HR2629-119

What This Bill Does

The Impact Aid Infrastructure Partnership Act creates a new $250 million per year grant program (for 4 years, totaling $1 billion) to help schools in areas with large amounts of non-taxable Federal land -- such as military bases, Indian reservations, and national parks -- build, renovate, and repair their school buildings. These 'federally impacted' school districts often cannot raise enough money through local property taxes because so much of the land in their area is owned by the Federal government and therefore exempt from taxation.

The program has two tracks: 75% of the money goes to competitive grants that prioritize schools with the most dangerous or deteriorated facilities (buildings that violate health codes, have poor air quality, contain hazardous materials, or lack safe drinking water). The remaining 25% is distributed through a formula based on the number of federally-connected students. Schools with no ability to issue bonds receive full Federal funding; other schools must contribute a local match of 10-25% depending on how heavily they are impacted by Federal property.

Who Benefits and How

• Federally impacted local educational agencies (school districts): Receive direct construction funding they cannot generate through local taxes due to the presence of non-taxable Federal land in their jurisdictions.
• Students and staff at federally impacted schools: Benefit from improved school facilities that meet health and safety standards, including better ventilation, safe drinking water, and removal of hazardous materials.
• Tribal communities and Native American students: Benefit from targeted provisions for teacher housing on Indian Treaty and Federal trust land, as well as schools serving children residing on such land.
• Rural communities near Federal land: Schools in these communities receive priority consideration for their higher construction costs due to geographic remoteness and labor/transportation cost premiums.
• Construction industry (contractors, architects, engineers): Benefit from $1 billion in new school construction, renovation, and repair projects over 4 years.

Who Bears the Burden and How

• Federal taxpayers: Fund the $250 million annual appropriation authorization.
• Department of Education: Bears new administrative responsibilities for managing the grant program, establishing facility condition priority listings, reviewing applications, making payment determinations, and annual reporting to Congress.
• Local educational agencies with some bonding capacity: Must provide a non-Federal cost share of 10-25% of the total project cost to receive competitive grant funds.

Key Provisions

• Authorizes $250 million per year for 4 years, split 75/25 between competitive and formula grants (Sec. 3)
• Establishes two-tier facility condition priority: first tier for buildings violating health codes, second tier for buildings in poor condition (Sec. 4)
• Includes teacher housing construction for schools on Indian/Federal trust land (Secs. 4, 8)
• Requires sliding-scale local match: 10% for agencies with 80%+ learning opportunity threshold, 20% for 50-80%, 25% for below 50% (Sec. 8)
• Full Federal payment for agencies with no bonding capacity or grants of $5 million or less (Sec. 8)
• Grant funds may only supplement, not supplant, existing non-Federal construction funding (Sec. 9)
• Annual reporting to Congress on projects carried out (Sec. 9)