Supporting America's School Infrastructure Grant

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced that the California Department of Education (CDE) is among the recipients of the Supporting America’s School Infrastructure (SASI) Grant Program. Through a SASI Grant, CDE will receive $4.99 million over a 5-year period toward improving and maintaining school facilities in small school districts (SSDs) across California.

These funds are limited to providing technical assistance and creating resources to build capacity for SSDs and are not designed to provide funding to local educational agencies (LEAs). CDE is unable to directly allocate funding to address infrastructure projects on school sites.

Through the SASI Grant, the CDE will develop a system of support for SSDs through the following activities:

• Direct Technical Assistance which will be provided by career school facility professionals to select SSD sites. Activities will include:
  • Assess facility needs, estimate costs, and prioritize projects.
  • Train SSD leadership on identifying funding options.
  • Provide assistance on developing various facility contracts (i.e., testing, architect, Inspector of Record, construction).

At this time, the CDE has not selected the SSDs that will receive assistance through this grant program. Currently, it is estimated that approximately 150 to 165 school sites will be provided with the opportunity to participate in the program. The CDE is working with the USDOE to finalize the list of recipients and will provide updates when they become available.

• State and County Collaboration
  • Collaborate with facilities and maintenance staff at various County Offices of Education (COEs) to develop a network of facility practitioners to sustain ongoing support for SSDs.
  • Quarterly convenings will be offered through the CDE and COEs which will be tailored to meet the needs of the challenges faced by SSDs.
  • Partner with other state agencies to address the challenges of accessing state funding programs for districts with limited expertise/capacity.
• Centralized Online Resources which will included, but not limited to:
  • Dedicate a portal or webpage to school facilities maintenance to support the three pillars: maintenance assessment, state and national funding programs, contract development and management.
  • Provide standardized forms and tools for district use.
  • Develop an on-demand library of resources including webinars, short videos, and additional learning tools.
• State Level Expertise on Facility Maintenance
  • Hire and fund one full-time equivalent position to serve as a statewide School Facilities Maintenance Specialist. This position will:
    • serve as a liaison with the COEs to further advance the work of maintaining school sites.
    • build capacity of the CDE/Office of Learning Environment staff to support SSDs.

For more information on the SASI Grant program, please visit the U.S. Department of Education Supporting America's School Infrastructure Grant Program website .