I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2629 
To provide Federal-local community partnership construction funding to local 
educational agencies eligible to receive payments under the Impact Aid 
program. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 3, 2025 
Mr. GARAMENDI (for himself, Mr. OBERNOLTE, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. STRICK-
LAND, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mr. DAVIS of North Carolina, Ms. LEGER 
FERNANDEZ, Ms. RANDALL, and Ms. NORTON) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce 
A BILL 
To provide Federal-local community partnership construction 
funding to local educational agencies eligible to receive 
payments under the Impact Aid program. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Impact Aid Infrastruc-
ture Partnership Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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(1) A significant percentage of federally im-
pacted local educational agencies serve schools with 
facilities that fall far short of meeting basic life-safe-
ty standards that ensure a safe learning environ-
ment for students and staff alike. 
(2) The American Society of Civil Engineers 
rated school facilities nationally a D+. Many school 
buildings of schools served by federally impacted 
local educational agencies were built more than 65 
years ago. 
(3) A 2009 study by the Government Account-
ability Office found that better school facilities were 
associated with positive student outcomes in aca-
demic achievement, attendance, and higher gradua-
tion rates. A second Government Accountability Of-
fice study conducted in 2020, concluded that many 
school facilities of schools served by federally im-
pacted local educational agencies are in need of re-
pair, modernization, renovation, or replacement. 
(4) Data compiled through surveys of federally 
impacted local educational agencies by both the Na-
tional Association of Federally Impacted Schools and 
the National Indian Impacted Schools Association 
revealed the following: 
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(A) 65 percent of respondents indicated 
their facilities are in fair to poor condition. 
(B) 26 percent of respondents have build-
ings that are more than 80 years old. 
(C) 53 percent of respondents have no 
practical capacity to issue bonds. 
(D) 82 percent of respondents identified 
‘‘lack of funds’’ as a reason for delaying con-
struction projects. Construction costs in rural, 
many times geographically remote, local edu-
cational agencies have increased by 30 percent 
or more in recent years making facility up-
grades and replacement even more challenging. 
(5) Local educational agencies with some bond-
ing capacity or that have access to other sources of 
funding are still in need of assistance to improve 
their buildings to ensure a safe learning environ-
ment. 
(6) Federally impacted local educational agen-
cies located in rural settings have generally higher 
labor costs and transportation costs for workers and 
materials that have to be brought to a school con-
struction site than local educational agencies located 
in an urban setting with school construction costs. 
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Such costs are normally built in by the contractor 
affecting the total cost of the project. 
(7) Teacher recruitment and retention is a 
major challenge for local educational agencies serv-
ing students residing on Indian Treaty and Federal 
trust land as well as land conveyed pursuant to the 
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 
1601 et seq.). Because there are no private housing 
or rental units available to non-Tribal members, the 
local educational agency must build and maintain 
rental units. Without local educational agency owned 
housing, the daily commute can be as much as 90 
miles or more each way. One Arizona local edu-
cational agency estimated that the cost to rebuild 
antiquated teacher housing to be $100,000,000. 
(8) It is common practice that State edu-
cational agencies compile infrastructure needs in the 
local educational agencies located in the State. For 
example, the Hawaii Department of Education has 
identified more than $2,000,000,000 in needed re-
pair, renovation, and construction projects to ad-
dress— 
(A) structural and health and safety needs; 
(B) compliance with the Americans with 
Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et 
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seq.) and title IX of the Education Amend-
ments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.); and 
(C) various other infrastructure and con-
struction needs. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purpose of this Act is to provide 
a collaborative Federal-local community partnership that 
will provide both Federal and local funding to address the 
facility needs of federally impacted local educational agen-
cies. The partnership shall be designed to— 
(1) provide formula grants to federally im-
pacted local educational agencies that have no capac-
ity to issue bonds because of the presence of large 
parcels of non-taxable Federal property; 
(2) provide partnership grants requiring a local 
match to local educational agencies that have a lim-
ited capacity to provide facility funding; 
(3) base local matching dollars on the learning 
opportunity threshold total percentage, as described 
in subparagraph (B)(i) of section 7003(b)(3) of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7703(b)(3)); and 
(4) provide grants under section 7007(a) of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7707(a)) to address local educational 
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agency needs to modernize and provide basic build-
ing improvements. 
