I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5484 

To strengthen and expand the Green Ribbon Schools Program at the Department of Education by boosting the capacity of participating States to 

expand the number of engaged schools, applicants, and nominees, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023 

Mrs. HAYES (for herself, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 

THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. JACKSON LEE, 

Mr. SARBANES, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. MCCLELLAN, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. TRONE, and Ms. LEE of 

California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To strengthen and expand the Green Ribbon Schools Program at the Department of Education by boosting the 

capacity of participating States to expand the number 

of engaged schools, applicants, and nominees, 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 Ribbon Act of 

5 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. GREEN RIBBON SCHOOLS PROGRAM. 

2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

3 (1) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘elemen4 tary school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘secondary 

5 school’’, ‘‘Secretary’’, and ‘‘State educational agen6 cy’’ have the meanings given the terms in section 

7 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

8 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

9 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti10 ty’’ means an elementary school, secondary school, 

11 school funded or operated by the Bureau of Indian 

12 Education, local educational agency, or institution of 

13 higher education. 

14 (3) ENVIRONMENTALLY LITERATE.—The term 

15 ‘‘environmentally literate’’, when used with respect 

16 to an individual, means the capacity to— 

17 (A) perceive and interpret the relative 

18 health of environmental systems and the inter19 relationships between natural, economic, and 

20 social systems and technology; and 

21 (B) assess options and take appropriate 

22 action to maintain, restore, or improve the 

23 health of the environmental systems and pro24 mote sustainable development. 


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1 (4) GREEN RIBBON PILLARS.—The term 

2 ‘‘Green Ribbon pillars’’ means the following 3 inter3 related aspirational goals: 

4 (A) 100 percent of the graduates of the eli5 gible entity or the schools served by the eligible 

6 entity are environmentally literate. 

7 (B) The environmental impacts of the eli8 gible entity’s buildings, grounds, and operations 

9 are targeting significant emission reductions 

10 with a long-term goal of 100 percent reduction. 

11 (C) The eligible entity has a net positive 

12 impact on the environmental health of its stu13 dents and staff. 

14 (5) GREEN RIBBON SCHOOL AWARD WINNER.— 

15 The term ‘‘Green Ribbon School award winner’’ 

16 means an eligible entity that has received an award 

17 of recognition from the Department of Education for 

18 high performance in making progress toward all 3 of 

19 the Green Ribbon pillars, in accordance with sub20 section (b)(4). 

21 (6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

22 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

23 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

24 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 


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1 (b) GREEN RIBBON SCHOOL PROGRAM OF THE DE2 PARTMENT OF EDUCATION.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct 

4 a program, which shall be known as the ‘‘Green Rib5 bon Schools Program’’, to reach and engage more 

6 schools by— 

7 (A) encouraging eligible entities to imple8 ment the Green Ribbon pillars; 

9 (B) recognizing high performance in the 

10 Green Ribbon pillars by eligible entities, 

11 through voluntary partnership with States; 

12 (C) increasing the number of participating 

13 local educational agencies and schools that are 

14 receiving resources from the program, including 

15 those not pursuing an award on the date of en16 actment of this Act; 

17 (D) engaging with public and private 

18 stakeholders to maximize positive impact; and 

19 (E) supporting schools in implementing 

20 measures to reduce energy and water use and 

21 costs, increase resilience, increase environ22 mental literacy, and improve indoor air and 

23 other conditions for health and wellness. 

24 (2) UPDATE.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 

2 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 

3 the Secretary shall conduct a review and update 

4 the criteria for the Green Ribbon school award 

5 winner program, including scoring, which shall 

6 include— 

7 (i) ensuring that health and wellness 

8 criteria align with programs of the Envi9 ronmental Protection Agency and the Cen10 ters for Disease Control and Prevention 

11 and are associated with benefitting student 

12 health, thinking, and the ability to learn; 

13 (ii) ensuring that environmental cri14 teria emphasize the role of schools in miti15 gating and adapting to climate change, in16 cluding school resiliency to natural disas17 ters; and 

18 (iii) ensuring that environmental and 

19 sustainability literacy criteria encourage 

20 applicants to identify methods of assess21 ment of student knowledge and skills and 

22 set goals for literacy among graduates. 

23 (B) FEDERAL REGISTER.—The Secretary 

24 shall publish in the Federal Register the final 

25 updated criteria for the Green Ribbon school 


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1 award winner program and shall allow for, and 

2 address, any public comments related to the up3 dated criteria. 

4 (3) GRANTS AND AWARDS.—In conducting the 

5 Green Ribbon Schools Program, the Secretary shall, 

6 from the amounts made available to carry out this 

7 Act— 

8 (A) reserve not less than $250,000 for the 

9 Secretary of Interior to carry out the activities 

10 under subsection (c)(7) with respect to schools 

11 operated or funded by the Bureau of Indian 

12 Education; 

13 (B) award grants to State educational 

14 agencies under subsection (c); and 

15 (C) provide an honorarium to each Green 

16 Ribbon School award winner in an amount 

17 equal to $10,000, subject to appropriations. 

