U.S. Department of Education: Impact Aid Discretionary Construction Grant Program

The Impact Aid Discretionary Construction Grant program provides grants for emergency repairs and modernization of school facilities to certain local educational agencies (LEAs) that receive Impact Aid formula funds. Impact Aid was designed to assist local school districts that have lost property tax revenue due to the presence of tax-exempt Federal property, or that have experienced increased expenditures due to the enrollment of federally connected children, including children living on Indian lands. The Impact Aid law (now Title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA)) provides assistance to local school districts with concentrations of children residing on Indian lands, military bases, low-rent housing properties, or other Federal properties and, to a lesser extent, concentrations of children who have parents in the uniformed services or employed on eligible Federal properties who do not live on Federal property.

Emergency repair grants must be used to repair, renovate, or alter a public elementary or secondary school facility to ensure the health, safety, and well being of students and school personnel. Modernization grants may be used to extend a public elementary or secondary school facility to ease overcrowding and provide facilities that support a contemporary educational program. The current solicitation is only open for emergency repair grants.

Amount: Grants will range from $60,000-$6,000,000 with 10 awards expected.

Eligibility: Applicants must meet one of the following two priorities:

• Priority 1—Emergency Repair Grants: An LEA is eligible to apply for an emergency grant under this priority if it: (a) Is eligible to receive formula construction funds for the fiscal year under section 8007(a) of the Act (20 U.S.C. 7707(a)); (b)(1) Has no practical capacity to issue bonds; (2) Has minimal capacity to issue bonds and has used at least 75 percent of its bond limit; or (3) Is eligible to receive funds for the fiscal year for heavily impacted districts under section 8003(b)(2) of the Act (20 U.S.C. 7707(b)(2)); and (c) Has a school facility emergency that the Secretary has determined poses a health or safety hazard to students and school personnel.
• Priority 2—Emergency Repair Grants: An LEA is eligible to apply for an emergency grant under the second priority if it: (a) Is eligible to receive funds for the fiscal year under section 8003(b) of the Act;  (b)(1) Enrolls federally connected children living on Indian lands equal to at least 40 percent of the total number of children in average daily attendance (ADA) in its schools; or (2) Enrolls federally connected children with a parent in the U.S. uniformed services equal to at least 40 percent of the total number of children in ADA in its schools; (c) Has used at least 75 percent of its bond limit; (d) Has an average per-student assessed value of real property available to be taxed for school purposes that is below its State average; and (e) Has a school facility emergency that the Secretary has determined poses a health or safety hazard to students and school personnel.

Link: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-04-13/pdf/2015-08376.pdf

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