|
(v)Where projects are located in a municipality that
does not have an adopted electric code, projects must reasonably comply
with the National Electric Code, as published by the NFPA, as adopted
by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in accordance
with TOC, Chapter 1305. Where projects are located in a municipality
that has an adopted electric code, projects must reasonably comply
with the adopted electric code.
(vi)Where projects are located in a municipality that
does not have an adopted energy conservation code, projects must reasonably
comply with the International Energy Conservation Code, as published
by the International Code Council, as adopted by the State Energy
Conservation Office of Texas in accordance with Texas Health and Safety
Code, Chapter 388. Where projects are located in a municipality that
has an adopted energy conservation code, projects must reasonably
comply with the adopted energy conservation code.
(vii)Where projects are located in a municipality
that does not have an adopted swimming pool code, projects must reasonably
comply with the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, as published
by the International Code Council, as it existed on May 1, 2019. Where
projects are located in a municipality that has an adopted swimming
pool code, projects must reasonably comply with the adopted swimming
pool code.
(viii)Projects must reasonably comply with the industrialized
housing and building rules as adopted by the Texas Commission of Licensing
and Regulation in accordance with TOC, Chapter 1202.
(2)Third-party code compliance requirements.
(A)A school district shall require the prime design
professional of a capital improvement project to submit to the school
district a report identifying any construction code requirements that
the prime design professional believes, to the best of their knowledge
after performing research, will not be enforced by a state or local
authority having jurisdiction.
(B)A school district shall contract with a third-party
code compliance officer to enforce any construction code requirement
identified by a prime design professional pursuant to subparagraph
(A) of this paragraph as not enforced by a state or local authority
having jurisdiction and shall adjust the scope of services provided
by the third-party code compliance officer if an error is discovered
in the prime design professional's report.
(C)A school district shall hire a third-party code
compliance officer to have all of the duties and powers of a building
official, as defined by the required construction codes and to the
extent allowable by state law, to ensure compliance with any required
construction code provisions identified as not enforced by a state
or local jurisdiction with authority pursuant to subparagraphs (A)
and (B) of this paragraph.
(D)In the manner specified by TGC, §2269.058,
a school district shall procure the services of a third-party code
compliance officer required by subsection (j) of this section as a
professional service in accordance with the Texas Professional Services
Procurement Act, as established in TGC, Chapter 2254.
(E)A third-party code compliance officer must not
be a design professional responsible for the design of any portion
of the project, anyone employed by a design professional responsible
for the design of any portion of the project, a contractor responsible
for constructing any portion of the project, or anyone employed by
a contractor responsible for constructing any portion of the project.
A third-party code compliance officer may be a peer reviewer that
performs a peer review required for any storm shelters that are part
of the project.
(F)A third-party code compliance officer must have
a Certified Building Official designation from the International Code
Council (ICC). A third-party code compliance officer must also have
at least ten years of experience or equivalent experience as an architect,
engineer, inspector, contractor or superintendent of construction,
or any combination of these, at least five years of which have been
supervisory experience.
(G)A plan review performed by or under the supervision
of a third-party code compliance officer must be performed by a qualified
design professional or an independent third party qualified to certify
plans through the ICC for the appropriate building, mechanical, electrical,
or plumbing trade. Plan reviews performed under the supervision of
a third-party code compliance officer must be performed by a person
with at least five years of experience as an engineer or an architect.
(H)The following shall apply to a storm shelter where
a required construction code has a provision requiring a storm shelter
for certain projects.
(i)For the purposes of determining if a storm shelter
is required for a specific building area, a school district shall
require a third-party code compliance officer to accept, as a modification
of the code in lieu of meeting the requirement to provide a storm
shelter for that specific area, any written justification submitted
by the school district that purports that the intended use of the
specific building area that would be served by a storm shelter is
not used for educational purposes during normal school hours when
attendance is mandatory.
