Rebuild America’s Schools Act of 2026

(a) Allocation to states

(1) State-by-state allocation

(A) Fiscal year 2027. Of the amount appropriated to carry out this title for fiscal year 2027 and not reserved under section 101(b), not later than 30 days after such funds are appropriated, each State that provides an assurance to the Secretary that the State will comply with the requirements of section 103(c) shall be allocated an amount in proportion to the amount received by all local educational agencies in the State under part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) for the previous fiscal year relative to the total amount received under such part for such fiscal year by all local educational agencies in every State that provides such an assurance to the Secretary.

(B) Other fiscal years. Of the amount appropriated to carry out this title for each fiscal year other than fiscal year 2027 and not reserved under section 101(b), each State that has a plan approved by the Secretary under subsection (b) shall be allocated an amount in proportion to the amount received by all local educational agencies in the State under part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) for the previous fiscal year relative to the total amount received under such part for such fiscal year by all local educational agencies in every State that has a plan approved by the Secretary under subsection (b).

(2) State reservation. A State may reserve not more than 5 percent of its allocation under paragraph (1) to carry out its responsibilities under this Act, which shall include—

(A) providing technical assistance to local educational agencies, including by—

(i) identifying which State agencies have programs, resources, and expertise relevant to the activities supported by the allocation under this section; and

(ii) coordinating the provision of technical assistance across such agencies;

(B) in accordance with the guidance issued by the Secretary under section 404, developing an online, publicly searchable database that contains an inventory of the infrastructure of all public school facilities in the State (including the facilities of Bureau-funded schools, as appropriate), including, with respect to each such facility, an identification of—

(i) the information described in clauses (i) through (vii) of subparagraph (F);

(ii) the age (including an identification of the date of any retrofits or recent renovations) of—

(I) the facility;

(II) its roof;

(III) its electrical panels and lighting system;

(IV) its windows and any skylights;

(V) its cooking equipment and major appliances;

(VI) its plumbing; and

(VII) its heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system, including any energy management controls and systems;

(iii) fire safety inspection results;

(iv) the proximity of the facilities to toxic sites, including sites contaminated by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or the vulnerability of the facilities to natural disasters, including the extent to which facilities that are vulnerable to seismic natural disasters are seismically retrofitted;

(v) any previous inspections showing the presence of toxic substances, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances;

(vi) any improvements that are needed to support indoor and outdoor social distancing, personal hygiene, and building hygiene (including with respect to heating, ventilation, and air conditioning usage) in school facilities, consistent with guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and

(vii) any improvements that are needed to support energy and water efficiency, resilience, and climate mitigation;

(C) updating the database developed under subparagraph (B) not less frequently than once every 3 years;

(D) ensuring that the information in the database developed under subparagraph (B)—

(i) is posted on a publicly accessible State website; and

(ii) is regularly distributed to local educational agencies and Tribal governments in the State;

(E) issuing and reviewing regulations to ensure the health and safety of students and staff during construction or renovation projects;

(F) issuing or reviewing regulations to ensure safe, healthy, and high-performing school buildings, including regulations governing—

(i) indoor environmental quality and ventilation, including exposure to carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, lead-based paint, and other combustion by-products such as oxides of nitrogen;

(ii) mold, mildew, and moisture control;

(iii) the safety of drinking water at the tap and water used for meal preparation, including regulations that—

(I) address the presence of lead and other contaminants, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, in such water; and

(II) require the regular testing of the potability of water at the tap and testing for contaminants, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances;

(iv) energy and water efficiency;

(v) excessive classroom noise due to activities allowable under section 301;

(vi) the levels of maintenance work, operational spending, and capital investment needed to maintain the quality of public school facilities; and

(vii) the construction or renovation of such facilities, including applicable building codes;

(G) creating a plan to reduce or eliminate exposure to toxic substances, including mercury, radon, PCBs, lead, vapor intrusions, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and asbestos; and

(H) creating a plan to increase the number of net zero energy schools in the State, including professional development opportunities for State and local educational agency staff involved in maintenance, operations, and school facilities capital outlay projects related to energy and water efficiency, resilience, climate mitigation, renewable energy, energy storage, and building electrification.

