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Public Act 094-0225
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| SB0383 Enrolled |
LRB094 09159 NHT 39391 b |
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AN ACT concerning education.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections |
2-3.12, 3-14.20, and 3-14.21 and by adding Section 2-3.137 as |
follows:
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(105 ILCS 5/2-3.12) (from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.12)
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Sec. 2-3.12. School building code. To prepare for school |
boards with the
advice of the Department of Public Health, the |
Capital Development Board, and
the State Fire Marshal a school |
building code that will conserve the health and
safety and |
general welfare of the pupils and school personnel and others |
who
use public school facilities.
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The document known as "Efficient and Adequate Standards for |
the Construction
of Schools" applies only to temporary school |
facilities, new school buildings,
and additions to existing |
schools whose construction contracts are awarded
after July 1, |
1965. On or before July 1, 1967, each school board shall have
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its school district buildings that were constructed prior to |
January 1, 1955,
surveyed by an architect or engineer licensed |
in the State of Illinois as to
minimum standards necessary to |
conserve the health and safety of the pupils
enrolled in the |
school buildings of the district. Buildings constructed
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between January 1, 1955 and July 1, 1965, not owned by the |
State of Illinois,
shall be surveyed by an architect or |
engineer licensed in the State of Illinois
beginning 10 years |
after acceptance of the completed building by the school
board. |
Buildings constructed between January 1, 1955 and July 1, 1955 |
and
previously exempt under the provisions of Section 35-27 |
shall be surveyed prior
to July 1, 1977 by an architect or |
engineer licensed in the State of Illinois.
The architect or |
engineer, using the document known as "Building Specifications
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for Health and Safety in Public Schools" as a guide, shall make |
a report of the
findings of the survey to the school board, |
giving priority in that report to
fire safety problems and |
recommendations thereon if any such problems exist.
The school |
board of each district so surveyed and receiving a
report of |
needed recommendations to be made to improve standards of |
safety
and health of the pupils enrolled has until July 1, |
1970, or in case of
buildings not owned by the State of |
Illinois and completed between January
1, 1955 and July 1, 1965 |
or in the case of buildings previously exempt under
the |
provisions of Section 35-27 has a period of 3 years after the |
survey is
commenced, to effectuate those recommendations, |
giving first attention to the
recommendations in the survey |
report having priority status, and is authorized
to levy the |
tax provided for in Section 17-2.11, according to the |
provisions of
that Section, to make such improvements. School |
boards unable to effectuate
those recommendations prior to July |
1, 1970, on July 1, 1980 in the case of
buildings previously |
exempt under the provisions of Section 35-27, may petition
the |
State Superintendent of Education upon the recommendation of |
the Regional
Superintendent for an extension of time. The |
extension of time may be granted
by the State Superintendent of |
Education for a period of one year, but may be
extended from |
year to year provided substantial progress, in the opinion of |
the
State Superintendent of Education, is being made toward |
compliance.
However, for fire protection issues, only one |
one-year extension may be
made, and no other provision of this |
Code or an applicable code may
supersede this requirement.
For |
routine inspections, the State Fire Marshal or a qualified fire |
official to whom the State Fire Marshal has delegated his or |
her authority
officials shall
notify the Regional |
Superintendent, the district superintendent, and
provide |
written notice to the principal of the school in advance to |
schedule
a mutually agreed upon time for the fire safety check. |
However, no more than
2 routine inspections may be made in a |
calendar year.
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Within 2 years after the effective date of this amendatory |
Act of 1983,
and every 10 years thereafter, or at such other |
times as the State Board of
Education deems necessary or the |
regional superintendent so orders, each school
board subject to |
the provisions of this Section shall again survey its school
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buildings and effectuate any recommendations in accordance |
with the procedures
set forth herein. An architect or engineer |
licensed in the State of Illinois is
required to conduct the |
surveys under the provisions of this Section and shall
make a |
report of the findings of the survey titled "safety survey |
report" to
the school board. The school board shall approve the |
safety survey report,
including any recommendations to |
effectuate compliance with the code, and
submit it to the |
Regional Superintendent. The Regional Superintendent shall
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render a decision regarding approval or denial and submit the |
safety survey
report to the State Superintendent of Education. |
The State Superintendent of
Education shall approve or deny the |
report including recommendations to
effectuate compliance with |
the code and, if approved, issue a certificate of
approval. |
Upon receipt of the certificate of approval, the Regional
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Superintendent shall issue an order to effect any approved |
recommendations
included in the report. Items in the report |
shall be prioritized. Urgent
items shall be considered as those |
items related to life safety problems that
present an immediate |
hazard to the safety of students. Required items shall be
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considered as those items that are necessary for a safe |
environment but present
less of an immediate hazard to the |
safety of students. Urgent and required
items shall reference a |
specific rule in the code authorized by this Section
that is |
currently being violated or will be violated within the next 12 |
months
if the violation is not remedied. The school board of |
each district so
surveyed and receiving a report of needed |
recommendations to be made to
maintain standards of safety and |
health of the pupils enrolled shall effectuate
the correction |
of urgent items as soon as achievable to ensure the safety of
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the students, but in no case more than one year after the date |
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of the State
Superintendent of Education's approval of the |
recommendation.
