I 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5401 

To authorize the Secretary of Education to make grants for energy efficiency 

improvements and renewable energy improvements at public school facilities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 12, 2008 

Mr. LOEBSACK (for himself, Mr. HARE, Ms. HOOLEY, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. VAN

HOLLEN, Mr. BOSWELL, and Mr. KAGEN) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Education to make grants 

for energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy 

improvements at public school facilities, 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 ‘‘Grants for Renewable 

5 and Energy Efficiency Needs School Improvement Act’’ 

6 or the ‘‘GREEN School Improvement Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 The Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) According to a recent report entitled 

2 ‘‘Greening America’s Schools: Costs and Benefits’’ 

3 buildings use a large amount of the Nation’s energy 

4 and electricity. Air pollution and greenhouse gas 

5 emissions from burning fossil fuels to heat and to 

6 generate electricity for these buildings can impose 

7 health, environmental, and property damage costs. 

8 Green schools use on average one-third less energy 

9 than conventional schools and could lead to large 

10 overall emissions reductions per school. 

11 (2) The same report indicates that out of 30 

12 schools reviewed, the average energy savings of a 

13 green school over a conventional school was 33 per14 cent and the water savings was 32 percent. The 

15 total financial savings from green schools are around 

16 $70 per square foot, with a $12 per square foot sav17 ings going directly to schools. 

18 (3) According to a 1996 GAO report, school of19 ficials estimated that to bring schools up to a ‘‘good 

20 overall condition’’, it would cost a total of 

21 $112,000,000,000, and $11,000,000,000 alone to 

22 comply with Federal mandates. 

23 (4) According to a report by the National Cen24 ter for Education Statistics report, 

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1 ters of current school buildings with need for re2 pairs, renovations and modernizations up to a ‘‘good 

3 overall condition’’. 

4 (5) According to the GAO, 14,000,000 students 

5 attend schools considered below standard or dan6 gerous and almost two-thirds of schools have build7 ing features such as air conditioning that are in 

8 need of extensive repair or replacement leading to 

9 the air being unfit to breathe in nearly 15 thousand 

10 schools. 

11 (6) A report by The Rural School and Commu12 nity Trust found that overall public school enroll13 ment in the United States increased by about 

14 602,000 students or 1 percent while enrollment in 

15 rural schools increased by over 1,339,000 or 15 per16 cent. The poorest rural populations are in the poor17 est states least able to afford the cost of an ade18 quate education. 

19 (7) A 2006 report by Building Educational 

20 Success Together found that the academically need21 iest students, minorities and impoverished students 

22 were most likely to attend the most decrepit facilities 

23 and that while unprecedented spending on facilities 

24 and growth was seen across the country, the least 

25 affluent school districts made the lowest investment. 


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1 (8) According to a recent report entitled 

2 ‘‘Greening America’s Schools: Costs and Benefits’’ 

3 an examination of numerous States with green 

4 projects found a significant increase in employment 

5 and revenue in those States. In this same report, 

6 one State with green schools found a 5 percent re7 duction in teacher turnover. 

8 (9) In examining numerous schools, based on a 

9 substantial data set a 3–5 percent improvement in 

10 learning ability and test scores in green schools can 

11 be expected. 

12 (10) According to a report by the U.S. Environ13 mental Protection Agency entitled ‘‘Indoor Air Qual14 ity’’ in January 2003, students and faculty typically 

15 spend 85 to 90 percent of their time indoors and the 

16 concentration of pollutants indoors is typically high17 er than outdoors, sometimes by as much as 10 or 

18 even 100 times. 

19 (11) According to a study by the Carnegie Mel20 lon University Center for Building Performance in 

21 2005, 17 separate studies all found positive health 

22 impacts from improved indoor air-quality, ranging 

23 from 13.5 percent up to 87 percent improvements 

24 with average improvement of 41 percent. 


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1 (12) According to a recent report entitled 

2 ‘‘Greening America’s Schools: Costs and Benefits’’, 

3 an analysis of numerous green schools showed that 

4 both teacher sick days and student absenteeism de5 creased by 12 to 15 percent in green schools. 

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this section: 

8 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti9 ty’’ means a consortium of— 

10 (A) one local educational agency; and 

11 (B) one or more— 

12 (i) schools; 

13 (ii) non-profit organizations; 

14 (iii) for-profit organizations; or 

15 (iv) community partners that have the 

16 knowledge and capacity to partner and as17 sist with energy improvements. 