(b) State plan

(1) In general. Except as provided in paragraph (2), to be eligible to receive an allocation under this section, a State shall submit to the Secretary a plan that—

(A) describes how the State will use the allocation to make long-term improvements to public school facilities;

(B) explains how the State will carry out each of its responsibilities under subsection (a)(2);

(C) explains how the State will make the determinations under subsections (b) through (d) of section 103, including how the State will consider the impact that projects will have on student diversity and racial and socioeconomic isolation of students attending any current (as of the time of the submission of the plan) or future public school facilities supported by such projects;

(D) identifies how long, and at what levels, the State will maintain fiscal effort for the activities supported by the allocation after the State no longer receives the allocation; and

(E) includes such other information as the Secretary may require.

(2) Expedited process for fiscal year 2027

(A) Assurance to Secretary. To be eligible to receive an allocation for fiscal year 2027 under subsection (a)(1)(A), a State shall provide to the Secretary an assurance that the State will comply with the requirements of section 103(c).

(B) Submittal of State plan. A State shall not be required to submit a State plan under paragraph (1) before receiving an allocation for fiscal year 2027 under subsection (a)(1)(A). A State that receives an allocation under such subsection for such fiscal year shall submit to the Secretary the State plan described in paragraph (1) not later than 90 days after the date on which such allocation is received.

(3) Approval and disapproval. The Secretary shall have the authority to approve or disapprove a State plan submitted under paragraph (1).

(c) Conditions. As a condition of receiving an allocation under this section, a State shall agree to the following:

(1) Matching requirement

(A) In general. The State shall contribute, from non-Federal sources, an amount equal to 10 percent of the amount of the allocation received under this section to carry out the activities supported by the allocation.

(B) Deadline. The State shall provide any contribution required under subparagraph (A) not later than September 30, 2035.

(C) Certain fiscal years. With respect to a fiscal year for which more than $7,000,000,000 are appropriated to carry out this title, subparagraph (A) shall be applied as if , from non-Federal sources, were struck.

(D) Commitment to proportional state investment in school facilities

(i) In general. The State shall provide an assurance to the Secretary that for each fiscal year that the State receives an allocation under this section, the State’s share of school facilities capital outlay will be not less than 90 percent of the average of the State’s share of school facilities capital outlay for the 5 years preceding the fiscal year for which the allocation is received.

(ii) Waiver. Notwithstanding clause (i), in response to a request from a State, the Secretary may modify or waive, in whole or in part, the requirement of clause (i) if the Secretary determines that such State demonstrates an exceptional or uncontrollable circumstance, such as a natural disaster, pandemic, or precipitous decline in revenue.

(iii) State’s share of school facilities capital outlay. In this subparagraph, the term State’s share of school facilities capital outlay means—

(I) the total State expenditures on school facilities capital outlay projects; divided by

(II) the total school facilities capital expenditures in the State on school facilities capital outlay projects.

(iv) Total State expenditures. In this subparagraph, the term total State expenditures means the State’s total expenditures (from funds other than an allocation under this section) on school facilities capital outlay projects, including—

(I) any direct expenditures by the State for the purpose of school facilities capital outlay projects; and

(II) funds provided by the State to local educational agencies for the purpose of school facilities capital outlay projects.

(v) Total school facilities capital expenditures in the state. In this subparagraph, the term total school facilities capital expenditures in the State, means the sum of—

(I) the total State expenditures calculated under clause (iv); plus

(II) all additional expenditures (from funds other than an allocation under this section) on school facilities capital outlay projects by local educational agencies in the State that were not included in the calculation of total State expenditures under clause (iv).

(2) Supplement not supplant. The State shall use an allocation under this section only to supplement the level of State public funds that would, in absence of the receipt of Federal funds under this section, be made available for the State’s contribution to school facilities capital outlays, and not to supplant such State public funds.