Regular Session 2023-2024 House Bill 2435 P.N. 3395

PRINTER'S NO. 3395

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

No.

2435

Session of

2024

INTRODUCED BY FIEDLER, POWELL, KHAN, PROBST, KRAJEWSKI, HILL-

EVANS, GIRAL, DONAHUE, NEILSON, SANCHEZ, MERSKI, BOYD AND

CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, JUNE 26, 2024

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, JUNE 26, 2024

AN ACT

Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An

act relating to the public school system, including certain

provisions applicable as well to private and parochial

schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the

laws relating thereto," providing for school facilities;

establishing the School Facilities Office and the Public

School Facility Advisory Committee; and repealing provisions

relating to building condition assessments.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known

as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding an

article to read:

ARTICLE VII-A

SCHOOL FACILITIES

Section 701-A. Definitions.

The following words and phrases when used in this article

shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the

context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Committee." The Public School Facility Advisory Committee

established under section 704-A.

"Department." The Department of Education of the

Commonwealth.

"Office." The School Facilities Office established under

section 702-A(a).

"Public school facility." A structure, building or facility

used wholly or in part by a school entity, intermediate unit or

cyber charter school for academic purposes or administrative

support.

"School entity." A school district, area career and

technical school, charter school or regional charter school

operating within this Commonwealth.

Section 702-A. School Facilities Office.

(a) Establishment.--The School Facilities Office is

established within the department.

(b) Duties.--The office shall have the following duties:

(1) Assist school entities with assessing their

infrastructure needs to provide quality, safe, healthy,

sustainable, effective and equitable learning environments.

(2) Assist school entities with securing and leveraging

Federal, State and local resources to improve public school

facilities.

(3) Coordinate public school facility planning and

improvement across agencies.

(4) Provide technical assistance regarding school

infrastructure improvement to high-need school districts as

determined by the office.

(5) Offer professional development to school entity

leaders.

(6) Administer the department's responsibilities for all

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associated grants, reimbursements, approvals and reviews

under the following:

(i) Article VII.

(ii) Article XXVI-J .

(iii) Article XXVI-L.

(7) Establish and maintain the public school facility

inventory required under section 703-A(c).

(8) Develop, in consultation with the committee

established under section 704-A(a), the criteria for the

Statewide facility assessment required under section 705-A(b)

(1).

(9) Contract with one or more third-party vendors to

complete the Statewide facility assessment required under

section 705-A(b)(1).

of money appropriated for grants or reimbursement of school

construction projects to support administrative costs for the

office.

Section 703-A. Public school facility inventory.

(a) Data submission.--No later than February 1, 2025, the

department shall establish a form and electronic process by

which each school entity, intermediate unit or cyber charter

school can submit the information required under subsection (c).

(b) Duties.--No later than April 1, 2025, each school

entity, intermediate unit or cyber charter school shall submit

the information required under subsection (c) to the department

in a form and manner determined by the department.

department shall collect the following information from a school

entity, intermediate unit or cyber charter school:

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(1) The name of the school entity, intermediate unit or

cyber charter school that uses the public school facility.

(2) The name or address of the public school facility.

(3) The grades served in the public school facility, if

applicable.

(4) The number of students enrolled in the public school

facility, if applicable.

(5) Whether the public school facility is an

administrative building.

(6) The number of stories in the public school facility.

(7) The size of the public school facility in square

footage, including total square footage and the square

footage of the building's roof.

(8) The acreage of the public school facility site.

(9) The ownership status of the public school facility,

including the following:

(i) Owned by the school entity, intermediate unit or

cyber charter school.

(ii) Leased to the school entity, intermediate unit

or cyber charter school, including an indicator of

whether the school entity, intermediate unit or cyber

charter school is financially responsible for routine and

preventative facility maintenance costs.

(iii) Other status.

(10) The age of the public school facility, if known,

including dates and brief descriptions of any major

renovations.

(d) Technical assistance.--The department shall provide

technical assistance to each school entity, intermediate unit or

cyber charter school to ensure a complete inventory under

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subsection (c).

(e) Annual update.--Beginning in the 2025-2026 school year

and each school year thereafter, the department shall prompt

each school entity, intermediate unit or cyber charter school to

review and update the information under subsection (c) as

necessary.

(f) Public posting.--The department shall maintain the

information under subsection (c) on the department's publicly

accessible Internet website in a searchable and sortable format.

Section 704-A. Public School Facility Advisory Committee.

(a) Establishment.--The Public School Facility Advisory

Committee is established within the office.

