

7 of personal and real property. 

8 ‘‘(iii) Facilitating financing by identi9 fying potential lending sources, encour10 aging private lending, and other similar ac11 tivities that directly promote lending to, or 

12 for the benefit of, charter schools. 

13 ‘‘(iv) Facilitating the issuance of 

14 bonds by charter schools, or by other pub15 lic entities for the benefit of charter 

16 schools, by providing technical, administra17 tive, and other appropriate assistance (in18 cluding the recruitment of bond counsel, 

19 underwriters, and potential investors and 

20 the consolidation of multiple charter school 

21 projects within a single bond issue). 

22 ‘‘(B) INVESTMENT.—Funds received under 

23 this subsection and deposited in the reserve ac24 count established under subparagraph (A) shall 

25 be invested in obligations issued or guaranteed 


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1 by the United States or a State, or in other 

2 similarly low-risk securities. 

3 ‘‘(C) REINVESTMENT OF EARNINGS.—Any 

4 earnings on funds received under this sub5 section shall be deposited in the reserve account 

6 established under subparagraph (A) and used in 

7 accordance with such subparagraph. 

8 ‘‘(6) LIMITATION AND ADMINISTRATIVE

9 COSTS.—An eligible entity may use not more than 

10 2.5 percent of the funds received under this sub11 section for the administrative costs of carrying out 

12 this subsection. 

13 ‘‘(7) AUDITS AND REPORTS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) FINANCIAL RECORD MAINTENANCE

15 AND AUDIT.—The financial records of each eli16 gible entity receiving a grant under this sub17 section shall be maintained in accordance with 

18 generally accepted accounting principles and 

19 shall be audited by an independent public ac20 countant. 

21 ‘‘(B) REPORTS.— 

22 ‘‘(i) GRANTEE ANNUAL REPORTS.— 

23 Each eligible entity receiving a grant under 

24 this subsection shall annually submit to the 


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1 Secretary a report of its operations and ac2 tivities under this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(ii) CONTENTS.—Each annual report 

4 submitted under clause (i) shall include— 

5 ‘‘(I) a copy of the most recent fi6 nancial statements of the eligible enti7 ty, and any accompanying opinion on 

8 such statements, prepared by the 

9 independent public accountant review10 ing the financial records of the eligible 

11 entity; 

12 ‘‘(II) a copy of any report made 

13 on the audit of the financial records 

14 of the eligible entity that was con15 ducted under subparagraph (A) dur16 ing the annual reporting period; 

17 ‘‘(III) an evaluation by the eligi18 ble entity of the effectiveness of its 

19 use of the funds provided under this 

20 subsection in leveraging private funds; 

21 ‘‘(IV) a listing and description of 

22 the charter schools served by the eligi23 ble entity during the annual reporting 

24 period, including the amount of funds 

25 used by each charter school and the 


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1 type of project facilitated by the fund2 ing; 

3 ‘‘(V) a description of the activi4 ties carried out by the eligible entity 

5 to assist charter schools in meeting 

6 the objectives set forth in paragraph 

7 (4); and 

8 ‘‘(VI) a description of the charac9 teristics of lenders and other financial 

10 institutions participating in the activi11 ties undertaken by the eligible entity 

12 under this subsection during the re13 porting period. 

14 ‘‘(iii) SECRETARIAL REPORT.—The 

15 Secretary shall review the reports sub16 mitted under clause (i) and shall provide a 

17 comprehensive annual report to the Con18 gress on the activities conducted under this 

19 subsection. 

20 ‘‘(8) NO FULL FAITH AND CREDIT FOR GRANT21 EE OBLIGATIONS.—No financial obligation of an eli22 gible entity entered into pursuant to this subsection 

23 (such as an obligation under a guarantee, bond, 

24 note, evidence of debt, or loan) shall be an obligation 

25 of, or guaranteed in any respect by, the United 


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1 States. The full faith and credit of the United States 

2 is not pledged to the payment of funds which may 

3 be required to be paid under any obligation made by 

4 an eligible entity pursuant to any provision of this 

5 subsection. 

