| (E) A school district shall ensure a contract for professional
design services for a capital improvement project contains the scope
of services defined with reasonable specificity, including contractual
time parameters, milestones, or deadlines and shall ensure that contract
terms conform to the standard of care established in Local Government
Code, §271.904, which requires architectural and engineering
services to be provided with the professional skill and care ordinarily
provided by competent architects or engineers practicing under same
or similar circumstances and professional license.
(F) In accordance with TOC, §1051.703(d), designation
as the "prime design professional" does not expand, limit, or otherwise
alter the scope of a design professional's practice nor does it allow
a design professional to fulfill the requirements of a professional
license for which they have not been lawfully granted.
(5) Requirements for professional services of third-party
consultants.
(A) When procuring the professional services of a third-party
consultant for a capital improvement project, a school district must
adhere to the requirements established in TGC, Chapter 2269.058, and
this section. A school district is required to select a qualified
provider of a professional service for which it contracts under this
subsection in accordance with TGC, Chapter 2254.
(B) A school district shall require any design professional
contractually engaged to procure professional design services from
any other design professional as a subconsultant to select and subcontract
the professional design services based on the qualification-based
selection process established in TGC, Chapter 2254.
(C) A school district shall ensure, through confirmation
from a local or state building official or a third-party code compliance
officer as provided for in subsection (j)(2) of this section, that
all required inspections, testing, or permits required for a capital
improvement project have been performed in accordance with contractual
terms and in accordance with all applicable building code specifications.
(D) In accordance with TGC, §2269.058, a school
district shall, independently of the contractor, construction manager-at-risk,
or design-build firm, provide or contract for the construction materials
engineering, testing, and inspection services and the verification
testing services necessary for acceptance of the facility by the district.
(E) A school district shall ensure, through confirmation
from a local or state building official or a third-party code compliance
officer, that all code compliance issues and requirements for a capital
improvement project have been addressed or performed, including inspections,
testing, and permits that are required.
(F) Any contract with a third-party code compliance
officer shall be in accordance with terms and requirements specified
by the International Code Council and shall be procured in accordance
with TGC, Chapter 2254, as required by TGC, §2269.058.
(G) A building permit or local government fee for code
compliance, a contract with a third-party code compliance officer,
a third-party inspector, or consultant shall be the obligation and
responsibility of the school district, procured in accordance with
TGC, Chapter 2254, as required by TGC, §2269.058, and consistent
with the terms of subsection (j) of this section.
(H) In accordance with TEC, §44.901 and §44.902,
a school district may contract for energy or water conservation measures
and must procure the services for energy or water savings performance
contracts according to the procedures established for professional
services in TGC, §2254.004.
(6) Contract compliance and construction quality control
assurances. A school district shall ensure that services sought by
or provided to the district for a school facility capital improvement
project, including, but not limited to, professional design services,
construction services, construction administration services, third-party
inspection services, third-party testing services, or third-party
code compliance services, are provided through a project-specific
written agreement that:
(A) conforms to applicable state laws and any requirements,
standards, or codes adopted by a local authority having jurisdiction;
(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
Cont'd... |
