New GAO Report Underscores Need for Reed’s Rebuild America’s Schools Act

WASHINGTON, DC - School infrastructure has an outsized impact on learning. But a new report from the nonpartisan U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) shows that more needs to be done to help school districts shore up school facilities and ensure students have access to safe, modern, and inviting learning environments.

The GAO report released today reveals that infrastructure issues forced 1 in 5 school districts to cancel school during the 2024-25 school year, resulting in 2 million students losing an estimated 3.5 million days of learning. Nearly half of the nation's school districts reported chronic facility issues that negatively impacted learning, while more than half lacked the resources needed to address their most pressing infrastructure needs.

In an effort to correct this widespread issue and prevent students from losing critical learning time, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) is urging Congress to pass his bicameral Rebuild America's Schools Act (S.3777) which would surge federal investments to fix-up facilities and replace crumbling school infrastructure while creating better learning environments for the nation's students.

"We know that improving school infrastructure is essential to the health, safety, and well-being of American students. Today's GAO report underscores the urgency for action to help improve learning environments for our kids and make long-term investments in the success of our students," said Senator Reed, who requested the GAO report alongside U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI). "This is not a new issue. Previous research from GAO back in 2020 told us that over half of America's school districts needed to update or overhaul multiple systems within their schools. Congress cannot simply look over these glairing needs and hope they go away. Instead, we have a duty to give our students and their teachers the best chance possible to succeed. And that must start with passing our Rebuild America's Schools Act to advance a commonsense solution to infrastructure needs in public schools across the nation."

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 GAO previously reported that 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 was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA) and is cosponsored in the Senate 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), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Chris Murphy (D-CT), John Fetterman (D-PA), and Peter Welch (D-VT).

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