SEC. 3. IMPACT AID CONSTRUCTION GRANTS AUTHORIZED. 
(a) FUNDING AND SUNSET.— 
(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to 
be appropriated $250,000,000 for the first fis-
cal year that begins after the date of enactment 
of this Act, and each of the 3 succeeding fiscal 
years. 
(B) DESIGNATION.—Of the amount appro-
priated for each fiscal year, the Secretary of 
Education shall designate— 
(i) 75 percent for competitive grants 
awarded under section 4; and 
(ii) 25 percent for formula grants 
awarded under section 5. 
(2) SUPPLEMENTAL
FUNDING.—The amount 
authorized under paragraph (1) shall be in addition 
to any amounts authorized to be appropriated or 
otherwise made available to carry out section 7007 
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7707). 
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(3) AVAILABILITY
OF
FUNDS.—Any amounts 
appropriated under paragraph (1) shall remain 
available until expended. 
(4) SUNSET.—The authority to award grants 
under this Act shall expire at the end of the 4-year 
period beginning on the date in which funds are first 
made available to award a grant under this Act. 
(b) RESERVATION
FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, 
MANAGEMENT, AND OVERSIGHT.—From the funds appro-
priated under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary of Edu-
cation may reserve not more than half of 1 percent for 
technical assistance, management, and oversight of the ac-
tivities carried out with those funds. 
SEC. 4. COMPETITIVE GRANT AWARDS BASED ON FACILITY 
CONDITION. 
The Secretary of Education shall, based on applica-
tions submitted by local educational agencies under sec-
tion 6 and eligible for payments under section 7002 of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 7702) or section 7003 of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7703), establish 
a facility condition priority listing for grant awards as fol-
lows: 
(1) EMERGENCY GRANTS PRIORITY ONE.—The 
Secretary of Education shall award grants, on a 
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competitive basis, by first identifying those local 
educational agencies— 
(A) that have a facility— 
(i) as certified by a State, county, 
city, or Tribal official or a licensed archi-
tect or engineer, that is in violation of a 
Federal, State, county, city, or Tribal 
building code representing a health hazard 
to students and school personnel; 
(ii) that fails to meet building and 
classroom standards to ensure the health 
and safety of students and staff, as set by 
the Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
vention, requiring classroom building modi-
fication or replacement to— 
(I) ensure quality ventilation sys-
tems; 
(II) ensure classroom space to re-
duce class sizes and ensure social 
distancing guidelines when required; 
(III) address structural defi-
ciencies; and 
(IV) address other health, safety, 
and environmental conditions that 
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would impact the health, safety, and 
learning ability of students; 
(iii) that is not in compliance with 
meeting student capacity standards as re-
quired by the State, including failure to 
meet accessibility standards for persons 
with disabilities; or 
(iv) that lacks adequate service capac-
ity or infrastructure necessary to utilize 
technology to offer a curriculum that 
meets the current academic standards in 
the State in which the local educational 
agency is located; or 
(B) in the case of local educational agen-
cies 
eligible 
for 
payments 
under 
section 
7003(a)(1)(C) of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
7703(a)(1)(C)), that have teacher housing that 
is in need of repair or new construction to meet 
the needs of school personnel residing in such 
housing. 