(b) Duties.--The committee shall have the following duties:

(1) Make recommendations to the office pertaining to

public school facility issues, including program

requirements, guidelines, funding structures, regulations and

support provided by the department.

(2) Periodically review the maintenance of the public

school building inventory under section 703-A(c) and provide

recommendations to the office regarding the maintenance of

the inventory.

(3) Work in consultation with the office on developing

uniform criteria and measures for the Statewide facility

condition assessment required under section 705-A(b)(1).

(4) Make recommendations to the office and General

Assembly on how to ensure that each school entity addresses

deficiencies identified in the Statewide facility condition

assessment required under section 705-A(b)(1), including, if

applicable, the best use of the rating scale developed under

section 705-A(a)(2).

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following members:

(1) The division chief for the office.

(2) An individual appointed by the President pro tempore

of the Senate.

(3) An individual appointed by the Speaker of the House

of Representatives.

(4) An individual appointed by the Minority Leader of

the Senate.

(5) An individual appointed by the Minority Leader of

the House of Representatives.

(6) The executive director of the State Public School

Building Authority.

(7) Two individuals recommended by the Pennsylvania

Association of School Business Officials with experience in

school facility operations.

(8) An individual recommended by the Pennsylvania

Association of School Administrators.

(9) An architect recommended by the American Institute

of Architects of Pennsylvania with experience in school

building projects.

(10) An engineer recommended by the Pennsylvania Society

of Professional Engineers with experience in school building

projects.

(11) An individual recommended by the Pennsylvania State

Building and Construction Trades Council.

(12) An individual jointly recommended by the

Pennsylvania State Education Association and the American

Federation of Teachers Pennsylvania.

(13) A public health official recommended by the

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division chief for the office.

(14) An individual recommended by the chairperson of the

Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

(d) Meetings.--

(1) The committee shall meet at the call of the division

chief for the office.

(2) The committee shall hold its first meeting within 15

days of the effective date of this paragraph.

(e) Compensation.--The members of the committee shall serve

without compensation but shall be reimbursed for their necessary

expenses actually incurred in the performance of their duties.

Section 705-A. Statewide facility condition assessment.

(a) Development.--

(1) No later than May 1, 2025, the office, in

consultation with the committee, shall develop a uniform set

of criteria and measures for evaluating the physical

attributes and educational suitability of each school

entity's facilities for the purposes of a Statewide facility

condition assessment under subsection (b). The following

shall apply:

(i) The physical attributes shall include all of the

following:

(A) Structural components, including walls,

floors, roofs, windows and doors.

(B) System components, including mechanical,

electrical, plumbing and heating, ventilation and air

conditioning.

fixtures.

(D) Exterior components, including finishes and

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fixtures.

(ii) The evaluation may include a record of recently

completed and scheduled major maintenance projects

specified under section 2604-J(b).

(2) No later than May 1, 2025, the office, in

consultation with the committee, may develop a rating scale

to determine the relative physical condition of each public

school facility.

(b) Assessment.--

(1) No later than June 1, 2025, the office shall

initiate a process to contract with a third-party vendor to

complete a Statewide facility condition assessment of each

public school facility using the criteria and measures

developed by the office under subsection (a). The assessment

may be completed in phases.

(2) Subject to available funding and notwithstanding

section 2602-L, the department may use up to $10,000,000 in

the 2024-2025 fiscal year and $10,000,000 in the 2025-2026

fiscal year from money in the School Environmental Repairs

Program Restricted Account to finance the Statewide facility

condition assessment.

Section 2. Section 2605-J of the act is repealed:

[Section 2605-J. Building condition assessments.

(a) Duties of department.--

(1) The department shall develop guidelines for school

entities to voluntarily report information related to school

building safety, inventory and condition. The guidelines

shall include a building condition assessment to be

voluntarily completed every 10 years for school entities that

includes, but is not limited to, a projection of costs to

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maintain and renovate existing school buildings.

(2) The department shall post completed building

condition assessments on the department's publicly accessible

Internet website.

(3) The department shall provide additional points under

the funding rubric contained in section 2604-J(d) for grants

applied for by school entities that complete building

condition assessments.

(b) Completion incentive.--A school entity that completes a

building condition assessment shall receive a 2% increase above

the amount calculated under section 2606-J. The department shall

develop a process, in coordination with the application process

in section 2602-J, for awarding an enhanced reimbursement for

completing a building condition assessment.]

Section 3. This act shall take effect in 30 days.

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