Discretionary Construction Grants - Impact Aid Section 7007(b)

Grant Type

Discretionary grant

Office

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE)

ALN

84.041C

Contact

Impact.Aid@ed.gov

202-260-0405

Eligibility

Local Educational Agencies (LEAs)

Application Deadline

Application Status

Not Applicable

Program Description

Impact Aid discretionary construction grants fund emergency repairs and modernization of school facilities to certain eligible local educational agencies (LEAs) that receive Impact Aid.

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 law specifies that applications for Emergency grants receive first and second priority in the competition, while applications for Modernization grants are treated as third and fourth priorities. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended, authorizes Impact Aid discretionary construction grant under Section 7003(b).

Impact Aid Resources

Related Links

Forms and Applications

Application materials can be found in Grants.gov and on our website: https://impactaid.ed.gov/resources/

Typically, we receive funds for this competition in odd years. Here you will find the prior year’s application documents under the section titled ‘Discretionary Construction Grants’.

Federal Register Notices

When the Department updates its regulations, it publishes a Notice of Rulemaking in the Federal Register. These notices begin with an introduction that explains the rationale behind the changes. The Department also announces competitions for discretionary funds in the Federal Register. The notices have important information about the application deadline, eligibility requirements, and funding priorities.

Search the Federal Register for notices about the Impact Aid Program.

An LEA is eligible to receive an emergency grant under section 7007(b) of the Act if it has a school facility emergency that the Secretary has determined poses a health or safety hazard to students and school personnel.

Under the first priority only. To qualify under the first priority, the LEA must meet one of the following two criteria:

The LEA is eligible to receive formula construction funds for the fiscal year under section 7007(a) of the Act (20 U.S.C. 7707(a)) because it enrolls a high percentage (at least 50 percent) of federally connected children in average daily attendance (ADA) who either reside on Indian lands or who have a parent on active duty in the U.S. uniformed services. If qualifying under this criterion, the LEA must additionally:
- Have no practical capacity to issue bonds (defined in 34 CFR 222.176 as having a total assessed value of real property in the LEA that may be taxed for school purposes that is less than $25 million); or
- Have minimal capacity to issue bonds (defined in 34 CFR 222.176 as having a total assessed value of real property in the LEA that is at least $25 million, but not more than $50 million) and have used at least 75 percent of its bond limit.

The LEA is eligible to receive funds for the fiscal year for heavily impacted districts under section 7003(b)(2) of the Act (20 U.S.C. 7707(b)(2))

Please see the regulations.

Can any LEA apply for one of these construction grants?

No, only those local educational agencies (LEAs) eligible for Impact Aid under Title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act are eligible to apply. There are also other eligibility requirements that further limit the applicants for the competition.

Can my school apply for a grant?

No, only eligible LEAs may apply. Your LEA's authorized representative must sign the application. Applications from individual schools, individuals, or other entities will be discarded.

Is there a matching requirement for these grants?

An LEA is required to provide a 50 percent match for an emergency repair or modernization grant award, unless the LEA has "no practical capacity to issue bonds."

What does "no practical capacity to issue bonds" mean?

An LEA is deemed to have "no practical capacity to issue bonds" if the total assessed value of real property in the LEA that may be taxed for school purposes is les than $25,000,000.

My district has only 20 percent federally connected children, but we have an individual building in the district with emergency needs that serves mostly federally connected children. Can I apply on behalf of this building only?

No, we are accepting applications under Priority One only, so the LEA must either have 50% of its students living on Indian Lands, or with a parent in the Uniformed Services, or receive a Heavily Impacted payment under Section 7003(b)(2).

If we receive an emergency repair or modernization grant, how long do we have to expend the funds?

The period of availability will be specified in the grant award documents, and will depend on the scope of the individual project. In general, we expect emergency grants will be expended within a short time period.

Can we apply for a grant to fund a project if we already have lined up funding from other sources?

This decision is made on a case by case basis. These grants are subject to supplement-not-supplant regulations (see 222.174). In general, no, Federal funds for emergency repair and modernization grants cannot be used to supplant other state or local funds that are available for a project. You should review section 222.174 of the regulations for further details regarding supplanting.

We funded an emergency repair project from our current fund. Can we use our grant award to reimburse our current fund for this expenditure?

No, reimbursing another source of funds is considered supplanting, and is not permitted. You should review section 222.174 for further detail about supplanting.

We have several buildings that need repairs and modernization. Can we apply for grants for all of these?

No, an LEA may only submit one application, detailing its emergency needs for one facility. This is a change from prior years' competitions due to a regulatory change in section 222.183 published April 28, 2011.

Can we include photographs and design drawings in our application?

Photographs or other materials will not be considered. You should describe your project in a concise narrative within the grant application forms. Other materials submitted will be discarded before applications are presented to the reviewers.

If we submit an application that doesn't get funded, can we apply again next year?

The Department will retain applications that are not funded, and include those applications for consideration along with new applications received for the following year (assuming Congress appropriates funding for the 7007(b) program). Section 222.189 of the regulations provides additional detail for this procedure.

2023

Appropriation: $18,406,000

2021

Appropriation: $17,406,000

2019

Appropriation: $17,406,000