Washington, D.C.—Renovating school buildings will benefit students, the economy, and the environment according to a report released today by the Joint Economic Committee Democrats. Improvements including modern ventilation systems and retrofitted electric school buses are proven to have benefits for students’ school attendance, test scores, and health.

U.S. school buildings are on average roughly 49 years old and 53% of buildings have never undergone any major renovations. Research shows that each dollar spent on renovating school structures to use modern building codes can save $11 in avoided costs in the future.

“Every child deserves a quality education and a school building where they don’t have to worry about poor ventilation or breathing in dangerous diesel fumes,” said JEC Chairman Martin Heinrich. “I’m proud to fight for legislation to revitalize school infrastructure and electrify school buses, which will improve our kids’ health and boost their academic achievement. When we invest in our kids, we invest in our future.”

“Chronic neglect of America’s public schools has forced students and teachers across the country to learn and work in outdated and hazardous school buildings. Moreover, dilapidated and poorly ventilated school facilities pose significant health threats that make it harder for teachers to teach and students to learn," said Ranking Member Scott, House Committee on Education and the Workforce (VA-03). “The Rebuild America's Schools Act invests $130 billion in our nation’s physical and digital infrastructure, improves students’ academic recovery efforts, and creates more than 2 million jobs over the next five years. It is far past time to improve public education infrastructure."

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided funding for a new Clean School Bus Program that allocates $5 billion over five years to replace existing diesel school buses with zero-emission and low-emission models. 

Read the full report here.

###