President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda is offering unprecedented assets for Ok-12 faculties to put money into more healthy, extra sustainable buildings and infrastructure—from eradicating lead pipes, to putting in clear, dependable photo voltaic vitality, to buying electrical college buses. Colleges throughout the nation are placing these funds to make use of to chop dangerous air air pollution, together with local weather air pollution, and put money into equitable, wholesome, resilient, and sustainable faculties. To make sure that faculties have entry to the numerous assets and technical help accessible to them by way of the President’s Investing in America agenda, the Administration is as we speak internet hosting the first-ever White Home Summit for Sustainable and Wholesome Ok-12 Faculty Buildings and Grounds.
Over 90 college students, academics, advocates, college directors, services and grounds specialists, and labor leaders will come collectively on the White Home alongside the U.S. Division of Schooling, U.S. Division of Power, and the Environmental Safety Company to debate deployment of the unprecedented ranges of federal funding accessible for college infrastructure, clear vitality, and wholesome faculties. The White Home Summit will spotlight tales from faculties throughout America the place communities are taking motion to create extra sustainable buildings and grounds that sort out the local weather disaster, enhance studying, and defend youngsters’s well being. The Summit may also underscore the alternatives for good-paying, union jobs—together with jobs that don’t require a school diploma—made accessible by the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic clear vitality agenda. Individuals may also have the chance to hitch an in-person workshop on the brand new “direct pay” provisions within the Inflation Discount Act, that are serving to faculties to instantly entry the advantages of fresh vitality tax credit for the primary time ever.
Selling Environment friendly and Wholesome Colleges
Alongside the Summit, the Biden-Harris Administration is releasing the 2024 White House Toolkit for Sustainable and Healthy K-12 Schools. Designed to be used by faculties, the toolkit supplies an outline of college infrastructure funding, applications, and technical help made accessible by the Biden-Harris Administration to help faculties, academics, and college students in attaining vitality effectivity, resilience to excessive climate, and cleaner air, water, and transportation. These embrace applications just like the Division of Power’s Renew America’s Colleges Prize, which is offering $500 million to make vitality effectivity, clear vitality, and clear automobiles accessible for faculties throughout the nation—and is open for applications now. It additionally contains EPA’s Clear Faculty Bus Program, which is offering $5 billion through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Regulation to switch polluting diesel college buses with zero- and low-emissions fashions. This system has already funded over 5,000 clear college buses, offering cleaner air for communities and defending youngsters from bronchial asthma.
These applications additionally advance President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which set a purpose that 40 p.c of the general advantages of sure federal local weather, clear vitality, clear transit, and different investments movement to deprived communities which might be marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by air pollution.
Recognizing Local weather Leaders in Colleges Throughout America
At present the U.S. Division of Power can also be asserting honorees for its Environment friendly and Wholesome Colleges Program. This program acknowledges and assists college districts looking for to implement high-impact indoor air high quality and effectivity enhancements—like Livonia Public Colleges in Michigan, which was honored for optimizing their operations to enhance constructing efficiency. Others, like Broward County Public Colleges in Florida, acquired recognition for implementing environment friendly and efficient HVAC retrofits and different energy-saving measures, whereas Canajoharie Central Faculty District in New York was honored for growing a complete vitality plan. These enhancements will scale back vitality payments and enhance scholar and instructor well being in faculties throughout the nation.
So far, 202 college districts in 45 states have joined this system, representing over 5 million college students in over 8,400 particular person faculties—70% of which qualify for Title 1 federal funding on the premise of serving a excessive share of low-income college students. The total record of 2024 U.S. Division of Power Environment friendly and Wholesome Colleges Honorees will be discovered here. Moreover, earlier as we speak U.S. Secretary of Schooling Miguel Cardona announced the 2024 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools, District Sustainability Awardees, and Postsecondary Sustainability Awardees. 41 faculties, 10 districts, three postsecondary establishments, and one early studying heart from 24 states are being honored for his or her revolutionary efforts to scale back environmental influence and utility prices, enhance well being and wellness, and provide efficient sustainability schooling. Over the previous decade, the award has acknowledged the work of over 750 faculties, districts, and postsecondary establishments throughout 47 states. Be taught extra concerning the 2024 U.S. Division of Schooling Inexperienced Ribbon Colleges Honorees here.