18 (4) STUDIES, RESEARCH, AND SURVEYS.—The 

19 Secretary may conduct studies, research, and sur20 veys to inform the Green Ribbon Schools Program. 

21 (5) GREEN RIBBON SCHOOL AWARDS.—Each 

22 year, regardless of whether funds are available for 

23 the honoraria described in paragraph (2)(C), the 

24 Secretary shall— 

25 (A) establish a process through which— 


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1 (i) State educational agencies may 

2 nominate eligible entities for recognition of 

3 high performance in making progress to4 ward all 3 of the Green Ribbon pillars; and 

5 (ii) the Secretary of the Interior, oper6 ating through the Bureau of Indian Edu7 cation, may nominate eligible entities that 

8 are schools operated or funded by the Bu9 reau for such recognition; and 

10 (B) award the Green Ribbon School award 

11 to nominated eligible entities that the Secretary 

12 determines have shown high performance in 

13 making progress toward all 3 of the Green Rib14 bon pillars. 

15 (6) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall con16 sult with the Administrator of the Environmental 

17 Protection Agency and the Director of the Centers 

18 for Disease Control and Prevention to align the 

19 Green Ribbon Schools Program with the science on 

20 school environments and school health cited by the 

21 Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers 

22 for Disease Control and Prevention. 

23 (7) REPORTS.— 

24 (A) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 


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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than No2 vember 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, 

3 the Secretary shall publish a report de4 scribing the Green Ribbon Schools Pro5 gram of the prior fiscal year. 

6 (ii) CONTENT OF ANNUAL RE7 PORTS.—Each annual report described in 

8 clause (i) shall— 

9 (I) describe the activities and 

10 outcomes of the Department of Edu11 cation and State grant award winners, 

12 including the uses of grant funds to 

13 reach and engage additional schools, 

14 and the successes and challenges of 

15 the Green Ribbon Schools Program; 

16 (II) describe the plan of State 

17 grant award winners to extend oppor18 tunities to become a Green Ribbon 

19 School award winner to schools that 

20 are eligible to receive funds under 

21 part A of title I of the Elementary 

22 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

23 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) or other 

24 schools that are low-income schools, 

25 schools in disadvantaged or rural or 


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1 remote communities, or schools that 

2 serve a significant number of students 

3 with disabilities; and 

4 (III) provide a proposed plan for 

5 the following year. 

6 (B) BIANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 

7 November 1, 2024, and biannually thereafter, 

8 the Secretary shall publish a report describing 

9 key programs and policies of each State in sup10 porting its schools in making progress toward 

11 all 3 of the Green Ribbon pillars. 

12 (c) STATE GRANT PROGRAM.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

14 grants to State educational agencies, on a competi15 tive basis, for the purpose of supporting and engag16 ing eligible entities as green schools. 

17 (2) APPLICATIONS.—A State educational agen18 cy that desires to receive a grant under this sub19 section shall submit an application to the Secretary 

20 at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by 

21 such information as the Secretary may require, in22 cluding an assurance that the agency will— 

23 (A) expend not less than 40 percent of the 

24 grant funds to support underresourced schools; 

25 and 


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1 (B) provide documentation to the Sec2 retary demonstrating compliance with the re3 quirement under subparagraph (A). 

4 (3) CRITERIA.—In selecting grant recipients 

5 under this subsection, the Secretary shall consider 

6 the State educational agency’s proposed program or 

7 program expansion in terms of— 

8 (A) the projected impact and proposed im9 pact metrics; 

10 (B) the incorporation of specific activities 

11 to ensure underresourced eligible entities ben12 efit and have opportunities to participate; 

13 (C) the extent to which stakeholders and 

14 partnerships are included; 

15 (D) innovative approaches to scaling green 

16 school practices and learning; 

17 (E) the engagement of past award winners 

18 in the program, including as mentors or advi19 sors to other eligible entities; and 

20 (F) other criteria as may be identified by 

21 the Secretary. 

22 (4) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—In carrying out this 

23 subsection, the Secretary may determine the amount 

24 of each grant award, except that no grant award 


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1 shall be for an amount that is less than $250,000 

2 nor more than $1,000,000. 

3 (5) TIME PERIOD.—Grant funds awarded under 

4 this subsection shall be available for use by the 

5 grant awardee for not more than 3 years. 

6 (6) ALLOWED USES.—A State educational 

7 agency that receives a grant under this subsection 

8 shall use the grant funds to increase and support eli9 gible entities in becoming Green Ribbon School 

10 award winners, including by— 

11 (A) establishing State-level Green Ribbon 

12 awards and recognition events; 

13 (B) working in partnership with nonprofit 

14 green school organizations and other organiza15 tions, utilities, businesses, and other State and 

16 local governmental entities to inform, educate, 

17 and support eligible entities regarding actions 

18 to make progress toward all 3 of the Green Rib19 bon pillars; 

20 (C) using resources from the Department 

21 of Education and its green schools partners, as 

22 appropriate, to curate and disseminate re23 sources about best green school practices and 

24 provide statewide training and professional de25 velopment in the Green Ribbon pillars; 


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1 (D) utilizing innovative ways to promote— 

2 (i) the implementation of green school 

3 practices; and 

4 (ii) the Green Ribbon Schools Pro5 gram and any State-level Green Ribbon 

6 schools program; and 

7 (E) providing statewide training and pro8 fessional development in the Green Ribbon pil9 lars. 

