41-5711. Minimum school facility adequacy requirements; definition
A. The board, as determined and prescribed in this chapter, shall provide funding to school districts for new construction as the number of pupils in the district fills the existing school facilities and requires more pupil space.
B. School buildings in a school district are adequate if all of the following requirements are met:
1. The buildings contain sufficient and appropriate space and equipment that comply with the minimum school facility adequacy guidelines established pursuant to subsection F of this section. The state shall not fund facilities for elective courses that require the school district facilities to exceed minimum school facility adequacy requirements. The board shall determine whether a school building meets the requirements of this paragraph by analyzing the total square footage that is available for each pupil in conjunction with the need for specialized spaces and equipment.
2. The buildings are in compliance with federal, state and local building and fire codes and laws that apply to the particular building, except that a school with an aggregate area of less than five thousand square feet is subject to permitting and inspection by a local fire marshal and is only subject to regulation or inspection by the office of the state fire marshal if the county, city or town in which the school is located does not employ a local fire marshal. An existing school building is not required to comply with current requirements for new buildings unless this compliance is specifically mandated by law or by the building or fire code of the jurisdiction where the building is located.
3. The building systems, including roofs, plumbing, telephone systems, electrical systems, heating systems and cooling systems, are in working order and are capable of being properly maintained.
4. The buildings are structurally sound.
C. The standards that shall be used by the board to determine whether a school building meets the minimum adequate gross square footage requirements are as follows:
1. For a school district that provides instruction to pupils in programs for preschool children with disabilities, kindergarten programs and grades one through six, eighty square feet per pupil in programs for preschool children with disabilities, kindergarten programs and grades one through six.
2. For a school district that provides instruction to up to eight hundred pupils in grades seven and eight, eighty-four square feet per pupil in grades seven and eight.
3. For a school district that provides instruction to more than eight hundred pupils in grades seven and eight, eighty square feet per pupil in grades seven and eight or sixty-seven thousand two hundred square feet, whichever is more.
4. For a school district that provides instruction to up to four hundred pupils in grades nine through twelve, one hundred twenty-five square feet per pupil in grades nine through twelve.
5. For a school district that provides instruction to more than four hundred and up to one thousand pupils in grades nine through twelve, one hundred twenty square feet per pupil in grades nine through twelve or fifty thousand square feet, whichever is more.
6. For a school district that provides instruction to more than one thousand and up to one thousand eight hundred pupils in grades nine through twelve, one hundred twelve square feet per pupil in grades nine through twelve or one hundred twenty thousand square feet, whichever is more.
7. For a school district that provides instruction to more than one thousand eight hundred pupils in grades nine through twelve, ninety-four square feet per pupil in grades nine through twelve or two hundred one thousand six hundred square feet, whichever is more.
D. The board may modify the square footage requirements prescribed in subsection C of this section or modify the amount of monies awarded to cure the square footage deficiency pursuant to this section for particular school districts based on extraordinary circumstances for any of the following considerations:
1. The number of pupils served by the school district.
2. Geographic factors.
3. Grade configurations other than those prescribed in subsection C of this section.
E. In measuring the square footage per pupil requirements of subsection C of this section, the board shall:
1. Use the projected one hundredth day average daily membership for the current school year.
2. For each school, use the lesser of either:
(a) Total gross square footage.
(b) Student capacity multiplied by the appropriate square footage per pupil prescribed by subsection C of this section.
3. Consider the total space available in all schools in use in the school district, except that the board shall allow an exclusion of the square footage for certain schools and the pupils within the schools' boundaries if the school district demonstrates to the board's satisfaction unusual or excessive busing of pupils or unusual attendance boundary changes between schools.
4. Compute the gross square footage of all buildings by measuring from exterior wall to exterior wall. Square footage used solely for district administration, storage of vehicles and other nonacademic purposes shall be excluded from the net square footage.
5. Include all portable and modular buildings.
6. Include in the net square footage new construction funded wholly or partially by the board based on the square footage funded by the board. If the new construction is to exceed the square footage funded by the board, the excess square footage shall not be included in the net square footage if any of the following applies:
(a) The excess square footage was constructed before July 1, 2002 or funded by a class B bond, impact aid revenue bond or capital outlay override approved by the voters after August 1, 1998 and before June 30, 2002 or funded from unrestricted capital outlay expended before June 30, 2002.
(b) The excess square footage of new school facilities does not exceed twenty-five percent of the minimum square footage requirements pursuant to subsection C of this section.
(c) The excess square footage of expansions to school facilities does not exceed twenty-five percent of the minimum square footage requirements pursuant to subsection C of this section.
7. Exclude square footage built under a developer agreement according to section 15-342, paragraph 33 until the board provides funding for the square footage under section 41-5741, subsection O.
8. Include square footage that a school district has leased to another entity.
F. The board shall adopt rules establishing minimum school facility adequacy guidelines. The guidelines shall provide the minimum quality and quantity of school buildings and facilities and equipment necessary and appropriate to enable pupils to achieve the academic standards pursuant to section 15-203, subsection A, paragraphs 12 and 13 and sections 15-701 and 15-701.01. At a minimum, the board shall address all of the following in developing these guidelines:
1. School sites.
2. Classrooms.
3. Libraries and media centers, or both.
4. Cafeterias.
5. Auditoriums, multipurpose rooms or other multiuse space.
6. Technology.
7. Transportation.
8. Facilities for science, arts and physical education.
9. Other facilities and equipment that are necessary and appropriate to achieve the academic standards prescribed pursuant to section 15-203, subsection A, paragraphs 12 and 13 and sections 15-701 and 15-701.01.
10. Appropriate combinations of facilities or uses listed in this section.
G. The board may convene subcommittees as needed on specific issues, including school facility safety standards. Notwithstanding any other law, a school district that receives grant monies from the building renewal grant fund established by section 41-5731 or monies from the new school facilities fund established by section 41-5741 shall consider school facility safety standards when completing approved projects or constructing new school facilities with monies received from those funds.
H. The board shall consider the facilities and equipment of the schools with the highest academic productivity scores, as prescribed in section 41-5702, subsection A, paragraph 6, subdivision (d), and the highest parent quality ratings in the establishment of the guidelines.
I. The board may consider appropriate combinations of facilities or uses in assessing and curing existing deficiencies pursuant to section 41-5702, subsection A, paragraph 1 and in certifying plans for new school facilities pursuant to section 41-5702, subsection C, paragraph 2.
J. If the board makes any changes to the minimum adequacy requirements prescribed in this section, the board shall provide a fiscal impact statement of the effect of the proposed changes to the joint committee on capital review for review.
K. For the purposes of this section, " student capacity" means the capacity adjusted to include any additions to or deletions of space, including modular or portable buildings at the school. The board shall determine the student capacity for each school in conjunction with each school district, recognizing each school's allocation of space as of July 1, 1998, to achieve the academic standards prescribed pursuant to section 15-203, subsection A, paragraphs 12 and 13 and sections 15-701 and 15-701.01.