Washington, D.C. — The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for dedicated federal funding to adequately and equitably update school infrastructure. K-12 infrastructure upgrades are necessary for the safe reopening of schools during the pandemic and crucial to securing long-term education, climate, economic, and social justice benefits. President Joe Biden has called for investing in resilient, clean energy schools in his Build Back Better agenda and included federal spending for school infrastructure in his American Jobs Plan. Congress now has an opportunity through economic recovery legislation to provide school districts with the capital funding they need to build safe and healthy schools for generations of students to come.
On Wednesday, please join the Center for American Progress and experts from across the education field for the final event in CAP’s Quality Education series to discuss the importance of federal funding for school infrastructure in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond; the health and learning benefits of investing in school infrastructure; school budgets and financing sources; and the clean energy opportunities that schools can access with the right support, all through an equity and social justice lens.
The event comes the same week CAP experts released a new issue brief looking at how bringing schools out of disrepair and investing in school infrastructure can support efforts to fight climate change.
Keynote speaker:
Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA)
Panelists:
Rhys Clemmons, Middle School Science Teacher, Chicago
Mary Filardo, Executive Director, 21st Century School Fund
Gilbert Rosas, Energy Education Specialist, Stockton Unified School District, Stockton, CA
Lee Smith, Senior Policy Advisor, Climate Jobs National Resource Center
Moderator:
Laura Jimenez, Director of Standards and Accountability, K-12 Education, Center for American Progress
If you have questions for our panel, please submit them on Twitter using the hashtag #QualityEdChat or via email to [email protected].
WHEN:
May 19, 2021
1:00 p.m. ET – 2:00 p.m. ET
WHERE:
You must RSVP at this link to watch the livestream event.
This event will be live-captioned at americanprogress.org/livecaptioning.
Closed-caption-enabled video will be posted following the conclusion of the event.