Required items shall be corrected in a timely |
manner, but in
no case more than 5 years from the date of the |
State Superintendent
of
Education's approval of the |
recommendation. Once each year the school
board shall submit a |
report of progress on completion of any
recommendations to |
effectuate compliance with the code. For each year that the
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school board does not effectuate any or all approved |
recommendations, it shall
petition the Regional Superintendent |
and the State Superintendent of Education
detailing what work |
was completed in the previous year and a work plan for
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completion of the remaining work. If in the judgement of the |
Regional
Superintendent and the State Superintendent of |
Education substantial progress
has been made and just cause has |
been shown by the school board, the petition
for a one year |
extension of time may be approved.
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As soon as practicable, but not later than 2 years after |
the effective date
of this amendatory Act of 1992, the State |
Board of Education shall combine
the document known as |
"Efficient and Adequate Standards for the Construction of
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Schools" with the document known as "Building Specifications |
for Health and
Safety in Public Schools" together with any |
modifications or additions that may
be deemed necessary. The |
combined document shall be known as the "Health/Life
Safety |
Code for Public Schools" and shall be the governing code for |
all
facilities that house public school students or are |
otherwise used for public
school purposes, whether such |
facilities are permanent or temporary and
whether they are |
owned, leased, rented, or otherwise used by the district.
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Facilities owned by a school district but that are not used to |
house public
school students or are not used for public school |
purposes shall be
governed by separate provisions within the |
code authorized by this Section.
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The 10 year survey cycle specified in this Section shall |
continue to
apply based upon the standards contained in the |
"Health/Life Safety Code
for Public Schools", which shall |
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specify building standards for buildings that
are constructed |
prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1992 and
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for buildings that are constructed after that date.
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The "Health/Life Safety Code for Public Schools" shall be |
the governing code
for public schools; however, the provisions |
of this Section shall not preclude
inspection of school |
premises and buildings pursuant to Section 9 of the Fire
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Investigation Act, provided that the provisions of the |
"Health/Life Safety Code
for Public Schools", or such |
predecessor document authorized by this Section as
may be |
applicable are used, and provided that those inspections are |
coordinated
with the Regional Superintendent having |
jurisdiction over the public school
facility.
Nothing in this |
Section shall be construed to prohibit the State Fire Marshal |
or a qualified
a local fire official to whom the State Fire |
Marshal has delegated his or her authority
department, fire |
protection district, or the Office of the State Fire Marshal
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from
conducting a fire safety check in a public school. The |
Regional Superintendent shall address any violations that are |
not corrected in a timely manner pursuant to subsection (b) of |
Section 3-14.21 of this Code.
Upon being notified by a
fire |
official that corrective action must be taken
to resolve a |
violation, the school board shall take corrective action within
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one year. However, violations that present imminent danger must |
be
addressed immediately.
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Any agency having jurisdiction beyond the scope of the |
applicable
document authorized by this Section may issue a |
lawful order to a school board
to effectuate recommendations, |
and the school board receiving the order shall
certify to the |
Regional Superintendent and the State Superintendent of
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Education when it has complied with the order.
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The State Board of Education is authorized to adopt any |
rules that are
necessary relating to the administration and |
enforcement of the provisions of
this Section. The code |
authorized by this Section shall apply only to those
school |
districts having a population of less than 500,000 inhabitants.
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In this Section, a "qualified fire official" means an |
individual that meets the requirements of rules adopted by the |
State Fire Marshal in cooperation with the State Board of |
Education to administer this Section. These rules shall be |
based on recommendations made by the task force established |
under Section 2-3.137 of this Code.
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(Source: P.A. 92-593, eff. 1-1-03.)
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(105 ILCS 5/2-3.137 new)
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Sec. 2-3.137. Inspection and review of school facilities; |
task force.
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(a) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules for the
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documentation of school plan reviews and inspections of school |
facilities,
including
the responsible individual's signature. |
Such documents shall be kept on file
by the
regional
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superintendent of schools.
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(b) The State Board of Education shall convene a task force |
for the
purpose of reviewing the documents required under rules |
adopted under
subsection (a) of this
Section and making |
recommendations regarding training and
accreditation
of |
individuals performing reviews or inspections required under |
Section
2-3.12,
3-14.20, 3-14.21, or 3-14.22 of this Code, |
including regional
superintendents of schools and others |
performing reviews or inspections
under the authority of a |
regional superintendent (such as consultants,
municipalities, |
and fire protection districts).
