H.R. 9959 — Green New Deal for Public Schools Act

This section establishes an Office of Sustainable Schools in the Department of Education to administer the resource block grant and educational equity grant programs and coordinate them with the climate capital facilities grant program and the climate change resiliency program. It requires grant applicants to submit resource allocation plans developed through community-engaged processes that set equity goals, annual benchmarks, and a commitment that at least 30 percent of funded jobs are filled through local hiring from specified disadvantaged groups. It mandates public documentation of progress on accessible digitized platforms and reserves sufficient funding and technical assistance for Bureau of Indian Education schools, administered in accordance with tribal sovereignty and self-determination.

This section establishes a grant program under which the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the Secretary of Education, awards grants to local educational agencies, State educational agencies, and Bureau of Indian Education schools ranked among the one-third most vulnerable in the United States. The grants fund healthy green retrofits that convert existing schools into healthy zero-carbon schools meeting detailed energy-efficiency, electrification, air and water quality, contaminant removal, onsite renewable energy, accessibility, and resilience standards, or fund construction of new healthy zero-carbon schools located at least 2,500 feet from any oil or gas wells.

This section establishes a grant program under which the Secretary of Education awards funds to qualified local educational agencies to hire additional eligible educators and support staff in elementary and secondary schools, establish community partnerships, and carry out related activities. Qualified agencies are those serving schools ranked in the top one-third most vulnerable nationwide, schools in the bottom one-third of state student-to-staff ratios, or Bureau of Indian Education schools. Grants support target ratios of 12:1 for kindergarten through grade 8 and 15:1 for grades 9 through 12, one lead teacher and paraprofessional in every prekindergarten through grade 3 class, one psychologist per 500 students, and one counselor and one social worker per 250 students. Agencies must retain positions after the 10-year grant period and consult with states and Indian Tribes.

This section establishes educational equity planning grants. It directs the Secretary of Education to award 1-year planning grants and subsequent implementation grants to consortia of at least 2 local educational agencies in the same metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area. It appropriates $100 million for the 10 fiscal years after enactment, plus necessary sums for administration and technical assistance. It requires 5-year regional equity plans that identify racial, class, gender, and disability-related inequities and activities to redress them, supported by federal data, community outreach, an equity assessment tool, and public annual benchmark reporting.

This section provides mandatory appropriations for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Part B grants to states, other than section 619, of $6,425,048,000 or 4.5 percent of the formula amount, whichever is greater, for FY2027; $8,372,932,000 or 5.7 percent for FY2028; $10,911,357,000 or 7.3 percent for FY2029; $14,219,357,000 or 9.3 percent for FY2030; $18,530,244,000 or 11.9 percent for FY2031; $24,148,064,000 or 15.2 percent for FY2032; $31,469,041,000 or 19.3 percent for FY2033; $41,009,521,000 or 24.6 percent for FY2034; $53,442,392,000 or 31.4 percent for FY2035; and $69,644,540,000 or 40 percent for FY2036 and each subsequent fiscal year.

This section appropriates $74 billion annually for each of the 10 fiscal years following enactment to carry out Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, which provides formula grants to local educational agencies serving low-income students.

This section defines a community resiliency center as a facility that provides community resources and improves disaster preparedness, response, or recovery, including by serving as an emergency shelter, distributing food and energy, offering trauma-informed care, or connecting residents to services. It also defines an environmental justice community as one with significant representation of communities of color, low-income communities, or Tribal and indigenous communities that experiences or risks higher adverse health or environmental effects.

This section establishes a Climate Change Resiliency Program administered by the Secretary of Education in coordination with the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and the Interior. The program (1) increases resiliency of the public school system, Bureau of Indian Education schools, and schools funded by the Bureau during climate-related events, natural disasters, and public health emergencies; (2) enables such schools to serve as community resiliency centers advancing climate and environmental justice; (3) builds partnerships among local businesses, labor unions, apprenticeship programs, nonprofits, and educators for STEAM and social science learning on climate resiliency and local job creation; and (4) prioritizes investments in vocational and technical education connecting to registered apprenticeships and green collar jobs.

This section establishes a grant program within the Climate Change Resiliency Program under which the Secretary of Education awards grants to State educational agencies, partnering with local educational agencies and nonprofits, to develop and implement climate resiliency plans and projects at public elementary and secondary schools and BIE schools so they can serve as community resiliency centers. Eligible projects include on-site renewable energy and storage, electric bus infrastructure, green roofs and walls, community gardens and composting, remote learning capacity, and climate resiliency education, with priority for schools in neighborhoods facing low air quality, limited green space, high pollution burdens, or elevated climate risks. The Secretary provides technical assistance to support implementation.

This section directs the Secretary of Education to submit to Congress, not later than 2 years after enactment and annually thereafter, a report evaluating the effectiveness of activities carried out under this title.

This section appropriates $4 billion annually for fiscal years 2027 through 2037 to the Secretary of Education to carry out this title. It limits to 5 percent the share of funds that may be used for projects described in section 203(b)(3).