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. 
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 ‘‘Green Credit Enhance-
ment Program Act of 2010’’. 
SEC. 2. GREEN CREDIT ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM. 
(a) Section 5205 of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221 et seq.) is amend-
ed— 
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(1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub-
section (d); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(d) GREEN CREDIT ENHANCEMENT INITIATIVES TO 
ASSIST CHARTER SCHOOL FACILITY ACQUISITION, CON-
STRUCTION, AND RENOVATION.— 
‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this subsection 
is to provide grants to eligible entities to permit such 
entities to demonstrate innovative credit enhance-
ment initiatives of assisting charter schools for ad-
dressing the costs of acquiring, constructing, and 
renovating facilities. 
‘‘(2) GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 
‘‘(A) GRANTS.—Subject only to subpara-
graph (E), the Secretary shall award not less 
than three grants to eligible entities that have 
submitted applications that have been approved 
under this subsection for use to demonstrate in-
novative methods of assisting charter schools in 
addressing the cost of acquiring, constructing, 
and renovating facilities by enhancing the avail-
ability of loans or bond financing. 
‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY.—For purposes of this 
subsection, an eligble entity is— 
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‘‘(i) a public entity, such as a State or 
local governmental entity; 
‘‘(ii) a private nonprofit entity; or 
‘‘(iii) a consortium of entities de-
scribed in clauses (i) or (ii). 
‘‘(C) GRANTEE SELECTION.— 
‘‘(i) EVALUATION OF APPLICATION.— 
The Secretary shall evaluate each applica-
tion submitted under paragraph (3), and 
may approve only applications that the 
Secretary determines are sufficient to 
merit approval. 
‘‘(ii) PRIORITY.—In evaluating each 
application, the Secretary shall give pri-
ority to the applications of eligible entities 
that propose to use at least 65 percent of 
the amounts received from a grant under 
this subsection to fund modernization, ren-
ovation, repair, or construction projects 
consistent with the applicable provisions of 
any one of the green building certification 
programs specified in paragraph (4)(B)(i). 
‘‘(iii) DISTRIBUTION OF GRANTS.—If 
a sufficient number of applications are 
submitted that the Secretary determines 
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are of sufficient quality to merit approval, 
the Secretary shall award at least one 
grant to an eligible entity described in sub-
paragraph (A)(i), at least one grant to an 
eligible entity described in paragraph 
(A)(ii), and at least one grant to an eligi-
ble entity described in paragraph (A)(iii). 
‘‘(D) GRANT
CHARACTERISTICS.—Grants 
under this subsection shall be of a sufficient 
size, scope, and quality so as to ensure an effec-
tive demonstration of an innovative means of 
enhancing credit for the financing of charter 
school acquisition, construction, or renovation. 
‘‘(E) SPECIAL RULE.—If the Secretary de-
termines that the funds made available under 
this subsection are insufficient to permit the 
Secretary to award three or more grants in ac-
cordance with subparagraphs (A), (C), and (D), 
the requirement to award three grants under 
subparagraph (A) and the requirements related 
to the distribution of grants under subpara-
graph (C)(iii) shall not apply, and the Secretary 
may determine the appropriate number of 
grants to be awarded in accordance with sub-
paragraph (D). 
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‘‘(3) APPLICATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to re-
ceive a grant under this subsection, an eligible 
entity shall submit to the Secretary an applica-
tion in such form as the Secretary may reason-
ably require. 
‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—An application sub-
mitted under subparagraph (A) shall contain— 
‘‘(i) a statement identifying the activi-
ties the eligible entity proposes to under-
take with funds received under this sub-
section, including the methods such entity 
shall use to determine which charter 
schools receive assistance, and how much 
and what types of assistance charter 
schools shall receive; 
‘‘(ii) a description of the involvement 
of charter schools in the development of 
such application and the design of the pro-
posed activities described in such applica-
tion; 
‘‘(iii) a description of the expertise of 
the eligible entity in capital market financ-
ing; 
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‘‘(iv) a description of how the pro-
posed activities leverage the maximum 
amount of private-sector capital relative to 
the amount of government funding used 
and how such activities otherwise enhance 
credit available to charter schools, includ-
ing how the eligible entity plans to offer a 
combination of financing rates and terms 
more favorable than such rates and terms 
that a charter school could receive without 
assistance under this subsection; 
‘‘(v) a description of how the eligible 
entity possesses sufficient expertise in edu-
cation to evaluate the likelihood of success 
of a charter school program for which fa-
cilities financing is sought; 
‘‘(vi) in the case of an application 
submitted by a State governmental entity, 
a description of the actions that the entity 
has taken, or intends to take, to ensure 
that charter schools within the State re-
ceive the funding the charter schools need 
to have adequate facilities; and 
‘‘(vii) such other information as the 
Secretary may reasonably require. 