(ii)Where a storm shelter is required for new construction,
a school district shall require a third-party code compliance officer
to allow the occupant load for storm shelter design to be 110% of
maximum instructional capacity, as stated by the designated representative
of the school district in writing, even if this is significantly less
than the total occupant load used for other purposes such as fire
egress.
(iii)Where a storm shelter is required for additions,
a school district shall require a third-party code compliance officer
to allow the occupant load for storm shelter design to be based on,
prorating where only a portion of the school facility is considered,
110% of maximum instructional capacity, as stated by the designated
representative of the school district in writing, even if this is
significantly less than the total occupant load used for other purposes
such as fire egress.
(iv)For the purposes of determining if a storm shelter
can serve the occupants of a building that is located at a distance
from the storm shelter that is greater than a code-required maximum
distance, a school district shall require a third-party code compliance
officer to accept, as a modification of the code in lieu of meeting
the specific distance requirement, any written emergency operations
plan submitted by the school district that purports to provide early
notification to those occupants. School districts may use protections
provided in TEC, §37.108, to protect sensitive information.
(v)For the purposes of determining if a storm shelter
is required to be constructed at a school facility where applicable
construction codes require a storm shelter and a modular building
be installed as part of the project, a school district shall require
a third-party code compliance officer to consider as new construction
any modular building that is installed as part of the project, regardless
of whether it is relocatable.
(3)Other requirements.
(A)A capital improvement project for a school facility
subject to the standards in this section must comply with the 2010
Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design as
well as the Texas Accessibility Standards of 2012.
(B)A school district shall notify a design professional
in writing of any construction-related standard or expectation of
the school district for the project that is not otherwise established
or required by an applicable construction code as required in this
subjection. Where a school district contracts with a design professional
and that design professional subcontracts another design professional,
the school district need only notify the design professional that
has a contract with the school district.
(C)A school district shall consider as part of a capital
improvement project the use of designs, methods, and materials that
will reduce the potential for indoor air quality problems. A school
district may use the voluntary indoor air quality guidelines adopted
by the Texas Department of State Health Services under Texas Health
and Safety Code, Chapter 385; the "Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools"
program administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency;
or some other updated state approved guidelines or standards for indoor
air quality in response to communicable disease related public health
issues.
(D)A school district shall consider as part of a capital
improvement project the use of sustainable school designs. A sustainable
design is a design that minimizes a facility's impact on the environment
through energy and resource efficiency.
(k)Safety and security standards.
(1)Compliance requirements applicable to all instructional
facilities campus-wide. A capital improvement project of a school
district or an open-enrollment charter school must include campus-wide
implementation of the following provisions.
(A)Communications infrastructure. In accordance with
TEC, §37.108, a school district or an open-enrollment charter
school shall:
(i)develop a multi-hazard plan that provides measures
to ensure that school district communications technology and infrastructure
are adequate to allow for communication during an emergency;
(ii)implement measures to ensure every classroom and
portable classroom provides district employees, including substitute
teachers, access to a telephone, cellular telephone, or other electronic
communications device to allow immediate contact with district emergency
services or emergency services agencies, law enforcement agencies,
health departments, and fire departments; and
(iii)develop site plans and floor plans for a school
facility in accordance with TEC, §37.108(f).
(B)Access control. A school district or an open-enrollment
charter school shall develop a document that designates each exterior
door of each instructional facility campus-wide as either primary,
secondary, or non-designated entrances and shall ensure that the documented
designation of all exterior doors becomes part of the long-range facility
plan prior to commencement of construction of a capital improvement
project.
(2)Additional standards based on the project construction
budget. A school district shall approve a project construction budget
for a capital improvement project at completion of the design development
phase of the project and prior to commencement of the construction
documents phase. The project construction budget approved by the school
district shall determine how many of the additional safety and security
standards established in paragraph (3) of this subsection are required
for the project. A school district shall designate in writing which
of the additional safety and security standards in paragraph (3) of
this subsection have been approved by the school district board of
trustees for a capital improvement project and shall provide to the
prime design professional and each design professional of record written
documentation of the approved safety and security standards for the
proposed facility prior to commencement of the construction documents
phase of a capital improvement project. The following standards shall
apply to a capital improvement project for an instructional facility
until all instructional facilities campus-wide fully comply with all
of the additional safety and security standards specified in this
subsection.
