S. 5195 — 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 program under section 103 and the educational equity grant program under section 104, and to coordinate those programs with the climate capital facilities grant program and the climate change resiliency program. It requires each grant applicant to submit a resource allocation plan developed through community-engaged planning that sets equity goals, annual benchmarks, and a commitment to fill at least 30 percent of funded jobs through local equitable hiring processes serving specified disadvantaged groups. It directs grant recipients to document progress on public digitized platforms meeting multilingual, literacy, and accessibility standards, and reserves sufficient funding plus technical assistance for Bureau of Indian Education schools, administered in accordance with tribal sovereignty.

This section establishes a grant program administered by the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the Secretary of Education, that awards funds to eligible local educational agencies, BIE schools, and consortia for healthy green retrofits converting existing public schools into healthy zero-carbon schools and for constructing new healthy zero-carbon schools located at least 2,500 feet from any oil or gas wells. The program requires outreach campaigns, technical assistance for applications, and approval of all qualifying submissions.

This section establishes a Department of Education grant program that awards funds to qualified local educational agencies serving the one-third most vulnerable U.S. schools, the one-third of schools with the highest student-to-staff ratios, or Bureau of Indian Education schools. Grantees must use the funds to hire additional educators and support staff, establish community partnerships, and pursue nine enumerated goals, including achieving target ratios of 12:1 (K–8) and 15:1 (9–12), one psychologist per 500 students, and one counselor or social worker per 250 students; applications must also include a 10-year retention plan for funded positions and strategies to reduce suspensions, expulsions, and the use of seclusion and restraint.

This section establishes educational equity planning grants under which the Secretary of Education awards 1-year planning grants and subsequent implementation grants to consortia of at least two local educational agencies within the same metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area. It requires the Secretaries of Education, Housing and Urban Development, and Transportation and the EPA Administrator to provide relevant demographic, poverty, environmental, and opportunity data; directs each consortium to conduct community outreach and develop a 5-year plan identifying racial, class, gender, and disability-related education inequities and activities to redress them; and appropriates $100 million for the 10 fiscal years following enactment, plus necessary sums for administration and technical assistance.

This section provides mandatory appropriations for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Part B grants to states for special education and related services, excluding section 619 preschool grants. It sets annual amounts that increase from $6.425 billion or 4.5 percent of the full funding amount for fiscal year 2027 to $69.645 billion or 40 percent for fiscal year 2036 and each subsequent year, with funds available for obligation on July 1 of the prior year and remaining available through September 30 of the following year.

This section provides $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 funds local educational agencies serving low-income students.

This section defines "community resiliency center" as a facility that provides community resources and improves disaster preparedness, response, or recovery, including by serving as a shelter, distributing food and energy, offering trauma-informed care, or connecting residents to services. It also defines "environmental justice community" as a community with significant representation of communities of color, low-income communities, or Tribal and Indigenous communities that experiences or is at risk of higher adverse human 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 public schools, BIE schools, and schools funded by BIE during climate-related events, natural disasters, and public health emergencies; (2) advances climate justice and environmental justice by designating schools as community resiliency centers; (3) builds partnerships among businesses, unions, apprenticeship programs, nonprofits, and educators for STEAM learning and local jobs; and (4) prioritizes vocational and technical education investments that connect schools 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 activities include on-site renewable energy and storage, kitchen upgrades, green infrastructure for flood and wildfire protection, electric bus charging, remote learning infrastructure, climate education, and other projects that increase school resilience to extreme weather and climate events; the Secretary must prioritize applications serving neighborhoods with low air quality, limited green space, high pollution burdens, or elevated climate risks and must provide technical assistance.

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

This section appropriates $4 billion annually for fiscal years 2027 through 2037 to the Secretary of Education. It limits to 5 percent the share of funds that may be used for certain projects.