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‘‘(4) CHARTER SCHOOL OBJECTIVES.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), an eligible entity receiving a grant 
under this subsection shall use the funds depos-
ited in the reserve account established under 
paragraph (5)(A) to assist one or more charter 
schools to access private-sector capital to ac-
complish one or both of the following objectives: 
‘‘(i) The acquisition (by purchase, 
lease, donation, or otherwise) of an interest 
(including an interest held by a third party 
for the benefit of a charter school) in im-
proved or unimproved real property that is 
necessary to commence or continue the op-
eration of a charter school. 
‘‘(ii) The construction of new facilities 
(including predevelopment costs), or the 
renovation, repair, or alteration of existing 
facilities, necessary to commence or con-
tinue the operation of a charter school. 
‘‘(B) CONDITION.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—Except as pro-
vided in clause (ii), as a condition of re-
ceiving a grant under this subsection, an 
eligible entity shall agree to use not less 
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than 50 percent of the amounts received 
from a grant under this subsection to fund 
projects consistent with the applicable pro-
visions of any one of the following green 
building certification programs: 
‘‘(I) The United States Green 
Building Council Leadership in En-
ergy and Environmental Design green 
building rating standard referred to 
as LEED Green Building Rating Sys-
tem. 
‘‘(II) The Energy Star program 
of the United States Department of 
Energy and the United States Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency. 
‘‘(III) The CHPS green building 
rating program developed by the Col-
laborative 
for 
High 
Performance 
Schools. 
‘‘(IV) The Green Building Initia-
tive environmental design and rating 
system referred to as Green Globes. 
‘‘(V) Any other program adopted 
by a State or entity within a State 
having authority over a local edu-
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cational agency that provides for 
green building certification. 
‘‘(ii) SPECIAL
RULE.—The condition 
under clause (i) shall not apply if— 
‘‘(I) the Secretary waives such 
condition upon application to the Sec-
retary for such waiver by the eligible 
entity; or 
‘‘(II) compliance with such condi-
tion causes the cost of a project fund-
ed under the grant to increase by 
more than 10 percent. 
‘‘(5) RESERVE ACCOUNT.— 
‘‘(A) USE OF FUNDS.—To assist charter 
schools to accomplish the objectives described in 
paragraph (4), an eligible entity receiving a 
grant under this subsection shall, in accordance 
with State and local law, directly or indirectly, 
alone or in collaboration with others, deposit 
the funds received under this subsection (other 
than funds used for administrative costs in ac-
cordance with paragraph (6)) in a reserve ac-
count established and maintained by the eligible 
entity. Amounts deposited in such account shall 
be used by the eligible entity for the objectives 
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described in paragraph (4) through one or more 
of the following methods: 
‘‘(i) Guaranteeing, insuring, and rein-
suring bonds, notes, evidences of debt, 
loans, and interests therein. 
‘‘(ii) Guaranteeing and insuring leases 
of personal and real property. 
‘‘(iii) Facilitating financing by identi-
fying potential lending sources, encour-
aging private lending, and other similar ac-
tivities that directly promote lending to, or 
for the benefit of, charter schools. 
‘‘(iv) Facilitating the issuance of 
bonds by charter schools, or by other pub-
lic entities for the benefit of charter 
schools, by providing technical, administra-
tive, and other appropriate assistance (in-
cluding the recruitment of bond counsel, 
underwriters, and potential investors and 
the consolidation of multiple charter school 
projects within a single bond issue). 
‘‘(B) INVESTMENT.—Funds received under 
this subsection and deposited in the reserve ac-
count established under subparagraph (A) shall 
be invested in obligations issued or guaranteed 
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by the United States or a State, or in other 
similarly low-risk securities. 
‘‘(C) REINVESTMENT OF EARNINGS.—Any 
earnings on funds received under this sub-
section shall be deposited in the reserve account 
established under subparagraph (A) and used in 
accordance with such subparagraph. 
‘‘(6) 
LIMITATION
AND
ADMINISTRATIVE 
COSTS.—An eligible entity may use not more than 
2.5 percent of the funds received under this sub-
section for the administrative costs of carrying out 
this subsection. 
‘‘(7) AUDITS AND REPORTS.— 
‘‘(A) FINANCIAL
RECORD
MAINTENANCE 
AND AUDIT.—The financial records of each eli-
gible entity receiving a grant under this sub-
section shall be maintained in accordance with 
generally accepted accounting principles and 
shall be audited by an independent public ac-
countant. 
‘‘(B) REPORTS.— 
‘‘(i) GRANTEE
ANNUAL
REPORTS.— 
Each eligible entity receiving a grant under 
this subsection shall annually submit to the 
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Secretary a report of its operations and ac-
tivities under this subsection. 
