2021 State of our Schools

The 2021 State of our Schools provides an overview of research on the impact and importance of public school facilities to education, health, the environment, communities, and resiliency. It analyzes facilities spending and investment in the years from FY09 following the great recession to FY2019. This report was conducted by the 21st Century School Fund in partnership with the National Council on School Facilities and International WELL Building Institute.


2016 State of our Schools

The 2016 State of our Schools provides a state and national analysis of 20 years (FY1994-2013) of maintenance and operations spending and capital construction investments. It provides a standards framework for what is needed for K-12 public school facilities in the future. This report is a joint project of the National Council on School Facilities, 21st Century School Fund, and the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council.


Priority Actions for Adequate & Equitable U.S. PK-12 Infrastructure

There are 55 priority actions identified to address the systemic problems of delivering adequate and equitable public school facilities. These priority actions will support the essentials of a comprehensive local, state, and federal system for adequate and equitable PK–12 infrastructure. They were synthesized and selected from 200 solution ideas generated through our process and are considered to have the greatest potential for development, replication, and scaling. This report is a joint project of the Center for Cities + Schools, the National Council on School Facilities, 21st Century School Fund, and the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council.


How Crumbling School Facilities Perpetuate Inequality

With Congress and the president pledging to address America’s long-term infrastructure needs, the challenges of maintaining school facilities are gaining more visibility. It is about time, too, because our public school facility infrastructure needs significant upgrading. The average public school building was built around 1968 — more than 50 years ago.