The federal government provides both indirect support for school construction (mainly by exempting from federal income taxation the interest on state and local government bonds used to finance school construction and renovation) and direct support via grants and loans for unique schools and populations. This report examines estimates of school infrastructure needs and discusses the federal role in financing both K-12 public school infrastructure and public and private higher education facilities. General U.S. Department of Education administered-facilities grant programs were authorized beginning in 1963. Federal Programs that Provide Funding for Educational Facilities

Federal support for school construction and renovation is provided through various allowances and programs. The programs described below, although not an exhaustive list of all programs that may support construction or renovation of educational facilities, are organized by federal agency. Department of Education

			Alaska Native K-12 and Community Education

The Alaska Native Educational Equity, Support, and Assistance Act (Title VII-C of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended) provides competitive grants to Alaska Native and other organizations to meet the unique educational needs of Alaska Natives and to support supplemental education programs to benefit Alaska Natives. Funds are allocated to the State Charter Schools Facilities Incentive Grants program and the Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities program from the Charter Schools program according to appropriations acts. Low-Income and Minority-Serving Institutions of Higher Education

Several programs authorized under Title III-A, Title III-B, Title III-F, Title V, Title VII-A-4, and Title VIII-AA of HEA provide grants to certain eligible public and private nonprofit institutions of higher education (IHEs) for activities such as the purchase of equipment, faculty development, curriculum development, tutoring, endowment development, and administrative improvements. To varying extents, the nine programs allow construction, maintenance, renovation, improvement of instructional facilities, or the acquisition of land on which to construct instructional or campus facilities. The appropriations acts of FY2012-FY2015 contained provisions allowing a portion of the appropriation to be used for elementary and secondary school construction, renovation, and modernization of a facility run by the Department of Education of the State of Hawaii that served a predominantly Native Hawaiian student body. provides general support for the institutions. §54D) may be used to reduce energy consumption at least 20% in publicly owned buildings, including K-12 schools and IHEs, or to support research in specific areas through expenditures on research facilities and research grants. Six of the programs for land-grant colleges allow construction or renovation of facilities at the institutions. University Research Facilities

The federal government appropriates funds for the construction and improvement of buildings and facilities occupied or used by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) (15 U.S.C. Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA)

The Department of Defense operates schools for the children of military members stationed in the United States and abroad.
By some measures, the United States spent over $50 billion on new construction, additions, and alterations in public elementary and secondary schools and public and private postsecondary institutions in 2012. Although state and local governments are traditionally responsible for the majority of facilities in public K-12 schools and postsecondary institutions, the federal government also provides some direct and indirect support for school infrastructure. Facilities at private institutions are funded primarily by donations, tuition, private foundations, endowments, and governments. The largest federal contributions are indirect—the forgone revenue attributable to the exemption of interest on state and local governmental bonds used for school construction, modernization, renovation, and repair; and other tax credits.
Federal direct support for school infrastructure is provided through loans and grants to K-12 schools serving certain populations or K-12 schools with specific needs. For example, there are grant programs for schools with a high population of students who are Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, Indians, children of military parents, individuals with disabilities, or deaf. Funding is also available to schools affected by natural disasters or located in rural areas. And there are programs to encourage the development of charter schools. Although the Department of Education administers several of the grant programs funding facilities at elementary and secondary schools, other agencies, such as the Department of the Interior and the Department of Defense, also administer programs.
At the postsecondary level, there are several programs to support institutions of higher education that serve large low-income or minority populations and to support research facilities. The allowable uses of funds in the programs authorized primarily by Titles III and V of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, and administered by the U.S. Department of Education variously include construction, maintenance, renovation, and improvement of instructional facilities and acquisition of land on which to construct instructional facilities. In addition, there are programs administered by other agencies, such as the National Endowment for the Humanities and the U.S. Department of Commerce, that support postsecondary research facilities, facility renovations at minority-serving postsecondary institutions, telecommunications, disaster relief at postsecondary institutions, and other uses.
This report provides a short description of federal allowances and programs that provide support for the construction or renovation of educational facilities. The allowances and programs are organized by the agency that administers or regulates the program. Appropriations and budget authorities are included for FY2014 and FY2015 or the most recent year available. These programs exist in various forms and responsibility for their administration is spread across many agencies; thus, the list of programs presented should not be considered a fully exhaustive list of all federally funded programs that support school facilities and infrastructure at least in part.