Session Title:
Implications of Federal Policy on School Facilities

Session Description:
Federal policy plays a defining role in shaping investment in school infrastructure, influencing market conditions, funding availability, and long-term planning across the education sector. This executive-level briefing and roundtable offers a focused overview of the current federal policy environment and its implications for school facilities.

Anisa Heming, chair of the Build America’s School Infrastructure Coalition (BASIC) and nationally recognized school facilities expert, joins Ally Talcott, executive director of BASIC and federal policy expert, to share the top five insights leaders need to understand the evolving landscape of federal policy and school infrastructure. The session will also examine key findings from the newly released State of Our Schools report, which outlines the gap between existing investment levels and the nation’s school facility needs.

The briefing will conclude with an interactive discussion, providing participants with opportunity to ask questions, share perspectives, and connect policy insights to strategic and business considerations.

1. Understand the role of federal policy in shaping school infrastructure investment and funding.
2. Identify emerging opportunities and risks related to federal actions affecting school facilities.
3. Interpret findings from the State of Our Schools report and their relevance to executive planning.
4. Apply federal policy insights to inform strategic, operational, and business decisions.

Anisa Heming's Bio
Anisa Heming is Chair of the Build America School Infrastructure Coalition (BASIC), where she advocates for a strong federal role in ensuring every child has access to high-quality public school facilities. She also serves as director of the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council, leading national and global efforts to advance sustainability, health, wellness, and environmental literacy in K–12 school systems.

Ally Talcott's Bio
Ally Talcott, Executive Director BASIC - Ally serves as the Executive Director of the Build America School Infrastructure Coalition (BASIC) national coalition of civic, education, labor, and industry organizations advocating for federal investments in modernizing public school infrastructure. She oversees BASIC's strategic direction, operations, and communications, aligning efforts to promote healthy, safe, and modern public-school facilities nationwide. She championed the Rebuild America’s Schools Act (RASA), a proposed $130 billion investment to ensure safe, healthy, and sustainable learning environments for students and educators and was instrumental in the appropriations from Congress that led to the establishment of the National Center on School Infrastructure and the Supporting America’s School Infrastructure (SASI) grants, enhancing federal support for state and local educational agencies.