H.R. 9467: Green Ribbon Act of 2026 (119th Congress) Bill Summary

The bill would expand and update the Department of Education’s Green Ribbon Schools Program, which recognizes schools for environmental and health-related practices. It would also create a related award program for museums, libraries, and other nonformal learning institutions, and establish a small new office within the Department of Education to support school facilities and sustainability work.

What the bill does for schools

The bill keeps the Green Ribbon Schools Program in place and directs the Secretary of Education to broaden it so that more schools and school districts can participate, including schools that are not currently seeking an award. The program would encourage schools to:

Help students become environmentally literate;
Reduce energy and water use and costs;
Improve school resilience, including against natural disasters;
Improve indoor air quality and other health conditions in schools; and
Work toward lower environmental impacts from buildings, grounds, and operations.

The bill also requires the Department of Education to review and update the award criteria within 6 months, publish the updated criteria in the Federal Register, and allow public comment before finalizing them. The updated criteria would be aligned with science and guidance from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Each year, states would be able to nominate schools and districts for recognition, and the Department of the Interior could nominate schools run by or funded through the Bureau of Indian Education. Schools that earn the award would be recognized for progress toward three broad goals: environmental literacy, reducing environmental impacts, and improving environmental health for students and staff.

The bill says the Secretary of Education may provide a $10,000 honorarium to each award winner, if funds are available. It also reserves at least $250,000 for the Secretary of the Interior to support Bureau of Indian Education schools participating in the program.

State grant program

The bill creates a competitive grant program for state educational agencies. States that receive grants would use the money to expand green school efforts and help more schools become award winners. To apply, states must agree to spend at least 40% of grant funds on underresourced schools.

States could use the grants for activities such as:

State-level Green Ribbon awards and recognition events;
Partnerships with nonprofits, utilities, businesses, and government entities;
Training and professional development for schools;
Sharing best practices and resources; and
Promoting green school practices more broadly.

Grant awards would be between $250,000 and $1,000,000 and could be used for up to 3 years. The Department of Education would also have to report annually on the program, including how grants are used, what works, what challenges exist, and how states plan to reach low-income, rural, remote, and other underresourced schools.

Program for museums, libraries, and similar institutions

The bill would also create a Green Ribbon award program at the Institute of Museum and Library Services for nonformal learning institutions such as libraries, museums, arboretums, botanical gardens, nature centers, zoos, aquariums, and similar organizations.

That program would recognize institutions that:

Help visitors learn about connections between the environment, buildings, and quality of life;
Reduce their environmental and carbon footprints; and
Improve the environmental health of visitors and staff.

Each national award winner under this program would receive a $10,000 honorarium.

New office at the Department of Education

The bill would create an Office of School Infrastructure and Sustainability within the Office of the Secretary of Education, staffed by 3 full-time employees. Its duties would include helping run a technical assistance center for school infrastructure, coordinating with other federal agencies, providing guidance and training to states and school districts, collecting best practices, recommending changes to school construction and renovation regulations, and helping expand the Green Ribbon program.

The bill authorizes $2 million for fiscal year 2027 for this office.

Funding

Overall, the bill authorizes $10 million for fiscal year 2027 for the rest of the act, and such sums as may be needed for fiscal years 2028 through 2032. It also directs the Secretary of Education to reserve 10% of appropriated funds for the museum/library program and allows up to 5% of appropriated funds for administrative expenses.