‘‘(ii) CONTENTS.—Each annual report 
submitted under clause (i) shall include— 
‘‘(I) a copy of the most recent fi-
nancial statements of the eligible enti-
ty, and any accompanying opinion on 
such statements, prepared by the 
independent public accountant review-
ing the financial records of the eligible 
entity; 
‘‘(II) a copy of any report made 
on the audit of the financial records 
of the eligible entity that was con-
ducted under subparagraph (A) dur-
ing the annual reporting period; 
‘‘(III) an evaluation by the eligi-
ble entity of the effectiveness of its 
use of the funds provided under this 
subsection in leveraging private funds; 
‘‘(IV) a listing and description of 
the charter schools served by the eligi-
ble entity during the annual reporting 
period, including the amount of funds 
used by each charter school and the 
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type of project facilitated by the fund-
ing; 
‘‘(V) a description of the activi-
ties carried out by the eligible entity 
to assist charter schools in meeting 
the objectives set forth in paragraph 
(4); and 
‘‘(VI) a description of the charac-
teristics of lenders and other financial 
institutions participating in the activi-
ties undertaken by the eligible entity 
under this subsection during the re-
porting period. 
‘‘(iii) 
SECRETARIAL
REPORT.—The 
Secretary shall review the reports sub-
mitted under clause (i) and shall provide a 
comprehensive annual report to the Con-
gress on the activities conducted under this 
subsection. 
‘‘(8) NO FULL FAITH AND CREDIT FOR GRANT-
EE OBLIGATIONS.—No financial obligation of an eli-
gible entity entered into pursuant to this subsection 
(such as an obligation under a guarantee, bond, 
note, evidence of debt, or loan) shall be an obligation 
of, or guaranteed in any respect by, the United 
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States. The full faith and credit of the United States 
is not pledged to the payment of funds which may 
be required to be paid under any obligation made by 
an eligible entity pursuant to any provision of this 
subsection. 
‘‘(9) RECOVERY OF FUNDS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in ac-
cordance with chapter 37 of title 31, United 
States Code, shall collect— 
‘‘(i) all of the funds in a reserve ac-
count established by an eligible entity 
under paragraph (5)(A) if the Secretary 
determines, not earlier than 2 years after 
the date on which the eligible entity first 
received funds under this subsection, that 
the eligible entity has failed to make sub-
stantial progress in carrying out the pur-
poses described in such paragraph; or 
‘‘(ii) all or a portion of the funds in 
a reserve account established by an eligible 
entity under such paragraph if the Sec-
retary determines that the eligible entity 
has permanently ceased to use all or a por-
tion of the funds in such account to accom-
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plish any purpose described in such para-
graph. 
‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall 
not exercise the authority under subparagraph 
(A) to collect from any eligible entity any funds 
that are being properly used to achieve one or 
more of the purposes described in paragraph 
(5)(A). 
‘‘(C) PROCEDURES.—The provisions of 
sections 451, 452, and 458 of the General Edu-
cation Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1234, 1234a, 
and 1234g) shall apply to the recovery of funds 
under subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(D) OTHER
AUTHORITY
TO
RECOVER 
FUNDS.—This paragraph shall not be construed 
to impair or affect the authority of the Sec-
retary to recover funds under part D of the 
General Education Provisions Act.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Part B of title V 
of such Act (20 U.S.C. 7221 et seq.) is amended—- 
(1) by striking subpart 2; 
(2) by redesignating subpart 3 as subpart 2; 
(3) by redesignating sections 5241 through 
5248 as sections 5231 through 5238, respectively; 
and 
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(4) by amending the items of the table of con-
tents of such Act that follow subpart 1 to read as 
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.’’. 
SEC. 3. FUNDING. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 
5211 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221j) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 5211. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap-
propriated to carry out this subpart $750,000,000 for fis-
cal year 2011 and such sums as may be necessary for each 
of the 5 succeeding fiscal years. 
‘‘(b) ALLOCATION.—In allocating funds made avail-
able pursuant to subsection (a), for any fiscal year, the 
Secretary shall consider— 
‘‘(1) the relative need for assistance under the 
programs established under sections 5202 and 5205; 
and 
‘‘(2) the relative quality of the applications sub-
mitted for grants funded under such sections.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
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(1) PRIORITY TREATMENT.—Section 5202(e)(1) 
of such Act (20 U.S.C. 7221a(e)(1)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘5211 (other than funds reserved to carry 
out section 5205(b)),’’ and inserting ‘‘5211,’’. 
(2) NATIONAL
ACTIVITIES.—Section 5205 of 
such Act (20 U.S.C. 7221d) is amended— 
(A) in subsection (a), in the matter pre-
ceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘reserve for 
each fiscal year the greater of 5 percent or 
$5,000,000 of the amount appropriated to carry 
out this subpart, except that in no fiscal year 
shall the total amount so reserved exceed 
$8,000,000, to’’; and 
(B) in subsection (b)(2)(A), by striking 
‘‘From the amount made available to carry out 
this subsection under paragraphs (2) and 
(3)(B) of section 5211(b) for any fiscal year, 
the’’ and inserting ‘‘The’’. 
Æ 
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