18 (2) ENERGY IMPROVEMENTS.—The term ‘‘en19 ergy improvements’’ means— 

20 (A) any improvement, repair, or renova21 tion, to a school that will result in a direct re22 duction in school energy costs including but not 

23 limited to improvements to building envelope, 

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1 tems, distribution systems, lighting, power sys2 tems and controls; 

3 (B) any improvement, repair, renovation, 

4 or installation that leads to an improvement in 

5 teacher and student health including but not 

6 limited to indoor air quality, daylighting, ven7 tilation, electrical lighting, and acoustics; and 

8 (C) the installation of renewable energy 

9 technologies (such as wind power, photovoltaics, 

10 solar thermal systems, geothermal energy, hy11 drogen-fueled systems, biomass-based systems, 

12 biofuels, anaerobic digesters, and hydropower) 

13 involved in the improvement, repair, or renova14 tion to a school. 

15 SEC. 4. FORMULA GRANTS TO STATES FOR ENERGY EFFI16 CIENCY IMPROVEMENTS AND RENEWABLE 

17 ENERGY IMPROVEMENTS AT PUBLIC SCHOOL 

18 FACILITIES. 

19 (a) AUTHORITY.—From amounts made available for 

20 grants under this section, the Secretary of Education shall 

21 allocate funds to States to provide grants to local edu22 cational agencies and eligible entities to make energy im23 provements authorized by this section. 

24 (b) FORMULA.—Amounts made available for grants 

25 under this section shall be allocated as follows: 


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1 (1) 1 percent shall be allocated to provide as2 sistance to outlying areas. 

3 (2) 1 percent shall be allocated to the Secretary 

4 of the Interior to provide assistance to Bureau-fund5 ed schools. 

6 (3) The remaining amounts shall be allocated to 

7 the State educational agencies. Each State edu8 cational agency shall be allocated an amount that 

9 bears the same relation to the amount appropriated 

10 for the fiscal year as the amount the State received 

11 for fiscal year 2008 under part A of title I of the 

12 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

13 bears to the amount all States received for fiscal 

14 year 2008, except that no State educational agency 

15 shall receive less than 0.5 percent of the remaining 

16 amounts. 

17 (c) AMOUNT RESERVED BY STATE FOR ADMINISTRA18 TION.—A State educational agency receiving an allocation 

19 under subsection (b) may reserve not more than 2 percent 

20 of that allocation for the purpose of administering the dis21 tribution of grants under this section. 

22 (d) COMPETITIVE GRANTS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—After any reservation under 

24 subsection (c), the State educational agency shall 

25 grant all remaining amounts on a competitive basis 


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1 to local educational agencies and eligible entities. 

2 Any amounts that the State educational agency can3 not grant shall be returned to the Secretary and re4 allocated by the Secretary to other States under sub5 section (b). 

6 (2) PRIORITY.—In making grants under this 

7 subsection, the State educational agency shall give 

8 priority to a local educational agency that has ren9 ovation, repair, and improvement funding needs and 

10 is— 

11 (A) a high-need local educational agency, 

12 as defined in section 2102 of the Elementary 

13 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

14 U.S.C. 6602); or 

15 (B) a local educational agency designated 

16 with a metrocentric locale code of 41, 42, or 43 

17 as determined by the National Center for Edu18 cation Statistics (NCES), in conjunction with 

19 the Bureau of the Census, using the NCES sys20 tem for classifying local educational agencies. 

21 (3) COMPETITIVE CRITERIA.—The competitive 

22 criteria used by the State educational agency shall 

23 include the following: 

24 (A) The fiscal capacity of the local edu25 cational agency or eligible entity to meet the 


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1 needs for improvements of school facilities with2 out assistance under this section, including the 

3 ability of the local educational agency or eligible 

4 entity to raise funds through the use of local 

5 bonding capacity and otherwise. 

6 (B) In the case of a local educational agen7 cy that proposes to fund an improvement for a 

8 charter school, the extent to which the school 

9 has access to funding for the project through 

10 the financing methods available to other schools 

11 or local educational agencies in the State. 

12 (C) The likelihood that the local edu13 cational agency or eligible entity will maintain, 

14 in good condition, any facility whose improve15 ment is assisted. 

16 (4) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a 

17 grant under this section, an applicant must submit 

18 to the State educational agency an application that 

19 includes each of the following: 

20 (A) A needs assessment of the current con21 dition of the school and facilities that are to re22 ceive the energy improvements. 

23 (B) A draft work plan of what applicant 

24 hopes to achieve at the school and a description 

25 of the energy improvements to be carried out. 


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1 (C) A description of the applicant’s capac2 ity to provide services and comprehensive sup3 port to make the energy improvements. 

4 (D) An assessment of the applicant’s ex5 pected needs for operation and maintenance 

6 training funds, and a plan for use of those 

7 funds, if any. 

8 (E) An assessment of the expected benefits 

9 of the energy improvements. 

10 (F) A cost estimate of the proposed energy 

11 improvements. 

12 (G) An identification of other resources 

13 that are available to carry out the activities for 

14 which funds are requested under this section, 

15 including the availability of utility programs 

16 and public benefit funds. 

