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Washington D.C. - July 28, 2023––The Rebuild America’s Schools Act (RASA), introduced yesterday by Senator Reed (D-RI) and Ranking Member Scott (D-VA) proposes to invest $130 billion dollars over the course of ten years to provide states with school construction funding and interest credits so high-need and low-wealth districts can modernize the elementary and secondary schools in their communities. RASA would authorize a long needed targeted role for federal action which will give states support. Federal support would leverage local and state responsibilities for providing healthy, safe, and educationally excellent public school buildings and grounds that are energy efficient, environmentally sustainable and resilient.
Ally Talcott, Executive Director of the [Re]Build America’s School Infrastructure Coalition (BASIC), expressed strong support on behalf of the large and diverse coalition advocating for federal investments in school facilities: “We applaud and are grateful for Senator Reed and Ranking Member Scott for their steadfast leadership in support of modernizing our nation’s schools and grounds, especially in our most underserved areas. RASA is the key piece of legislation that, if enacted, would help ensure millions of students and educators learn and work in safe, supportive, and healthy places.” She noted, “There should be nothing partisan about investing in our schools and communities. We ask Congress to come together now in a truly bipartisan manner for the sake of our children’s futures to pass––and invest in––the Rebuild America’s School Act. Our nation’s children, educators, and communities deserve a healthier future.”
Below are the statements from our Coalition members, representing millions of voices from our education, environmental, health, civic, labor, and industry organizations:
Mary Filardo, Executive Director of the 21st Century School Fund, co-founder of BASIC, and a decades long community leader for modern public school infrastructure stated: "Modernizing our public school buildings and grounds so they are healthy, safe, and educationally excellent, energy efficient, environmentally sustainable, and resilient to weather and climate risk is a challenge for our time and responsibility of our time. Without RASA, many of our school districts, particularly small and rural districts, and high-need urban districts, will not be able to modernize their schools–leaving their students and staff in unhealthy, unsafe, and entirely educationally inadequate conditions.”
“Public schools are the heart of our communities. But sadly in too many of those communities, America’s public school facilities are crumbling and in such poor physical condition that they undermine student learning,” said Becky Pringle, President of the National Education Association. “Modernizing school buildings is a necessary investment in our students’ futures and Rebuild America’s Schools Act would take bold steps to making our schools safe places to work and learn. NEA wholeheartedly supports the Rebuild America’s Schools Act again and applauds Chairman Bobby Scott and Sen. Jack Reed for reintroducing such critical legislation.”
Sasha Pudelski, the Director of Advocacy at the American School Superintendents Association (AASA) noted. "This is not the time to be cutting the federal education budget. We should be investing in America's children and giving them a first class education which begins with modern school facilities. The inequality between low income urban school districts that serve millions of Title I school children and school districts in golden zip codes with modern school facilities on expansive campuses is a stark reminder of just how far we have to go when it comes to investing in a new generation of school facilities. These funds will go a long way to keeping children healthy, supporting early childhood education and maintaining teacher retention."
Tim Driscoll, the President of the International Unions of Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers stated, “We owe it to students, teachers, and other school workers to make certain that our school facilities are safe and conducive to learning. The average school building is over 40 years old and in need of repair. Investment in our school infrastructure is long overdue.”
Dr. Timothy Unruh, Executive of the National Association of Energy Service Companies (NAESCO) said, "The Rebuild America’s Schools Act will transcend energy efficiency and building infrastructure improvements. This legislation will create improved learning environments, safe and resilient facilities, and ultimately foster a brighter future for students, educators, and communities. The National Association of Energy Service Companies (NAESCO) and its 100-plus member companies support the reintroduction of this bill and applaud the efforts in moving it forward.
"SafeTraces applauds the reintroduction of the Rebuild America's School Act (RASA). Improving the health, efficiency, and resiliency of our nation's learning environments is an absolutely critical and urgent priority in the face of unprecedented public health and climate change-related challenges. With a $85 billion annual funding deficit for America's school infrastructure, which is growing each passing year, Congress must act in a bipartisan manner to pass this long overdue and much needed legislation." - Erik Malmstrom, CEO SafeTraces
Larry Sloan, AIHA’s CEO: “The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) commends Members of Congress for reintroducing the Rebuild America’s Schools Act, which would help improve the learning and working conditions of schools throughout the nation. In particular, this bill would improve the indoor air quality, energy efficiency, and water safety of schools while reducing the presence of toxic substances, excessive noise, and other health, safety, and environmental hazards that could impact student learning,” said Lawrence D. Sloan, CEO of AIHA. “The bill would also collect key data on school infrastructure that would help parents, policymakers, and other key stakeholders make informed decisions. AIHA encourages Members of Congress to swiftly pass this critically-needed bill.”
Mike Pickens, Executive Director of the National Council on School Facilities and a former director of the Office of Facilities at the West Virginia Department of Education, "Last year the Congress appropriated $40 million as a first down payment to help state facility agencies improve their capacity to provide technical assistance to low wealth school districts in high need communities. The Rebuild America’s School Act is another essential piece of what is needed to address our aged public school facilities, particularly in our rural communities.”
“The Rebuild America’s Schools Act is an essential piece of legislation to protect our kids and strengthen our communities, and we are proud to support its reintroduction,” says Anisa Heming, director of the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council. “Our nation’s school buildings should be safe, healthy places for children to grow, learn, and reach their full potential. However, in many of our communities—particularly those with low wealth and those in rural areas—school buildings are falling apart, wasting energy and natural resources, and posing hazardous conditions to the students, teachers, and staff who step foot in them each day. School districts need federal resources to help them keep these critical pieces of infrastructure working for everyone.”
For our 25-years, Heart of America has been committed to ensuring that every student has the room to learn, discover and thrive through access to vibrant learning spaces and we applaud the reintroduction of the “Rebuild America’s School Act” which will help make this goal a reality. “It is an undisputed fact that the quality of an educational environment has a dramatic impact on a child's development. Given the poor condition of so many school facilities, we believe that the Rebuild America’s School Act is a critical component for providing education equity for communities most in need of improving its infrastructure" said HOA President and CEO, Jill Hardy Heath.
“Across the nation, countless children are facing a grim reality each day as they step into our schools - enduring uncomfortable, unsafe and unhealthy facilities. In many school districts, administrators, teachers and students watch as their schools are literally falling apart. Decades of chronic neglect have resulted in a staggering $85 billion underinvestment in our K-12 public schools every single year,” said Rachel Hodgdon, President and CEO of the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI). “But we can turn the tide. And thanks to the dedication of courageous lawmakers, particularly the longtime leadership of Rep. Bobby Scott, we have the chance to pass transformative legislation, The Rebuild America’s Schools Act of 2023. We commend these lawmakers for stepping up once again to introduce this bill, which would make a crucial $130 billion investment in school infrastructure, paving the way for a future where every child can attend a school that fosters their learning, health and well-being.”
In response to the bill’s introduction, the BlueGreen Alliance released the following statement from Executive Director Jason Walsh: “Students need to learn—and teachers and staff deserve to work—in a safe, modern, and healthy environment. Sadly, too many students, teachers, and staff work in schools that fall far short of providing such an environment. The Rebuild America’s Schools Act would help districts around the country move their schools into the 21st century while creating and supporting good union jobs. We urge swift passage of this bill.”
Contact: Mary Filardo - MFilardo@21csf.org - 202-285-8947
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