To establish the Healthy and High Performance Schools Program in the Department of Education and for other purposes.

May 25, 2001

Mrs. CLINTON introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

To establish the Healthy and High Performance Schools Program in the Department of Education and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Healthy and High Performance Schools Act of 2001'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

(a) FINDINGS- The Congress finds the following:

(1) American kindergarten through grade 12 schools spend over $6,000,000,000 annually on energy costs, which is more than is spent on books and computers combined.

(2) Approximately 25,000,000 students are attending schools with at least 1 unsatisfactory environmental condition.

(3) Educators teach and students learn best in an environment that is comfortable, healthy, naturally lit where possible, and in good repair, and studies have indicated that student achievement is greater and attendance higher when those conditions are met.

(4) Over half of our Nation's kindergarten through grade 12 schools are more than 40 years old and in need of renovation to reach such standard of efficiency and comfort, and 6,000 new schools will be required over the next 10 years to accommodate the growing number of students.

(5) Inadequate ventilation in school buildings, poor lighting and acoustical quality, and uncomfortable temperatures can cause poor health and diminish students' capacity to concentrate and excel.

(6) Inefficient use of water, either in consumption or from poorly maintained systems, is prevalent in older schools.

(7) Using a whole building approach in the design of new schools and the renovation of existing schools (considering how materials, systems, and products connect and overlap and also how a school is integrated on its site and within the surrounding community) will result in healthy and high performance school buildings.

(8) Adoption of whole building concepts has been shown to result in dramatic improvements in student and teacher performance.

(9) Adopting a whole building approach usually results in a lower life cycle cost for the school building than for a conventionally designed and built building.

(10) Systematic use of energy conservation in school construction and renovation projects can save at least one quarter of current energy costs, leaving more money for teachers and educational materials.

(11) The use of renewable energy sources such as daylighting, solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, and biomass power in a building already designed to be energy-efficient can help meet the building's energy needs without added emissions.

(12) Using environmentally preferable products and providing for adequate supplies of fresh air will improve indoor air quality and provide healthful school buildings.

(13) Most school districts do not have the knowledge of cutting-edge design and technologies to integrate optimum efficiency and environmentally healthy designs into new school construction or into school renovations.

(b) PURPOSE- It is the purpose of this Act to assist local educational agencies in the production of high performance elementary school and secondary school buildings that are healthful, productive, energy-efficient, and environmentally sound.

SEC. 3. PROGRAM ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION.

(a) PROGRAM- There is established in the Department of Education the High Performance Schools Program (in this Act referred to as the `Program').

(b) GRANTS- The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, may, through the Program, award grants to State educational agencies to permit such State educational agencies to carry out subsection (c).

(c) STATE USE OF FUNDS-

(1) SUBGRANTS-

(A) IN GENERAL- A State educational agency receiving a grant under this Act shall use the grant funds made available under section 4(a)(1) to award subgrants to local educational agencies to permit such local educational agencies to carry out the activities described in subsection (d).

(B) LIMITATION- A State educational agency shall award subgrants under subparagraph (A) to local educational agencies that have made a commitment to use the subgrant funds to develop healthy, high performance school buildings in accordance with the plan developed and approved pursuant to subparagraph (C)(i).

(C) IMPLEMENTATION-

(i) PLANS- A State educational agency shall award subgrants under paragraph (1) only to local educational agencies that, in consultation with the State educational agency and State offices with responsibilities relating to energy and health, have developed plans that the State educational agency determines to be feasible and appropriate in order to achieve the purposes for which such subgrants are made.

(ii) SUPPLEMENTING GRANT FUNDS- The State educational agency shall encourage qualifying local educational agencies to supplement their subgrant funds with funds from other sources in the implementation of their plans.

(2) ADMINISTRATION- A State educational agency receiving a grant under this Act shall use the grant funds made available under section 4(a)(2)--

(A) to evaluate compliance by local educational agencies with the requirements of this Act;

(B) to distribute information and materials to clearly define and promote the development of healthy, high performance school buildings for both new and existing facilities;

(C) to organize and conduct programs for school board members, school district personnel, architects, engineers, and others to advance the concepts of healthy, high performance school buildings;

(D) to obtain technical services and assistance in planning and designing high performance school buildings; and

(E) to collect and monitor information pertaining to the high performance school building projects funded under this Act.

(3) PROMOTION- Subject to section 4(a), a State educational agency receiving a grant under this Act may use grant funds for promotional and marketing activities, including facilitating private and public financing, working with school administrations, students, and communities, and coordinating public benefit programs.

(d) LOCAL USE OF FUNDS-

(1) IN GENERAL- A local educational agency receiving a subgrant under subsection (c)(1) shall use such subgrant funds for new school building projects and renovation projects that--

(A) achieve energy-efficiency performance that reduces energy use to at least 30 percent below that of a school constructed in compliance with standards prescribed in Chapter 8 of the 2000 International Energy Conservation Code, or a similar State code intended to achieve substantially equivalent results; and

(B) achieve environmentally healthy schools in compliance with Federal and State codes intended to achieve healthy and safe school environments.

(2) EXISTING BUILDINGS- A local educational agency receiving a subgrant under subsection (c)(1) for renovation of existing school buildings shall use such subgrant funds to achieve energy efficiency performance that reduces energy use below the school's baseline consumption, assuming a 3-year, weather-normalized average for calculating such baseline and to help bring schools into compliance with health and safety standards.

SEC. 4. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.

(a) IN GENERAL- A State receiving a grant under this Act shall use--

(1) not less than 70 percent of such grant funds to carry out section 3(c)(1); and

(2) not less than 15 percent of such grant funds to carry out section 3(c)(2).

(b) RESERVATION- The Secretary may reserve an amount not to exceed $300,000 per year from amounts appropriated under section 6 to assist State educational agencies in coordinating and implementing the Program. Such funds may be used to develop reference materials to further define the principles and criteria to achieve healthy, high performance school buildings.

SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

(a) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall conduct a biennial review of State actions implementing this Act, and shall report to Congress on the results of such reviews.

(b) REVIEWS- In conducting such reviews, the Secretary shall assess the effectiveness of the calculation procedures used by State educational agencies in establishing eligibility of local educational agencies for subgrants under this Act, and may assess other aspects of the Program to determine whether the aspects have been effectively implemented.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this Act--

(1) $250,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2005; and

(2) such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2011.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:

(1) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND SECONDARY SCHOOL- The terms `elementary school' and `secondary school' have the same meanings given such terms in section 14101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801).

(2) HEALTHY, HIGH PERFORMANCE SCHOOL BUILDING- The term `healthy, high performance school building' means a school building which, in its design, construction, operation, and maintenance, maximizes use of renewable energy and energy-efficient practices, is cost-effective on a life cycle basis, uses affordable, environmentally preferable, durable materials, enhances indoor environmental quality, protects and conserves water, and optimizes site potential.

(3) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY- The term `local educational agency' has the same meaning given such term in section 14101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801).

(4) RENEWABLE ENERGY- The term `renewable energy' means energy produced by solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, or biomass power.

(5) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Education.

(6) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY- The term `State educational agency' has the same meaning given such term in section 14101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801).

END