Below we recommend 5 action steps for every district to position itself to harness new federal funding to support healthy, sustainable, resilient school facilities.

Put together your “IRA team” and begin learning and sharing about the opportunities for your district within the Inflation Reduction Act (start here!). Initially, this might include your CFO and facilities director. Over time, the group might include Superintendents, members of your school board or school building committees, CFOs, CBOs, facilities managers, school and municipal sustainability leaders, utility representatives, and private sector entities with whom you partner on facilities design, construction, and decision-making. You may also want to identify a budget for professional services (tax counsel, accounting, energy credit experts, etc.) to support your district staff with claiming these credits.

If your school or district put certain clean energy equipment into service into service during a fiscal year that started after December 31, 2022, you are likely eligible to claim clean energy tax credits. To learn more, check out “How do schools get reimbursed by the Federal government?” and don’t forget to tell us about the investments your school made that qualify for reimbursement through the Inflation Reduction Act.

To begin the reimbursement process, schools must pre-file with the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS recommends pre-filing as soon as possible to meet the May 15, 2024 deadline.

Review active projects to identify all qualifying clean energy equipment and understand what potential bonus credits might be applicable. Discuss current opportunities with all relevant project managers, designers, construction managers, and vendors. Determine what changes to current practices or plans need to be put into place to make best use of available clean energy tax credits (e.g. opting for domestically manufactured products, complying with labor standards).

Given the long time horizon over which these credits are available, districts should revisit their facilities master plans and capital plans through the lens of the Inflation Reduction Act funding opportunities.

Here are some activities to consider:

• Hold strategic planning sessions and engage stakeholders about the new landscape and opportunities in the Inflation Reduction Act. Identify all “Energy Communities” within your district.

• Invest in a Decarbonization Plan to understand how to sequence and incorporate clean energy machines into your district facilities through time. This Decarbonization Roadmap Guide for School Building Decision Makers can help guide your district through this work.

• Connect with your utility to understand opportunities for financial and technical support on clean energy projects. For example, some utilities have partnered with school districts on electric school buses while others offer compensation to school districts for hosting energy storage.

• Update relevant documents (RFQs, RFPs, contracts for design and construction professionals) to incorporate mention of the Inflation Reduction Act. Consider asking potential partners about their experience and capabilities as they relate to the Inflation Reduction Act. Check out this procurement toolkit for high-performance buildings.

• Engage local stakeholders about the opportunity for local funding to unlock additional federal resources. Your community’s local dollars will go farther and be matched with federal funds.

• Consider how expected tax credits received for one piece of clean energy equipment could fund the next tax credit-eligible investment. For example, expected tax credits for ground-source heat pumps could be reinvested to install and own a solar energy system in the district.