(2) EMERGENCY
GRANTS
PRIORITY
TWO.— 
After identifying those local educational agencies as 
described in paragraph (1) for priority in grant 
awards, the Secretary of Education shall then award 
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grants, on a competitive basis, by identifying those 
local educational agencies that— 
(A) have a facility that— 
(i) does not meet minimum structural 
or health and safety standards as adopted 
by the American Society of Civil Engineers 
and is considered to be in poor condition 
and represents a potential health or safety 
hazard to students and school personnel, 
including due to— 
(I) poor indoor air quality; 
(II) the presence of hazardous 
and toxic substances and chemicals; 
(III) the lack of safe drinking 
water at the tap and water used for 
meal preparation, including due to the 
level of lead and other contaminants 
in such water; 
(IV) energy and water ineffi-
ciency; 
(V) excessive classroom noise; 
(VI) structural deficiencies; or 
(VII) other health, safety, and 
environmental conditions that would 
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impact the health, safety, and learn-
ing ability of students; 
(ii) is not in compliance with meeting 
student capacity standards as required by 
the State, including failure to meet accessi-
bility standards for persons with disabil-
ities; or 
(iii) lacks adequate services necessary 
to utilize technology to offer a curriculum 
that meets the current academic standards 
in the State in which the local educational 
agency is located; or 
(B) in the case of local educational agen-
cies 
eligible 
for 
payments 
under 
section 
7003(a)(1)(C) of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
7703(a)(1)(C)), have an identified need for 
teacher housing to ensure a safe living environ-
ment for teachers and their families or a need 
for repair of existing housing or new construc-
tion to meet the basic needs of school personnel 
residing in such housing. 
SEC. 5. FORMULA GRANTS. 
From funds designated under section 3(a)(1)(B)(ii), 
the Secretary of Education shall make payments in ac-
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cordance with section 7007(a) of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7707(a)), ex-
cept that— 
(1) when calculating the total number of 
weighted student units as described in paragraph 
(3)(A)(i)(II) of section 7007(a) of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
7707(a)), the Secretary of Education shall also in-
clude the total number of weighted student units of 
children described in subparagraphs (B) and (D)(i) 
of section 7003(a)(1) of such Act for the preceding 
year for all local educational agencies not meeting 
the 
requirements 
as 
described 
in 
section 
7007(a)(2)(B) of such Act but that meet the re-
quirements of section 572(a)(2) of the National De-
fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 (20 
U.S.C. 7703b(a)(2)); and 
(2) when calculating the total number of 
weighted student units as described in section 
7003(a)(1)(C) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7703(a)(1)(C)), the 
Secretary of Education shall also include the number 
of children determined under section 7003(a)(1)(C) 
of such Act for the preceding school year that con-
stituted at least 20 percent of the total student en-
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rollment in the schools of the agency during the pre-
ceding school year. 
SEC. 6. APPLICATION. 
A local educational agency eligible to apply for a 
grant section 4 that desires to receive a grant shall submit 
an application at such a time and containing such infor-
mation as determined appropriate by the Secretary of 
Education. 
SEC. 7. AWARD CRITERIA. 
When awarding a grant under section 4, the Sec-
retary of Education shall first apply the facility condition 
priority listing established under such section, and after 
such priority requirements are applied, the Secretary of 
Education shall then— 
(1) first consider those local educational agen-
cies (or, in the case of a local educational agency 
that does not have the authority to tax or issue 
bonds, the agency’s fiscal agent) that have limited or 
no capacity to issue bonds or have a total assessed 
value of real property that may be taxed for school 
purposes of less than $50,000,000; 
(2) next consider those local educational agen-
cies not described in paragraph (1) that— 
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land in the local educational agency that is 
Federal property; 
(D) the potential use for community pro-
grams and events in the school facility to be 
supported with grant funds; 
(E) the feasibility of project completion 
within 24 months from the grant award; and 
(F) the availability of other resources for 
the proposed project including the use of in- 
kind contributions. 
SEC. 8. PAYMENTS. 
(a) IN
GENERAL.—When making payments for 
grants awarded under this Act, the Secretary of Education 
shall comply with the following: 
(1) Make payment as required in full for those 
local educational agencies described in section 4(1) 
with no capacity to issue bonds. 