17 (H) An assurance that the application was 

18 developed in consultation with the facilities 

19 manager of the school, parents, classroom 

20 teachers, and principals. 

21 (I) A memorandum of understanding be22 tween the school selected for the energy im23 provements and the applicant. 


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1 (J) An assessment of the need for an audit 

2 and, if so, a justification of the need for the 

3 audit. 

4 (K) If the applicant is an eligible entity— 

5 (i) a description of the eligible entity; 

6 (ii) a description of the capacity of the 

7 eligible entity to provide services and sup8 port applicable to the energy improve9 ments; and 

10 (iii) a memorandum of understanding 

11 between the eligible entity and local edu12 cational agency. 

13 (L) Any other information and assurances 

14 that the State educational agency may reason15 ably require. 

16 (5) MATCHING FUNDS.—The State educational 

17 agency may require a recipient to provide matching 

18 funds and, in determining the amount of the match19 ing funds, shall take into account the relative pov20 erty of the population served by the local educational 

21 agency. 

22 (e) USE OF GRANT AMOUNTS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The recipient of a grant 

24 under this section shall use the grant amounts only 

25 to make the energy improvements contemplated in 


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1 the application, subject to the other provisions of 

2 this subsection. 

3 (2) OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE TRAIN4 ING.—The recipient may use up to 5 percent for op5 eration and maintenance training for energy effi6 ciency and renewable energy improvements (such as 

7 maintenance staff and teacher training, education, 

8 and preventative maintenance training). 

9 (3) AUDIT.—The recipient may use funds for a 

10 third-party investigation and analysis for energy im11 provements (such as energy audits and existing 

12 building commissioning). 

13 (4) CONTINUING EDUCATION.—The recipient 

14 may use up to 1 percent of the grant amounts to de15 velop a continuing education curriculum relating to 

16 energy improvements. 

17 (f) CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

18 (1) DAVIS-BACON.—Any laborer or mechanic 

19 employed by any contractor or subcontractor in the 

20 performance of work on any energy improvements 

21 funded by a grant under this section shall be paid 

22 wages at rates not less than those prevailing on 

23 similar construction in the locality as determined by 

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1 ter 31 of title 40, United States Code (commonly re2 ferred to as the Davis-Bacon Act). 

3 (2) COMPETITION.—Each applicant that re4 ceives funds shall ensure that, if the applicant car5 ries out repair or renovation through a contract, any 

6 such contract process— 

7 (A) ensures the maximum number of quali8 fied bidders, including small, minority, and 

9 women-owned businesses, through full and open 

10 competition; and 

11 (B) gives priority to businesses located in, 

12 or resources common to, the State or the geo13 graphical area in which the project is carried 

14 out. 

15 (g) REPORTING.— 

16 (1) BY RECIPIENTS.—Each recipient of a grant 

17 under this section shall submit to the State edu18 cational agency, at such time as the State edu19 cational agency may require, a report describing the 

20 use of such funds for energy improvements, the esti21 mated cost savings realized by those energy improve22 ments, the results of any audit, the use of any utility 

23 programs and public benefit funds and the use of 

24 performance tracking for energy improvements (such 


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1 as the Department of Energy: Energy Star program 

2 or LEED for Existing Buildings). 

3 (2) BY STATES.—Each State educational agen4 cy receiving an allocation under this section shall 

5 submit to the Secretary, not later than December 30 

6 of each year, a report on the use of funds received 

7 and made available to recipients for energy improve8 ments, the estimated cost savings realized by those 

9 energy improvements, the results of any audits, the 

10 use of any utility programs and public benefit funds 

11 and the use of performance tracking for energy im12 provements (such as the Department of Energy: En13 ergy Star program or LEED for Existing Build14 ings). 

15 (h) BEST PRACTICES.— 

16 (1) PUBLICATION OF STATE REPORTS.—The 

17 Secretary shall publish the reports from the State 

18 educational agencies. 

19 (2) DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDELINES.—The Sec20 retary shall use the results of the reports to develop, 

21 in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, guide22 lines and best practices for activities carried out 

23 under this section. 

24 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

25 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 


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1 $2,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 

2 2014. 

3 SEC. 5. COMPETITIVE GRANTS TO STATES TO DEVELOP 

4 GUIDELINES FOR ENERGY IMPROVEMENTS. 

5 (a) AUTHORITY.—From amounts made available for 

6 grants under this section, the Secretary of Education 

7 shall, on a competitive basis, make grants to States to de8 velop guidelines and standards for energy improvements 

9 and new facility construction within the State. 

