Our Vision

Imagine: Every child across America, regardless of their zip code, is studying in buildings that are comfortable every day of the year; where the air, walls, and water are clean and healthy. A school in your neighborhood that was once crumbling has become an oasis: a place where people can get connected to jobs, health care, child care, and seek shelter on extremely hot and cold days. All the while, rooftop solar panels and community gardens are showing students what science and a healthy planet can do. You have a good new job maintaining those very same solar panels; your friend has a job teaching that science class, and another friend is employed as a school counselor.

The school emits zero carbon. But it does so much more than that. Social connections are forged. Public education no longer perpetuates systemic racism. The future of Black and Brown communities now feels safe and exciting. All because we chose to fight for what we deserve—and won: a Green New Deal for Public Schools in every American city and town. A Green New Deal for Public Schools in every American city and town .

The Bill

On July 15, 2021, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) unveiled the Green New Deal for Public Schools Act , introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives alongside 32 cosponsors. Along with The Democratic Socialists of America’s Green New Deal Campaign Committee and teacher unions nationwide, we’re taking a “whole child” approach to building better public schools. This looks like:

$486 billion towards Green Facilities

The bill will fully fund green retrofits for the highest-need schools and offer grants covering part of retrofits, or no to low-interest loans for the middle and top thirds. This initiative will remove mold, asbestos, and other common toxic materials, center an accessibility focused infrastructure design, eliminate 78 million metric tons of CO2 emissions, and engage students in sustainability activities and awareness.

$250 billion towards Resource Increases

The bill will fund 1.3 million jobs per year, including expanded social service programming and curriculum development at high-need schools. The funding will allow Local Educational Agencies across the country to hire and train hundreds of thousands of educators and support staff, specifically culturally responsive, trauma-informed specialists.

$100 million towards Community Engagement

A Green New Deal for Schools is a critical step towards building a better world, and that means initiatives in schools should extend outwards and benefit the local community. Funding will be given towards conducting extensive community outreach, determining historical and current sources of educational disparities, alongside encouraging equitable, local economic development. Public schools will be places where decades of systemic racism and opportunity gaps for Black and Brown students are reversed through healthy, supportive infrastructure and resources.

$695 billion for Accessibility

The bill will directly quadruple Title I funding to support school districts with students living in poverty as well as increase funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, to support students with disabilities.