Reed-Scott Bicameral Bill Would Target Federal Funds to Rebuild & Upgrade America’s Public Schools

WASHINGTON, DC - School infrastructure has an outsized impact on learning. To ensure more schools are in good condition, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and U.S. Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA) proposed a bicameral bill today 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.

The bill will create a federal-state partnership for school infrastructure. It 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.

"Improving school infrastructure is critical to the health, safety, and well-being of America's students and our communities. Investing in school infrastructure is a moral and economic imperative. The Rebuild America's Schools Act would provide dedicated, long-term investments in improving America's schools and ensuring every student can learn in a safe, healthy, modern classroom. Passing this bill would help improve school facilities, put more people to work, and improve student academic outcomes," said Senator Reed.

"Chronic neglect of America's public schools has forced students and teachers across the country to learn and work in outdated and hazardous school buildings. Moreover, dilapidated and poorly ventilated school facilities pose significant health threats that make it harder for teachers to teach and students to learn," said Congressman Scott, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and Workforce. "The Rebuild America's Schools Act invests $130 billion in our nation's physical and digital infrastructure, improves students' academic recovery efforts, and creates more than 2 million jobs over the next five years. It is far past time to improve public education infrastructure."

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 percent of U.S. school districts need to update or completely replace multiple building systems in their schools, according to a 2020 analysis.

To improve America's school infrastructure, the Rebuild America's Schools Act will provide $100 billion in formula funds to states for local competitive grants for school repair, renovation, and construction. States will focus assistance on communities with the greatest financial need, encourage green construction practices, and expand access to high-speed broadband to ensure that all students have access to digital learning.

The bill would also provide $30 billion for qualified school infrastructure bonds (QSIBs), $10 billion each year from 2027 through 2029, and restore the Qualified Zone Academy Bonds (QZABS) that were eliminated in the Republican Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The legislation also eases the matching requirements and expands the authority and eligible purposes of QZABS to allow local education agencies to construct, rehabilitate, retrofit, or repair school facilities.

The Rebuild America's Schools Act also supports American workers by ensuring that projects use American-made iron, steel, and manufactured products and meet labor standards.

Newer, greener schools are also good for local budgets because renewable energy and energy efficient upgrades can save school districts money that can be reinvested in after-school and summer programs, and the recruitment, hiring, and retention of highly-qualified teachers.

In the Senate, the bill is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ed Markey (D-MA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM).

SUMMARY - 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.

• 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).

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