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TITLE 19EDUCATION
PART 2TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY
CHAPTER 61SCHOOL DISTRICTS
SUBCHAPTER CCCOMMISSIONER'S RULES CONCERNING SCHOOL FACILITIES
RULE §61.1040School Facilities Standards for Construction on or after November 1, 2021

    (B) contains all services required to be provided in the agreement, prohibits the school district from waiving any services or directing any changes where recommended by an applicable design professional, and requires all changes to the construction documents to be documented in writing and signed by the prime design professional, the contractor, and the school district;

    (C) specifies the level of observation, testing, and documentation required to be conducted through the agreement to determine and certify conformance and completion of services provided;

    (D) requires the use of a prime design professional to coordinate and prepare a proposed statement of any special inspections or testing required in accordance with the required construction codes, customizing the proposed statement based on knowledge about the project regardless of whether the statement requires testing and inspection to be less than the default requirements of the required construction codes, including materials testing, project-specific requirements for special inspections and testing, specific wind and seismic requirements, frequency of the special inspections, or tests to be performed in accordance with the referenced standard defining the inspection;

    (E) ensures that construction documents are of sufficient clarity to indicate the timing, location, nature, and extent of specific inspections and tests required to be performed by the school district through the local authority having jurisdiction, the third-party code compliance officer, any third-party special inspector or inspection agency, or the prime design professional if qualified as a special inspector and specified as a contractual term;

    (F) ensures that a building permit is issued by a local authority having jurisdiction or a third-party code compliance officer in which a building permit shall be considered by the school district to indicate that the proposed statement of special inspections is approved and constitutes the code-required inspections and tests;

    (G) requires the contractor, before beginning construction, to submit to the school district, prime design professional, and the building official or third-party code compliance officer an acknowledgement of the contractor's responsibility to notify quality assurance personnel that will be performing inspections and tests when the project is ready for those specific inspections and tests and the contractor's responsibility to request and obtain a final report from each quality control person performing the code-required inspections and tests before requesting a certificate of occupancy;

    (H) requires third-party inspectors to perform the code-required inspections and tests, to submit inspection and testing reports to the school district and the prime design professional, and to submit a final report to the school district, prime design professional, building official or third-party code compliance officer, and contractor, upon request by the contractor, indicating any known deficiencies discovered during the project that have not yet been addressed at the time of the request;

    (I) requires special inspection and testing reports to be submitted to the building official and the prime design professional and any discrepancies to be brought to the attention of the contractor, and if not corrected, to be brought to the attention of the building official, the prime design professional, and the school district;

    (J) specifies treatment for timely performance and documentation required in response to requests for information, change documents, or change orders;

    (K) specifies payment certification provisions requiring notarized contractor signature on the application for Certificate of Substantial Completion and specifies that the school district must provide certification of payment for any of the school district's separate consultants or contractors;

    (L) requires clear indication of the date of substantial completion on the payment certification, specifies the punch list provided by the contractor to address all remaining areas of the project, and documents all known school district accepted nonconforming work;

    (M) limits required certifications of work requested or required by the school district to work required under the issuing party's services agreement;

    (N) ensures that contract terms for design professional services are consistent and aligned and do not conflict or overlap with regard to contractual responsibilities assigned to the prime design professional, any design professional of record, the contractor, any prime subcontractors, a third-party building code compliance officer, or a third-party special inspector or consultant; and

    (O) ensures appropriate specifications or treatment for the school district's acceptance or acknowledgement of a contractor's final completion as the owner of the facility.

(f) Certification of compliance with the school facilities standards.

  (1) A school district, design professional, contractor, and prime subcontractors, if applicable, shall certify compliance with all applicable standards required in subsections (d) and (g)-(k) of this section as follows.

    (A) School district certifications.

      (i) Certifications related to educational adequacy under subsection (d) of this section.

        (I) To provide an educationally adequate school facility, the school district shall certify compliance that the long-range facility plan was developed, presented to the school district board of trustees, and provided in a timely manner to the prime design professional.

        (II) To provide an educationally adequate instructional facility or specialized instructional facility, the school district shall certify compliance that the educational specifications were developed, approved by the school district board of trustees, and provided in a timely manner to the architect.

        (III) To provide an educationally adequate school facility, the school district shall certify compliance that a capital improvement project has been designed by the design professional of record in reasonable accordance to meet the goals and expectations established in the long-range facility plan and, if applicable, educational specifications.

      (ii) Certifications related to standards for space for instructional facilities under subsection (g) of this section and standards associated with the method of compliance for instructional facility space approved by the school district board of trustees under the quantitative method of compliance in subsection (h) of this section or the qualitative method of compliance in subsection (i) of this section.

        (I) To provide adequate instructional spaces, where required, the school district shall certify compliance with applicable provisions of subsection (g) of this section.

        (II) To provide adequate space in instructional facilities, the school district shall certify that the most appropriate method of compliance was presented to and approved by the school district board of trustees prior to commencement of design development.

      (iii) Certifications related to safety and security standards under subsection (k) of this section. To continue to provide a safe and secure environment, the school district shall certify compliance with the applicable safety and security standards in subsection (k) of this section approved by the school district and provided as directives in a timely manner to the prime design professional and to other design professionals of record, contractors, and prime subcontractors.

    (B) Design professional certifications.

      (i) Certifications related to educational adequacy under subsection (d) of this section. The design professional of record for a capital improvement project shall certify compliance that the project has been designed in reasonable accordance with the long-range facility plan and educational specifications, if applicable.

      (ii) Certifications related to standards for space for instructional facilities under subsection (g) of this section and to standards associated with the method of compliance approved by the school district board of trustees for instructional facility space under subsection (h) of this section related to the quantitative method of compliance or under subsection (i) of this section related to the qualitative method of compliance. To provide adequate instructional spaces and adequate space in instructional facilities, the architect of record shall certify compliance that the project has been designed in reasonable accordance with the standards for space in subsection (g) of this section and with the standards associated with the method of compliance approved by the school district board of trustees under subsection (h) or (i) of this section.

Cont'd...

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