10 SEC. 3. INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES 

11 GREEN RIBBON AWARD PROGRAM. 

12 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to de13 velop and implement a Green Ribbon award program for 

14 nonformal learning institutions at the Institute of Museum 

15 and Library Services in order to recognize and help ad16 vance excellence in the greening of nonformal learning in17 stitutions. 

18 (b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘non19 formal learning institutions’’ includes public and private 

20 libraries, museums, arboretums, botanical gardens, nature 

21 centers, historical societies, historic preservation organiza22 tions, history museums, science and technology centers, 

23 planetariums, children’s museums, art museums, general 

24 museums, natural history museums, natural science muse25 ums, zoos, aquariums, and wildlife conservation centers. 


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1 (c) ESTABLISHMENT.—Consistent with section 209 

2 of the Museum and Library Services Act (20 U.S.C. 

3 9107), the Director of the Institute of Museum and Li4 brary Services shall establish an award program for non5 formal learning institutions modeled on the Department 

6 of Education’s Green Ribbon Schools Program. The award 

7 program shall recognize and honor nonformal learning in8 stitutions that demonstrate high achievement in all 3 of 

9 the following goals: 

10 (1) Ensuring that their visitors are exposed 

11 through multiple learning modes to locally relevant 

12 information to advance understanding of the inter13 connection of the natural environment, built environ14 ment, and quality of life. 

15 (2) Significantly reducing their net environ16 mental and carbon footprints, while using their own 

17 built and natural environment as a learning labora18 tory and a model of best practice for their host com19 munity. 

20 (3) Ensuring their institution has a net positive 

21 environmental impact on visitor and staff health. 

22 (d) AWARD.—The Director of the Institute of Mu23 seum and Library Services shall provide each national 

24 award winner under this section with an honorarium of 

25 $10,000. 


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1 (e) CONSULTATION.—The Director of the Institute of 

2 Museum and Library Services shall consult with the Ad3 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and 

4 the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Pre5 vention to align the award program under this section with 

6 the science on school health studied by the Environmental 

7 Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control 

8 and Prevention. 

9 SEC. 4. OFFICE OF SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE AND SUS10 TAINABILITY WITHIN THE OFFICE OF THE 

11 SECRETARY OF EDUCATION. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

13 the Office of the Secretary of Education, the Office of 

14 School Infrastructure and Sustainability that shall be 

15 composed of 3 full-time employees. 

16 (b) PURPOSE.—The Office of School Infrastructure 

17 and Sustainability shall— 

18 (1) direct content and programming of a tech19 nical assistance center for school infrastructure; 

20 (2) liaise with partner Federal agencies that 

21 have programs, grants, and equities in school facili22 ties, promote the National Clearinghouse’s resources 

23 to schools, provide robust technical assistance to 

24 partner Federal agencies, local educational agencies, 

25 and State educational agencies, and oversee, proVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:03 Sep 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5484.IH H5484

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1 mote, and expand the recognition award for the 

2 Green Ribbon Schools Program; 

3 (3) provide technical assistance, training, and, 

4 subject to appropriations, grants to State edu5 cational agencies and local educational agencies on 

6 issues related to educational facility planning, de7 sign, financing, construction, improvement, oper8 ation, and maintenance, including green building de9 sign and operation practices consistent with a com10 mitment to tackling the climate crisis; 

11 (4) develop resources and assemble best prac12 tices on issues related to ensuring equitable access 

13 to healthy, educationally adequate, and environ14 mentally and fiscally sustainable public school facili15 ties and grounds; 

16 (5) recommend revisions to regulations of the 

17 Department of Education that pertain to school con18 struction and renovation; and 

19 (6) consult with Federal agencies to ensure 

20 peer-reviewed recommendations and resources are 

21 incorporated into the work of the Office of School 

22 Infrastructure and Sustainability. 

23 (c) APPROPRIATION.—There is authorized to be ap24 propriated to carry out this section $2,000,000 for fiscal 

25 year 2024. 


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1 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro3 priated to carry out this Act (except for section 4) 

4 $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 and such sums as may 

5 be necessary for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029. 

6 (b) RESERVATIONS.—The Secretary— 

7 (1) shall reserve 10 percent of the amount ap8 propriated under subsection (a) to carry out section 

9 3; and 

10 (2) may reserve not more than 5 percent of the 

11 amount appropriated to carry out this Act for a fis12 cal year for administrative expenses. 

Æ 


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