SBA Capital Fund

Facility Opportunity Initiative

The State of Rhode Island is committed to providing high-quality educational opportunities for all public-school students. The SBA Capital Fund is used to repair and improve public school facilities throughout the State. Funds are distributed on a priority basis to ensure the greatest impact on facility gaps in the State’s priority areas. In Fiscal Year 2026, $6M is available for projects in addition to the $115M allocated for Housing Aid commitments and the two Statewide School Construction Bonds.

Every child deserves to attend a 21st century learning environment. This is not a reality for many Rhode Island students that enroll in our neediest districts. Consistent with State Priorities, RIDE’s Strategic Plan, and Rhode Island General Law, the Rhode Island Department of Education created a new initiative in FY 2022 to expand opportunities for all Rhode Island students. 

To achieve the maximum impact, the FY 2026 Facility Opportunity Initiative will be limited to communities with housing aid reimbursement rates above 65% These communities enroll most of the State’s Free and Reduced Lunch students, Multilingual learners, and Differently Abled students. These resources will allow LEAs to fund projects that otherwise would not advance or would rely on issuing high interest bonds. The focus of this initiative is to provide transformative 21st century learning spaces to students in these communities. Preference is given to community spaces (i.e., library, media center, science labs, cafeteria, auditorium) that are used by the most students at each school.

• Facility Opportunity Initiative presentation
• FY 2026 Facility Opportunity Initiative awards

Previous SBA Capital Fund Awards

The Council on Elementary and Secondary Education has approved over $140M of School Building Authority Capital Fund projects since FY 2016. 

• FY 2016 SBA Capital Fund Projects
• FY 2017 SBA Capital Fund Projects
• FY 2018 SBA Capital Fund Projects
• FY 2019 SBA Capital Fund Projects
• FY 2021 SBA Capital Fund Projects
• FY 2022 SBA Capital Fund - Facility Equity Initiative
• FY 2022 SBA Capital Fund - ARTS Initiative Grants
• FY 2023 SBA Capital Fund - Facility Equity Initiative
• FY 2023 SBA Capital Fund - 21st Century Technology and Equipment Grant
• FY 2023 SBA Capital Fund - Menu for Success
• FY 2023 SBA Capital Fund - Learning Inside Out
• FY 2023 SBA Capital Fund - The W.E.L.L. Initiative
• FY 2024 SBA Capital Fund - Get the Foam Out
• FY 2025 SBA Capital Fund - ARTS Act II
• FY 2025 SBA Capital Fund - 21st Century Technology and Equipment Grant, Round 2