At present’s Summit and bulletins construct on the Biden-Harris Administration’s actions to construct more healthy, extra sustainable faculties:
- Direct Pay for Clear Power. In March, the Treasury Division finalized rules for direct pay (formally often called “elective pay”) of sure tax credit. By authorizing direct pay, the Inflation Discount Act for the primary time makes tax-exempt entities, together with faculties, eligible to entry clear vitality tax credit and to completely take part in constructing and proudly owning new clear vitality initiatives. Colleges can leverage these tax credit for clear vitality investments reminiscent of photo voltaic, wind, geothermal, and storage, in addition to for buying clear college buses and different clear automobiles. For instance:
- Manchester Public Colleges (CT) anticipates receiving $2.5 million in tax credit from the IRS for putting in floor supply warmth pumps and photo voltaic panels at Bowers Elementary Faculty in 2023.
- Seattle Public Colleges (WA) anticipates receiving $7.5 million in tax credit from the IRS for putting in floor supply warmth pumps and photo voltaic panels at 3 elementary faculties in 2023.
- Williamsfield Colleges (IL) anticipates receiving $100,000 in tax credit from the IRS for 7 Electrical Faculty Buses funded by way of the EPA Clear Faculty Bus rebates and 11 Electrical Car charging stations that have been put into service in 2023.
- Clear Faculty Buses. In January, EPA preliminarily chosen 67 candidates to obtain practically $1 billion in funding underneath the 2023 Clean School Bus Program Grants Competitors. Chosen candidates will buy over 2,700 clear college buses in 280 college districts, serving over 7 million college students throughout 37 states. So far, the EPA Clear Faculty Bus Program has awarded practically $2 billion and funded roughly 5,000 electrical and low-emission college buses nationwide. EPA anticipates asserting the awards for the 2023 Clear Faculty Bus Program Rebates Competitors in Might 2024.
- Changing Lead Pipes for Clear Ingesting Water. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Regulation invests $15 billion towards President Biden’s dedication to switch each poisonous lead pipe within the nation inside a decade, defending youngsters and faculties from lead publicity that may trigger irreversible hurt to cognitive growth and hamper youngsters’s studying. In February, Vice President Harris traveled to Pittsburgh to announce $5.8 billion for clean water projects nationwide, together with lead pipe substitute. Earlier this 12 months, EPA introduced $58 million in 2024 grant funding to guard youngsters from lead in consuming water at faculties and childcare services.
- Investing in Deprived Communities and Environmental Justice. EPA is at the moment accepting applications for $2 billion in Community Change Grants that can be utilized by faculties to scale back air pollution, improve group local weather resilience, and different environmental and local weather justice actions that profit deprived communities, reminiscent of facility enhancements that enhance air high quality. Devoted technical help is obtainable to eligible candidates for utility help, venture planning, and extra.
- Bettering Indoor Air High quality. Later this 12 months, EPA may also award $32 million in grant funding to as much as 6 organizations that may assist Ok-12 faculties in low-income, deprived, and Tribal communities throughout the nation develop and implement complete indoor air high quality (IAQ) administration plans that tackle air air pollution and enhance vitality effectivity of college services.
- Launching the 2024 Renew America’s Faculty Prize. In March, DOE’s Workplace of State and Neighborhood Power Applications launched its second spherical of funding underneath the 2024 Renew America’s Schools Prize, a $180 million funding to help enhancements like HVAC upgrades, renewable vitality installations, lighting, alternative-fuel automobile infrastructure, and extra in Ok-12 public faculties. Particularly, the prize focuses on faculties that serve deprived communities. Submissions for the 2024 Renew America’s Colleges Prize are due by June 13. This prize builds on the primary spherical of funding, which awarded $178 million in 2023 to over 90 college services throughout the nation, impacting roughly 74,000 college students and 5,000 academics.
- Supporting America’s Faculty Infrastructure. In November, the Division of Schooling awarded over $40 million in funding to eight Supporting America’s School Infrastructure (SASI) state grantees to conduct college facility wants assessments in high-need college districts, rent new workers, and develop or enhance public college infrastructure information methods, amongst different actions.
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