“A bill to authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants to revitalize schoolyards.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes definitions for terms used in the Act, including (1) eligible entity as a local educational agency (LEA), educational service agency (ESA), or nonprofit organization with expertise in outdoor learning, nature play, spaces, or outdoor education partnering with an LEA; (2) educational service agency, elementary school, high school, local educational agency, and secondary school as having the meanings given those terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801); (3) revitalized schoolyard as a park-like outdoor environment at an elementary or secondary school updated to strengthen local ecological systems, provide hands-on learning resources, and foster nature play and social opportunities (which may include trees and plants, cultivated gardens, outdoor gathering areas, and other community-designed elements and serve for shared public use); (4) Secretary as the Secretary of Education; and (5) shared public use as use as a public facility open and accessible to the public outside school hours during daylight, to the extent feasible.
This section reserves 5% of funds appropriated under the Act for the Secretary of the Interior to award grants to schools operated by the Bureau of Indian Education or by Indian tribes (or tribally sanctioned organizations) under the Indian Self-Determination Act or Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 1988. From remaining funds, the section (1) requires grants to be awarded in cohorts on a biennial cycle, with each cohort eligible for a one-year planning grant followed by a one-year implementation grant if the Secretary determines project viability using established criteria; (2) directs 30% of remaining funds to planning grants under section 4(a) and 70% to implementation grants under section 4(b); (3) caps total awards to an eligible entity at $1,000,000 across both grants, with each grant lasting up to two years (for a total project period of four years); and (4) authorizes the Secretary to reallocate planning grant funds to implementation and to use surplus funds for additional awards, prioritizing high-scoring prior applicants.
This section establishes a two-phase grant program administered by the Secretary to transform outdoor spaces at public elementary and secondary schools into revitalized schoolyards (i.e., resilient outdoor areas supporting ecological, educational, physical, and mental health goals, including natural playgrounds, native plantings for shade and heat mitigation, stormwater management, school gardens, and ADA-compliant accessibility). **(a) Planning grants**—Directs the Secretary to award planning grants to eligible entities (i.e., those serving such schools) for developing detailed concept plans, with applications requiring (1) an initial scope of work, (2) an educator professional development plan, (3) identification of relevant state learning standards, and (4) a post-grant maintenance plan. Concept plans must incorporate school/public input, prioritize schools with low tree canopy/extreme weather vulnerability or high free/reduced-price lunch eligibility, and include specified elements such as acreage/student data, cost estimates, community partners, long-term management, and designs addressing food production, nature observation, hands-on learning, arts integration, water conservation, and low-heat natural playgrounds; up to 10% of funds may support technical assistance for implementation grant applications. **(b) Implementation grants**—Directs the Secretary to award implementation grants to planning grant recipients that submit applications, allowing multiple grants per entity for phased school completions, with funds used to carry out some or all elements of the approved concept plan.
This section establishes a competitive priority for grant awards to eligible entities (1) serving students at least 75% of whom are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (i.e., National School Lunch Program, a measure of student poverty), or (2) serving a school meeting that threshold where the proposed revitalized schoolyard will be developed. For high schools, the calculation may use comparable data from feeder schools.
This section directs the Secretary to maintain a clearinghouse of information on outdoor learning spaces that (1) provides examples of such spaces, including successful models; (2) includes input from nonprofit organizations, professionals, and other community members with expertise in outdoor learning spaces and environmental education; (3) provides links and information about state and local entities with relevant expertise; (4) reflects best practices on designs relating to nature play, non-petroleum based materials, maintenance, stewardship resources, example partnership programs, green infrastructure in schools, outdoor learning resources, lesson plans, and planning tools; and (5) is housed within the National Center on School Infrastructure, or other appropriate clearinghouse.