A safe and modern learning environment is integral to raising student achievement. Too many students, teachers and other school staff suffer in overcrowded, aging and unhealthy buildings; these conditions make it more difficult to reach the high academic standards set for all schools.

The legislation that passed the U.S. House of Representatives, H.R. 3021, authorizes $6.4 billion annually and would:

·         Help improve deteriorating and outdated school buildings, and create more than 100,000 well-paying construction jobs;

·         Advance AFT-supported goals promoting green, sustainable schools that meet widely recognized standards, and which enhance learning by providing adequate lighting, air quality and good acoustics; and

·         Provide an assurance that wage protections under the Davis-Bacon Act are extended to construction projects.

Passage of H.R. 3021 is a solid step toward improving schools both by addressing school conditions that compromise learning and teaching and by providing the safe and modern schools our children and educators deserve.

Now we must pass companion legislation in the U.S. Senate.