H.R. 604 would reauthorize certain qualified tax credit bonds and amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to create a new bond program to fund school construction and renovations. The bill also would create a need-based grant program for improvement and construction of public schools and increase funding for construction grants under the federal Impact Aid Program. In addition, H.R. 604 would direct the Department of Education, through the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), to study the physical condition of all public schools in the United States and would direct the department to create the Office of School Infrastructure and Sustainability to oversee programs or initiatives affecting public school facilities, such as those included in the bill. Finally, the bill would create a grant program to identify and repair buildings affected by pyrrhotite (a mineral in some concrete mixtures that can cause foundations to crack).
