Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Article 3 of Chapter 9 of Title 22.1 a section numbered 22.1-141.3 as follows:

§22.1-141.3. Public School Assistance Fund and Program.

A. There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund to be known as the Public School Assistance Fund (the Fund). The Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. All funds appropriated for such purpose and any gifts, donations, grants, bequests, and other funds received on its behalf shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the Fund. Interest earned on moneys in the Fund shall remain in the Fund and be credited to it. Any moneys remaining in the Fund, including interest thereon, at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Fund. Moneys in the Fund shall be used solely for the purposes of providing grants to local school divisions through the Public School Assistance Program created pursuant to subsection B. Expenditures and disbursements from the Fund shall be made by the State Treasurer on warrants issued by the Comptroller upon written request signed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

B. There is hereby created the Public School Assistance Program (the Program) for the purpose of providing grants from the Fund to school boards to be used solely for the purposes of repairing or replacing the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, electrical, or plumbing systems or the roofs of public elementary and secondary school buildings in the local school division and any equipment or infrastructure that was damaged as a direct result of a defect in such systems or roofs. [ Grants from the Fund may also be provided for the purpose of funding the financing, including principal and interest payments, of any of the aforementioned repairs or replacements, so long as such financing costs were incurred on or after January 1, 2011. ] The Department of Education shall administer the Program and shall establish such guidelines and procedures as it deems necessary for the administration of the Program, including guidelines and procedures for grant applications, awards, and renewals. [ The guidelines shall establish a minimum amount for a grand award, but the Department of Education may provide for variable minimums depending on the type of project to be funded by the grant. ] Any school board in the Commonwealth may apply for Program grants. The Department of Education shall give priority in the award of grants to school boards that demonstrate the greatest need based on the condition of existing school building systems, roofs, equipment, or infrastructure and the ability to pay for the repair or replacement of such systems, roofs, equipment, or infrastructure.