GAO Releases Report on School Facilities and ADA Access

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The U.S. Government Accountability Office released this past July, K-12 Education: School Districts Need Better Information to Help Improve Access for People with Disabilities. GAO set out to survey school districts if people with disabilities can access all public school buildings. Their findings of surveyed school districts concluded that two-thirds of school districts had facilities with physical barriers that may limit access. Read the GAO report 

 
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NCSF Provides Direct Links to State COVID-19 School Guidance

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The National Council on School Facilities COVID-19 state guidance webpage has been updated with a new Tableau U.S. map to make it easier to access each state's reopening guidance. You can rollover a state to view the information and then click the state to access that state's reopening guidance. We also added each state's department of education COVID-19 website in the right column. See the updated webpage. 

 

The National Academies of Sciences Releases Report on Reopening Schools

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The National Academies of Science released a report on reopening K-12 schools during the pandemic. This report is in part in response to NCSF reaching out to the National Academies for help on planning for reopening our public schools in this public health crises. Kathleen Moore, former Director of Facilities for California, and 2014 President of the National Council on School Facilities was a member of the National Academies Advisory Committee for this report. Read the National Academies news release.

Coalition Calls for $10 Billion for School Building Repairs in Next COVID-19 Relief Package

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Forty-three organizations from the [Re]Build America's School Infrastructure Coalition, including the National Council on School Facilities, call for federal funding to modernize our nation's public school facilities, but in the meantime the signatories seek $10 billion for emergency school building repairs and system renewals in the next COVID-19 emergency relief package. They ask that these funds are targeted, so that students and teachers in our high poverty communities can reopen schools safely. Read the letter sent to U.S. representative leaders.

 

U.S. House Passes the Invest in America Act Which Includes School Facilities

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The U.S. House passed the $1.5 trillion infrastructure package, Invest in America Act on July 1st. This bill includes provision for $100 billion in grants to the states for PK-12 public school facilities. This happened, in no small part, because of the hard work state directors did at the NCSF annual meetings working to educate members of Congress and their staff on the facilities issues in the states.The work is not done. It will need to pass in the Senate and be signed by the President to become law. However, a major step has been taken.  

House Leadership Proposed $130 Billion for School Facilities in Moving Forward Act

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Speaker Pelosi unveiled the U.S. House 1.5 trillion infrastructure package called, The Moving Forward Act on June 18th. The infrastructure package includes $100 billion in grants to the states over the next five years for school facilities modernization and construction and another $30 billion in interest subsidized bonds. The states will need to allocate these funds to low wealth and high need districts. 

This happened, in no small part, because of the hard work state directors did at the NCSF annual meetings working to educate members of Congress and their staff on the facilities issues in the states. The work is not done. It is surely likely to pass the House, but will need to pass in the Senate and be signed by the President to become law. However, a major step has been taken.  

The school facilities section of this large bill is called Reopen and Rebuild America's Schools and is intended to help with facilities related costs of reopening. Read Chairman of the Education & Labor Committee, Rep. Bobby Scott's press release. 

Because the grants are to be allocated by states, it will be important for your state to have a plan for implementation early. NCSF will schedule a discussion for state officials on this, as soon as it passes the House--early to mid July.

GAO Releases New Report on Conditions of U.S. School Facilities

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More than Half of School Districts Need Significant Building Repairs; Ventilation Systems Are Major Concern

On June 4, the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) released a report on the condition of public schools. Forty eight states and D.C. responded to the survey. This was excellent participation from the states. Good work!! Some of the key findings include:

  • In nearly every category of building systems, almost one quarter of the districts had half or more of their schools needed updates or replacement.

  • There was great disparity in capital outlay when comparing low-poverty districts and high-poverty districts. Low-poverty districts spent 40% more for their school building projects in FY16 than high-poverty districts, a difference of about $300 per student.

  • Only about half of the 49 states that responded to the GAO survey provide standards and/or guidance on planning, design or construction key facilities systems, structures, or spaces.

This report was improved by the excellent participation and insights of state facilities officials. Only two states did not return their state surveys. Thank you all for your help on this important work. There is little research or information from official national sources and this report is already helping secure critical help for districts.

Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, Bobby Scott from the Third Congressional District in Virginia, said:  "Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, outdated and hazardous school buildings were undermining the quality of public education and putting students and educators at risk. Now, the pandemic is exacerbating the consequences of our failure to make necessary investments in school infrastructure...This report offers clear, irrefutable evidence that we must launch an urgent, nationwide effort to rebuild America's schools. As workers face record unemployment, there is no better time for a historic investment in school infrastructure that will make classrooms safer and get millions of people back to work." Read the Education & Labor Committee's Press Release.

For a clear connection between the challenges with facilities conditions and reopening schools, see U.S. News & World Report article, "Schools Plan to Reopen as Federal Watchdog Finds Major Facility Problems" with interviews with national school facilities experts

Reopening and Rebuilding America's Schools

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On June 23, "the Committee on Education and Labor held a virtual briefing to discuss the state of school infrastructure. The briefing, entitled "Reopening and Rebuilding America's Schools," came on the heels of a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report which projected that 54 percent of school districts across the country must replace or update major systems in more than half their buildings." "The briefing featured Jackie Nowicki, Director of K-12 Education at the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)."

Stimulus Funding: What you Need to Know Now - On-Demand Webinar

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On June 24th, Dude Solutions hosted a webinar featuring a panel discussion with industry experts on:

  • What type of stimulus funding will likely become available

  • How you can prepare to submit your organization for funding opportunities

  • How to use your operations data to make the biggest impact with funds. 

Panelists: Mary Filardo, 21st Century School Fund; Seth Robertson, WithersRavenel; Steve Roth, Dude Solutions. Register to view the on-demand webinar.