H.R. 2629 — Impact Aid Infrastructure Partnership Act

This section states congressional findings on the poor condition of facilities in schools served by federally impacted local educational agencies, including that 65% report fair to poor condition, 26% have buildings over 80 years old, 53% lack practical bonding capacity, and 82% cite lack of funds for delaying projects. It declares the Act's purposes to establish a federal-local partnership providing (1) formula grants to bond-incapable agencies due to nontaxable federal property, (2) partnership grants requiring a local match based on the learning opportunity threshold percentage under section 7003(b)(3)(B)(i) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, and (3) modernization grants under section 7007(a) of such Act.

This section authorizes appropriations of $250 million for Impact Aid construction grants for the first fiscal year after enactment and each of the three succeeding fiscal years, in addition to funding available under current law for such grants (20 U.S.C. 7707). (As background, Impact Aid construction grants assist local educational agencies serving large numbers of children residing on Indian lands or children of military families, which are unable to generate sufficient local tax revenue due to nontaxable federal property.) Of the appropriated amounts, the Secretary of Education shall designate (1) 75% for competitive grants under section 4, and (2) 25% for formula grants under section 5; such funds remain available until expended, with grant authority sunsetting at the end of the four-year period beginning when funds are first available for grants; and the Secretary may reserve up to 0.5% for technical assistance, management, and oversight.

This section directs the Secretary of Education to establish a facility condition priority listing for competitive grant awards to local educational agencies eligible for payments under the Impact Aid program (sections 7002 or 7003 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, 20 U.S.C. 7702, 7703), which compensates school districts for lost local tax revenue due to federal property or provides basic support payments for districts with high percentages of federally connected students (e.g., children of military personnel or Native Americans living on federal trust lands). The priorities, based on applications submitted under section 6, are as follows: (1) Priority one for local educational agencies with facilities certified by specified officials or professionals to have emergency conditions, including building code violations posing health hazards; failure to meet Centers for Disease Control and Prevention standards for ventilation, classroom space, or structural integrity; noncompliance with state student capacity or accessibility standards; or inadequate technology infrastructure—and, for agencies eligible under section 7003(a)(1)(C), teacher housing needing repair or new construction. (2) Priority two, after priority one, for local educational agencies with facilities not meeting American Society of Civil Engineers minimum standards and in poor condition due to factors such as poor air quality, hazardous substances, lead-contaminated water, energy/water inefficiency, excessive noise, or structural deficiencies; noncompliance with state capacity or accessibility standards; inadequate technology services; or, for agencies eligible under section 7003(a)(1)(C), needs for new or repaired teacher housing to ensure safe living environments.

This section directs the Secretary of Education to make payments to local educational agencies under ESEA §7007(a) (20 U.S.C. 7707(a)), which provides additional assistance to heavily impacted LEAs (i.e., those serving high concentrations of federally connected children who generate limited local tax revenue), from funds designated under section 3(a)(1)(B)(ii), except that— (1) the calculation of total weighted student units under §7007(a)(3)(A)(i)(II) also includes weighted student units for children described in ESEA §7003(a)(1)(B) (residing on federal property with a uniformed services parent) and (D)(i) (uniformed services parent but not residing on federal property) from the preceding school year, for LEAs not meeting §7007(a)(2)(B) requirements but meeting 20 U.S.C. §7703b(a)(2) requirements (i.e., experiencing sudden and severe enrollment decreases); and (2) the calculation of total weighted student units as described in ESEA §7003(a)(1)(C) (20 U.S.C. 7703(a)(1)(C)) also includes children determined under that provision (residing on Indian lands) from the preceding school year who constituted at least 20% of the agency's total student enrollment.

This section requires a local educational agency eligible for a grant under section 4 to submit an application at such time and containing such information as the Secretary of Education determines appropriate.

This section directs the Secretary of Education, when awarding grants under section 4, to first apply the facility condition priority listing established under such section and then prioritize local educational agencies (LEAs) (or, for LEAs lacking taxing or bonding authority, their fiscal agent) as follows: (1) first, those with limited or no capacity to issue bonds or total assessed value of real property taxable for school purposes less than $50 million; (2) next, other LEAs with such total assessed value less than $100 million or assessed value per student below the state average; and (3) finally, based on (A) the number and percentages of children eligible for Impact Aid construction assistance under section 7003(a)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 enrolled in the school facility; (B) the learning opportunity threshold total percentage under section 7003(b)(3)(B)(i) of such Act; (C) for LEAs eligible for basic Impact Aid payments under section 7002 of such Act, the percentage of federal property in the LEA; (D) potential use of the facility for community programs; (E) feasibility of project completion within 24 months of grant award; and (F) availability of other resources, including in-kind contributions.

This section directs the Secretary of Education, when making payments for grants awarded under this Act, to (1) provide full payment to local educational agencies (LEAs) described in section 4(1) with no capacity to issue bonds; (2) require other eligible LEAs to provide a non-Federal matching share of the total project cost, which is 10 percent for LEAs with a learning opportunity threshold total percentage (as described in section 7003(b)(3)(B)(i) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965) of 80 percent or greater, 20 percent for those with 50-79.9 percent, 25 percent for those with less than 50 percent, or 25 percent for LEAs eligible for payments under section 7002 not described in section 4(1); (3) provide full payment to LEAs described in section 4(1) or (2) with payments of $5 million or less in the grant year; and (4) for LEAs described in section 4(1) or (2) with payments over $5 million, make payments after approval of final drawings and specifications and execution of the construction contract, in reasonable installments. This section further requires redistribution of any unexpended funds to section 7007(a) payments (i.e., additional assistance for maintenance and operations).

This section authorizes local educational agencies (LEAs) receiving grants under the Act to use funds for construction, renovation, or repair of school facilities; permits in-kind contributions to meet the non-Federal share; prohibits such use for projects lacking full title, a long-term Tribal lease, or another sufficient property interest or for real property acquisition; and requires funds to supplement, not supplant, non-Federal funds. This section further directs the Secretary of Education to submit annual reports to congressional committees and publicly on grant projects beginning September 30 of the first fiscal year after initial awards and each year thereafter; establishes procedures allowing carry-over of unfunded applications for up to four years (per section 3(a)(4)) subject to funding priorities under section 4; requires the Secretary to maintain and update priority listings of eligible LEAs; and defines LEA as per section 7013 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7713) (i.e., generally, a public board of education or other public authority legally constituted to provide elementary or secondary education).