6 ‘‘(9) RECOVERY OF FUNDS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in ac8 cordance with chapter 37 of title 31, United 

9 States Code, shall collect— 

10 ‘‘(i) all of the funds in a reserve ac11 count established by an eligible entity 

12 under paragraph (5)(A) if the Secretary 

13 determines, not earlier than 2 years after 

14 the date on which the eligible entity first 

15 received funds under this subsection, that 

16 the eligible entity has failed to make sub17 stantial progress in carrying out the pur18 poses described in such paragraph; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) all or a portion of the funds in 

20 a reserve account established by an eligible 

21 entity under such paragraph if the Sec22 retary determines that the eligible entity 

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1 plish any purpose described in such para2 graph. 

3 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall 

4 not exercise the authority under subparagraph 

5 (A) to collect from any eligible entity any funds 

6 that are being properly used to achieve one or 

7 more of the purposes described in paragraph 

8 (5)(A). 

9 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURES.—The provisions of 

10 sections 451, 452, and 458 of the General Edu11 cation Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1234, 1234a, 

12 and 1234g) shall apply to the recovery of funds 

13 under subparagraph (A). 

14 ‘‘(D) OTHER AUTHORITY TO RECOVER

15 FUNDS.—This paragraph shall not be construed 

16 to impair or affect the authority of the Sec17 retary to recover funds under part D of the 

18 General Education Provisions Act.’’. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Part B of title V 

20 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 7221 et seq.) is amended—- 

21 (1) by striking subpart 2; 

22 (2) by redesignating subpart 3 as subpart 2; 

23 (3) by redesignating sections 5241 through 

24 5248 as sections 5231 through 5238, respectively; 

25 and 


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1 (4) by amending the items of the table of con2 tents of such Act that follow subpart 1 to read as 

3 follows: 

‘‘SUBPART 2—VOLUNTARY PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE PROGRAMS

‘‘Sec. 5231. Grants. 

‘‘Sec. 5232. Uses of funds. 

‘‘Sec. 5233. Applications. 

‘‘Sec. 5234. Priorities. 

‘‘Sec. 5235. Requirements and voluntary participation. 

‘‘Sec. 5236. Evaluations. 

‘‘Sec. 5237. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 5238. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 

4 SEC. 3. FUNDING. 

5 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

6 5211 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

7 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221j) is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 5211. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap10 propriated to carry out this subpart $750,000,000 for fis11 cal year 2011 and such sums as may be necessary for each 

12 of the 5 succeeding fiscal years. 

13 ‘‘(b) ALLOCATION.—In allocating funds made avail14 able pursuant to subsection (a), for any fiscal year, the 

15 Secretary shall consider— 

16 ‘‘(1) the relative need for assistance under the 

17 programs established under sections 5202 and 5205; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(2) the relative quality of the applications sub20 mitted for grants funded under such sections.’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (1) PRIORITY TREATMENT.—Section 5202(e)(1) 

2 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 7221a(e)(1)) is amended by 

3 striking ‘‘5211 (other than funds reserved to carry 

4 out section 5205(b)),’’ and inserting ‘‘5211,’’. 

5 (2) NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.—Section 5205 of 

6 such Act (20 U.S.C. 7221d) is amended— 

7 (A) in subsection (a), in the matter pre8 ceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘reserve for 

9 each fiscal year the greater of 5 percent or 

10 $5,000,000 of the amount appropriated to carry 

11 out this subpart, except that in no fiscal year 

12 shall the total amount so reserved exceed 

13 $8,000,000, to’’; and 

14 (B) in subsection (b)(2)(A), by striking 

15 ‘‘From the amount made available to carry out 

16 this subsection under paragraphs (2) and 

17 (3)(B) of section 5211(b) for any fiscal year, 

18 the’’ and inserting ‘‘The’’. 

Æ 


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