School Building Fairness Act of 2015
This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to direct the Department of Education to allocate funds to states for competitive matching grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) for school repair, renovation, and construction, reserving 1% of the grant funds for assistance to outlying areas and Indian schools.
In awarding such grants to LEAs, the state must consider: (1) the percentage of poor children each LEA serves; (2) the condition of their public schools or need for additional schools; (3) the extent to which they will comply with certain green building standards; (4) their fiscal capacity to cover repairs, renovations, and construction without such a grant; and (5) the likelihood that they will maintain repaired, renovated, or newly constructed schools in good condition.
With respect to high-need and rural LEAs, a state must award at least the same proportion of this Act's LEA funds for the state that they received of total LEA school improvement funds for the state under part A of Title I of the ESEA.
A portion of a state's allocation must be reserved for a database of public school facility inventory, condition, design, and utilization.
The National Center for Education Statistics shall study the condition of public elementary and secondary schools and analyze trends in spending for their repair, renovation, and construction.
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