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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| SENATE BILL |
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| INTRODUCED BY WAUGH, RAFFERTY, BOSCOLA, BRUBAKER, EARLL, O'PAKE, ORIE, PICCOLA, WARD AND WONDERLING, MARCH 19, 2009 |
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| REFERRED TO EDUCATION, MARCH 19, 2009 |
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| AN ACT |
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1 | Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An |
2 | act relating to the public school system, including certain |
3 | provisions applicable as well to private and parochial |
4 | schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the |
5 | laws relating thereto," providing for a prototypical school |
6 | facility design clearinghouse. |
7 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
8 | hereby enacts as follows: |
9 | Section 1. The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known |
10 | as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding a |
11 | section to read: |
12 | Section 732.1. Prototypical School Facility Design |
13 | Clearinghouse.--(a) (1) The Department of Education shall |
14 | establish a central clearinghouse of prototypical school |
15 | facility designs for access by school entities. |
16 | (2) In order to receive the State reimbursement factor |
17 | provided for in section 2574, a school entity must use a |
18 | prototype design in the construction of school facilities. |
19 | (3) The department may exempt a school entity from |
20 | participating in the program for a particular project, if the |
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1 | school entity demonstrates that: |
2 | (i) the designs in the clearinghouse are not feasible for |
3 | that particular project due to specific geographic or other |
4 | limitations of that area; or |
5 | (ii) the project involves remodeling, rehabilitating or |
6 | expanding an existing structure. |
7 | The department shall provide notice to a school entity that is |
8 | exempt from using a design in the clearinghouse under this |
9 | paragraph. The notice shall also be made available to the public |
10 | by the school entity. |
11 | (4) The Department of Education shall compile necessary |
12 | publications and a computer database to make the information on |
13 | prototype designs available for review to school entities and |
14 | the public at large. |
15 | (5) For purposes of this section, the Department of |
16 | Education shall divide this Commonwealth into the following |
17 | regions: northwest, northeast, southeast, southwest, north |
18 | central and south central. The department shall designate which |
19 | counties are in which region by grouping counties together based |
20 | on geographic proximity. |
21 | (b) Design professionals registered in this Commonwealth may |
22 | submit plans for inclusion in the computer database that have |
23 | been submitted and approved by the Department of Education in |
24 | accordance with section 731. The original design professional of |
25 | record shall retain ownership of a prototype design. |
26 | Prototypical school facility designs submitted shall include |
27 | information that the Department of Education determines is |
28 | necessary and appropriate to facilitate this section. |
29 | (c) The Department of Education shall review and evaluate |
30 | plans submitted pursuant to this section for inclusion in the |
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1 | clearinghouse using standards which promote the following: |
2 | (1) The use of design principles to achieve the highest |
3 | standards of health, safety, accessibility, environmental |
4 | protection and energy efficiency. |
5 | (2) The academic and technological needs of students. |
6 | (3) The use of cost-effective design and construction |
7 | techniques, including the use of straight-line, right-angle |
8 | design principles and avoiding the use of curved and |
9 | nonsymmetrical design. |
10 | (4) The use of design principles that allow for expansion of |
11 | school facilities to accommodate future growth in student |
12 | population. |
13 | (5) The use of durable materials in construction. |
14 | (6) The preservation of open space. |
15 | (d) The department shall group the designs accepted for the |
16 | clearinghouse by the regions established under subsection (a) |
17 | (5), based on energy needs for heating and cooling, building |
18 | size, average school entity population in the region, layout of |
19 | the building, whether one story or multiple stories, and |
20 | structural requirements due to climatic or geographic |
21 | difficulties. |
22 | (e) The Legislative Budget and Finance Committee shall |
23 | conduct a study of the department's program to determine the |
24 | savings incurred by school entities that have participated in |
25 | the program. The study shall be conducted at the conclusion of |
26 | the fifth year of operation and shall include program |
27 | participation for the five-year period from inspection until its |
28 | fifth anniversary. The study shall be presented within six |
29 | months of its commencement to chairpersons of the Education |
30 | Committee of the Senate and the Education Committee of the House |
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1 | of Representatives. |
2 | (f) The Department of Education shall adopt rules necessary |
3 | to implement this section. |
4 | (g) As used in this section, the term "school entity" means |
5 | a school district, intermediate unit, area vocational-technical |
6 | school or charter school operating within this Commonwealth |
7 | under provisions of this act. |
8 | Section 2. This act shall take effect in 180 days. |
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