10 (b) PRIORITY.—In making grants under this section, 

11 the Secretary shall give priority to the following: 

12 (1) A State that has local educational agencies 

13 that have renovation, repair, and improvement fund14 ing needs and are— 

15 (A) high-need local educational agencies, 

16 as defined in section 2102 of the Elementary 

17 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

18 U.S.C. 6602); or 

19 (B) local educational agencies designated 

20 with a metrocentric locale code of 41, 42, or 43 

21 as determined by the National Center for Edu22 cation Statistics (NCES), in conjunction with 

23 the Bureau of the Census, using the NCES sys24 tem for classifying local educational agencies. 


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1 (2) A State that does not have established 

2 guidelines and standards for energy improvements, 

3 and new facility construction. 

4 (c) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

5 under this section, an applicant must submit to the Sec6 retary an application that includes each of the following: 

7 (1) An assessment of the need for State guide8 lines and standards for energy improvements and 

9 new facility construction. 

10 (2) An assessment of the expected benefits of 

11 guidelines and standards for energy improvements 

12 and new facility construction. 

13 (3) A cost estimate of the proposed develop14 ment of guidelines and standards for energy im15 provements and new facility construction. 

16 (4) A plan for utilization of guidelines and 

17 standards for energy improvements and new facility 

18 construction. 

19 (5) A plan for utilization of businesses located 

20 in, or resources common to, the geographical area. 

21 (6) Any other information and assurances that 

22 the Secretary may reasonably require. 

23 (d) USE OF FUNDS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The recipient of a grant 

25 under this section shall use the grant amounts only 


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1 to develop the guidelines and standards con2 templated by this section, subject to the other provi3 sions of this subsection. 

4 (2) CONTENT OF GUIDELINES AND STAND5 ARDS.—The guidelines and standards shall— 

6 (A) be based on current regional standards 

7 set by the Department of Energy; and 

8 (B) give priority to the utilization of busi9 nesses located in, or resources common to, the 

10 geographical area. 

11 (3) FEES.—The recipient may use grant 

12 amounts for fees related to securing information re13 sources, obtaining training, and obtaining certifi14 cations, to the extent doing so is relevant to devel15 oping guidelines and standards for renovations, mod16 ernizations, and new construction (such as obtaining 

17 third party certification for the institution of best 

18 practices related to ongoing operations and mainte19 nance for existing buildings). 

20 (e) REPORTING.—Each recipient of grant funds 

21 under this section shall, not later than December 30 of 

22 the year for which the funds were awarded, submit to the 

23 Secretary a report that describes the progress made in de24 veloping the guidelines and standards, and includes any 

25 completed guidelines and standards. 


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1 (f) BEST PRACTICES.— 

2 (1) PUBLICATION OF REPORTS.—The Secretary 

3 shall publish the reports from the State educational 

4 agencies. 

5 (2) DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONWIDE REGIONAL

6 GUIDELINES.—The Secretary shall use the results of 

7 the reports to develop, in consultation with the Sec8 retary of Energy, best practices to further the goal 

9 of developing nationwide and regional guidelines and 

10 standards for improvements, modernizations, renova11 tions, and new construction. 

12 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

13 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

14 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2014. 

15 SEC. 6. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE STUDY. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 

17 United States shall carry out a study on— 

18 (1) the costs of repair, renovation, and con19 struction for public elementary schools and sec20 ondary schools in the United States; 

21 (2) the expenditures of Federal, State, local, 

22 and private funds for such costs; and 

23 (3) the potential of Federal funding to address 

24 the repair, renovation, and construction needs of 


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1 public elementary schools and secondary schools in 

2 the United States with energy improvements. 

3 (b) ESTIMATES AND MEASURES.—In carrying out 

4 the study, the Comptroller General shall— 

5 (1) estimate the costs needed to repair, ren6 ovate, and construct all schools described in sub7 section (a)(1) to a ‘‘good overall condition’’; 

8 (2) measure the expenditures described in sub9 section (a)(2) for the period beginning with fiscal 

10 year 2001 and ending with the most recent fiscal 

11 year for which data are available; and 

12 (3) estimate the potential costs, and the poten13 tial cost savings, of including in needed repairs, ren14 ovations, and construction, energy improvements, as 

15 described in subsection (a)(3). 

16 (c) ANALYSIS.—With respect to subsection (b)(2), 

17 the Comptroller General shall examine the history of such 

18 expenditures, including examining— 

19 (1) types of schools assisted, and the types of 

20 repair, renovation, and construction activities con21 ducted, with those expenditures; 

22 (2) how the expenditures were allocated among 

23 improvements to land, buildings, and equipment; 

24 (3) how Federal funds for such activities have 

25 been distributed; and 


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1 (4) how Federal funds have been used to sup2 port energy improvements in public elementary 

3 schools and secondary schools. 

4 (d) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

5 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

6 submit to Congress a report on the results of the study. 

Æ 


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