Hirono, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Create $130 Billion Fund to Help Rebuild Public Schools Nationwide

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA), and over 95 colleagues in introducing a bicameral bill that would target new federal infrastructure funding to help local school districts address school building and modernization needs. The Rebuild America's Schools Act of 2026 would improve public school infrastructure and environments to ensure school facilities are safe, healthy, sustainable, and offer positive learning environments for all students.

"Too many public schools across the country face critical underfunding, resulting in deteriorating facilities that have become health and safety risks for teachers and students," said Senator Hirono. "Our students deserve to learn in safe, healthy, and modern environments to ensure they receive the quality public education they need to best prepare them for the future. This legislation is a significant investment not only in public education infrastructure, but also in our students' futures and the surrounding community."

For decades, school infrastructure has been underfunded. National spending for K-12 school buildings falls short by an estimated $90 billion annually, according to a 2025 analysis by the 21st Century School Fund. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports 54% of U.S. school districts need to update or completely replace multiple building systems in their schools, according to a 2020 analysis.

This legislation will create a federal-state partnership for school infrastructure and will provide, over five years, a total of $130 billion in direct grants and school construction bonds to help fill the annual gap in school facility capital needs, while creating nearly two million jobs. The money and financing would be available to local school districts and would be targeted to physical and digital infrastructure upgrades, with an emphasis on schools of greatest need with facilities that pose health and safety risks to students and staff.

Specifically, the Rebuild America's Schools Act would:

• Create a $100 billion grant program and $30 billion tax credit bond program targeted at high-poverty schools with facilities that pose health and safety risks to students and staff;

• Create over 2 million jobs based on an Economic Policy Institute analysis that each $1 billion spent on construction creates 17,785 jobs;

• Require states to develop comprehensive state-wide public databases on the condition of public-school facilities. (Most states do not track school facility conditions, and this would provide much-needed insight into the condition of our public schools.); and

• Improve broadband and Wi-Fi in public schools.

The legislation is endorsed by a broad coalition of organizations, including: 21st Century School Fund; American Federation of Teachers: Education, Healthcare, Public Services; American Library Association (ALA); American Institute of Architects (AIA); American School Superintendents Association (AASA); BlueGreen Alliance (BGA); Build America's School Infrastructure Coalition (BASIC); Children & Nature Network (C&NN); Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS); Craven County Schools (CCS); Green Schoolyards America; Greenbank Associates; Healthy Schools Campaign; Heart of America (HOA); International Association of Sheet Metal Air Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART); International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (IUBAC); Kentucky School Plant Management Association (KSPMA); National Council on School Facilities (NCSF); National Education Association (NEA); National School Plant Management Association (NSPMA); North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE); Rentokil Terminix; SafeTraces; The National Association of Federally Impacted Schools (NAFIS); UndauntedK12; and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

In addition to Senators Hirono and Reed, the bill is cosponsored in the Senate by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). In addition to Representative Scott, the legislation is cosponsored by 80 of his colleagues in the House.

The full text of the legislation is available here.

Senator Hirono has been a strong and consistent advocate for federal programs that provide support for public schools, including through school infrastructure. Last year, Senator Hirono introduced the Impact Aid Infrastructure Partnership Act, which would provide an additional $1 billion in supplemental funding for school infrastructure projects within federally-impacted schools districts. In addition, she has also been an advocate for other programs that support students. In January, she held a K-12 education roundtable with local education leaders and groups to discuss the U.S. Department of Education's (ED) recent decision to transfer dozens of programs to other agencies that have limited capacity and no experience administering these kinds of programs. She has also hosted multiple spotlight forums, most recently hosting one in December titled "Dismantling Education: What the Trump Administration's Illegal Attacks on Federal Programs Mean for Students, Families, and Educators," which highlighted the dangerous consequences of the Trump Administration's efforts to dismantle ED for our nation's students, families, educators, and schools-among others.

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