(2) Require those local educational agencies not 
described in paragraph (1) to pay a percentage of 
the total cost of the project supported with grant 
funds as follows: 
(A) For those local educational agencies 
with a learning opportunity threshold total per-
centage, as described in subparagraph (B)(i) of 
section 7003(b)(3) of the Elementary and Sec-
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ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
7703(b)(3))— 
(i) that is 80 percent or greater, such 
agencies shall pay a non-Federal share 
equal to 10 percent of the total cost of the 
project; 
(ii) that is less than 80 percent, but 
50 percent or greater, such agencies shall 
pay a non-Federal share equal to 20 per-
cent of the total cost of the project; and 
(iii) that is less than 50 percent, such 
agencies shall pay a non-Federal share 
equal to 25 percent of the total cost of the 
project. 
(B) For those local educational agencies el-
igible to receive a payment under section 7002 
of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7702) that are not de-
scribed in paragraph (1) of section 4, such 
agencies shall pay a non-Federal share equal to 
25 percent of the total cost of the project. 
(3) Make payment as required in full for those 
local educational agencies described in paragraph (1) 
or (2) of section 4, whose payment is $5,000,000 or 
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less for the year in which they are to receive the 
grant. 
(4) Make payment to those local educational 
agencies described in paragraph (1) or (2) of section 
4, whose payment is more than $5,000,000 for the 
year in which they are to receive the grant, after 
final drawings and specifications have been approved 
by the Secretary of Education and the construction 
contract has been entered into, in accordance with 
requirements as determined by the Secretary of 
Education and at such times and in such install-
ments as may be reasonable. 
(b) REDISTRIBUTION
OF PAYMENTS.—Any funds 
paid to a local educational agency under this Act and not 
expended, by such a time as determined by the Secretary 
of Education, for the purposes for which such funds are 
paid shall be redistributed to make payments under sec-
tion 7007(a) of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7707(a)). 
SEC. 9. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 
(a) USE OF FUNDS.— 
(1) AUTHORIZED
ACTIVITIES.—Grant funds 
under this Act may be used for one or more of the 
following: 
(A) Construction. 
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(B) Renovation. 
(C) Repair of school facilities. 
(2) IN-KIND
CONTRIBUTIONS.—A local edu-
cational agency may use in-kind contributions to 
meet the non-Federal share requirement under sec-
tion 8(a)(2). 
(3) PROHIBITIONS ON USE OF FUNDS.—A local 
educational agency may not use a grant awarded 
under paragraph (1) or (2) of section 4 for— 
(A) a project for a school facility for which 
the agency does not have— 
(i) full title; 
(ii) a long-term Tribal lease agree-
ment; or 
(iii) another interest as defined in reg-
ulation by the Secretary of Education; and 
(B) the acquisition of real property. 
(4) SUPPLEMENT, NOT
SUPPLANT.—A local 
educational agency shall use funds awarded under 
this Act only to supplement the amount of funds 
that would, in the absence of the Federal funds pro-
vided under the grant, be made available from non- 
Federal sources to carry out construction, renova-
tion, or repairs of school facilities as described in 
this Act and not to supplant such funds. 
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(b) ANNUAL REPORT ON GRANT PROGRAM.—Not 
later than September 30 of the first fiscal year that begins 
after the Secretary of Education first awards grants under 
this Act and each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary of 
Education shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees, and make publicly available, a report on the 
projects carried out with funds made available under this 
Act. 
(c) CARRY-OVER OF CERTAIN APPLICATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency 
that applies for a grant under this Act for a fiscal 
year and does not receive the grant for the fiscal 
year shall have the application for the grant consid-
ered for the following fiscal year not to exceed the 
end of the 4-year period as described in paragraph 
(4) of section 3(a), subject to the priority require-
ments of paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 4. 
(2) PRIORITY LISTING.—The Secretary of Edu-
cation shall— 
(A) maintain a priority listing of local edu-
cational agencies meeting the eligibility require-
ments found in— 
(i) paragraph (1) of section 4; and 
(ii) paragraph (2) of section 4; and 
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(B) update the listing for each of para-
graphs (1) and (2) of section (4), including 
those local educational agencies that applied for 
the previous fiscal year, but were not funded 
and for those agencies applying the succeeding 
fiscal year. 
(d) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY DEFINED.—In 
this Act, the term ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 7013 of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7713). 
Æ 
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