(A)If a project construction budget is $1 million
to $5 million, the facility is required to comply with at least one
additional safety and security standard specified in paragraph (3)
of this subsection.
(B)If a project construction budget is $5 million
to $10 million, the facility is required to comply with at least two
additional safety and security standards specified in paragraph (3)
of this subsection.
(C)If a project construction budget is over $10 million,
the facility is required to comply with all of the additional safety
and security standards specified in paragraph (3) of this subsection.
(D)For a capital improvement project that includes
new construction, the new construction of an instructional facility
is required to comply with all three of the additional safety and
security standards specified in paragraph (3) of this subsection.
(3)Additional safety and security standards applicable
to all instructional facilities campus-wide. A school district or
an open-enrollment charter school must include campus-wide implementation
of the following standards in accordance with terms and requirements
of paragraph (2) of this subsection.
(A)Exterior door numbering. All instructional facilities
campus-wide, including portable, modular buildings, must include the
addition of graphically represented alpha-numerical characters on
both the interior and exterior of each exterior door location. The
characters may be installed on the door, or on at least one door at
locations where more than one door leads from the exterior to the
same room inside the facility, or on the wall immediately adjacent
to or above the door location. Characters shall comply with the IFC, §505.
The primary entrance of an instructional facility, as defined by subsection
(a)(23)(A) of this section, shall always be the first in the entire
sequence and is the only door location that does not require numbering.
The numbering sequence shall be clockwise and may be sequenced for
the entire campus or for each facility individually. The design professional
of record shall coordinate with school district personnel and local
emergency response personnel prior to incorporating exterior door
numbering characters and locations into the contract documents for
the facility or facilities specified to be included in a capital improvement
project. The design professional of record shall coordinate this requirement
with any and all accessibility requirements related to signage.
(B)Visitor management. All primary entrances of instructional
facilities campus-wide must include the following:
(i)an unobstructed line of sight of approaching visitors
through physical or digital means;
(ii)a physical barrier that prevents unassisted access
to the facility by a visitor; and
(iii)a location for a visitor check-in and check-out
process.
(C)Security cameras. All primary and secondary entrances
of instructional facilities campus-wide must include a security camera.
(4)Exceptions to additional standards based on cost.
A school district may opt out of the requirements specified in paragraph
(2) of this subsection if:
(A)the facility is scheduled to, according to the
long-range facilities plan, cease operations as an instructional facility
within three years of the project; and
(B)the five-year long-range facility plan clearly
states that, prior to the end date of the plan, the facility will
be compliant with at least two additional safety and security standards
specified in paragraph (2) of this subsection if ceasing operation
does not occur or operation resumes. The long-range facility plan
must specify which two additional safety and security standards will
be implemented.
(5)Public disclosure process. A school district board
of trustees or open-enrollment charter school governing body shall
ensure information or documents collected, developed, or produced
by the district as part of a capital improvement project are reviewed
to ensure that any project-specific safety and security information
is adjusted for disclosure if necessary to accommodate the requirement
for a district to use protections provided in TEC, §37.108, which
directs the school district to protect sensitive information, while
also providing general information to the public indicating district
compliance commitments made in accordance with this subsection.
The agency certifies that legal counsel has
reviewed the adoption and found it to be a valid exercise of the agency's
legal authority.
Filed
with the Office of the Secretary of State on September 22, 2021
TRD-202103744 Cristina De La Fuente-Valadez
Director, Rulemaking
Texas Education Agency
Effective date: October 12, 2021
Proposal publication date: April 9, 2021
For further information, please call: (512) 475-1497
|