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The task force shall consist of
all of the following |
members:
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(1) The Executive Director of the Capital Development |
Board
or his or her designee and a staff representative of |
the Division of Building Codes and Regulations.
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(2) The State Superintendent of Education or his or her
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designee.
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(3) A person appointed
by the State Board of Education.
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(4) A person appointed by an organization representing |
school
administrators.
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(5) A person appointed by
an organization representing |
suburban school administrators and school board
members.
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(6) A person appointed by an organization representing |
architects.
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(7) A person appointed by an organization representing |
regional
superintendents of schools.
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(8) A person appointed by an organization representing |
fire inspectors.
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(9) A person appointed by an organization representing |
Code
administrators.
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(10) A person appointed by an organization |
representing plumbing
inspectors.
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(11) A person appointed by an organization that |
represents both parents
and teachers.
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(12) A person appointed by an organization |
representing municipal
governments in the State.
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(13) A person appointed by the State Fire Marshal from |
his or her office.
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(14) A person appointed by an organization |
representing fire chiefs.
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(15) The Director of Public Health or his or her |
designee.
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(16) A person appointed by an organization |
representing structural engineers.
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(17) A person appointed by an organization |
representing professional engineers.
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The task force shall issue a report of its findings to the |
Governor and the
General Assembly no later than January 1, |
2006.
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(105 ILCS 5/3-14.20)
(from Ch. 122, par. 3-14.20)
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Sec. 3-14.20. Building plans and specifications. To |
inspect the building
plans and specifications, including but |
not limited to plans and specifications
for the heating, |
ventilating, lighting, seating, water supply, toilets and
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safety against fire of public school rooms and buildings |
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submitted to him by
school boards, and to approve all those |
which comply substantially with the
building code authorized in |
Section 2-3.12.
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If a municipality or,
in the
case of an unincorporated |
area, a county or, if applicable, a fire
protection district |
wishes to be notified of plans and specifications received
by a |
regional office of education for any future
construction or |
alteration of a public school facility located within that
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entity's
jurisdiction, then the entity must register this wish |
with the regional
superintendent of schools. Within 10 days |
after the regional superintendent of
schools receives the
plans |
and specifications from a school board and prior to the bidding |
process,
he or she shall notify, in writing, the registered |
municipality and, if
applicable, the
registered fire |
protection district where the school that is being
constructed |
or altered lies that plans
and
specifications have been |
received. In the case of an unincorporated area, the
registered |
county
shall be notified. If the municipality, fire protection |
district, or county
requests a review of
the plans and |
specifications, then the school board shall submit a copy of |
the
plans and
specifications. The municipality and, if |
applicable, the fire protection
district or the county
may |
comment in writing on the plans and specifications based on the |
building
code
authorized in Section 2-3.12, referencing the |
specific code where a discrepancy
has been
identified, and |
respond back to the regional superintendent of schools within
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15 days
after a copy of the plans and specifications have been |
received or, if needed
for plan review, such additional time
as |
agreed to by the regional superintendent of
schools. This |
review must be at no cost to the school district.
The local |
fire department or
fire protection district where the
school is |
being constructed or altered may request a review of the plans
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and specifications. The regional superintendent of schools |
shall submit
a copy of the plans and specifications within 10 |
business days after the
request. The fire department or fire |
protection district may comment
on the plans and specifications |
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based on the building code
authorized in Section 2-3.12 of the |
Code and, if any
corrective action must be taken, shall respond |
to the
regional superintendent of schools within 15 days after
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receipt of the plans and specifications. The Office of the
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State Fire Marshal may review the plans and specifications at
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the request of the fire department or fire protection
district. |
The review must be conducted at no cost to the
school district.
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If
such plans and
specifications
are not approved or denied |
approval by the regional superintendent of schools
within 3 |
months after the date on which they are submitted to him or |
her, the
school board may submit such plans and specifications |
directly to the State
Superintendent of Education for approval |
or denial.
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(Source: P.A. 92-593, eff. 1-1-03.)
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(105 ILCS 5/3-14.21) (from Ch. 122, par. 3-14.21)
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Sec. 3-14.21. Inspection of schools.
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(a) The regional superintendent shall inspect and survey |
all
public
schools under his or her supervision and notify the |
board of education, or the
trustees of schools in a district |
with trustees, in writing before July 30,
whether or not the |
several schools in their district have been kept as required
by |
law, using forms provided by the State Board of Education which |
are based on
the Health/Life Safety Code for Public Schools |
adopted under Section 2-3.12. The regional
superintendent |
shall report his or her findings to the State Board of
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Education on
forms provided by the State Board of Education.
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(b) If the regional superintendent determines that a school |
board has
failed in a timely manner to correct urgent items |
identified in a previous
life-safety report completed under |
Section 2-3.12 or as otherwise previously
ordered by the |
regional superintendent, the regional superintendent shall |
order
the school board to adopt and submit to the regional |
superintendent a plan for
the immediate correction of the |
building violations. This plan shall be
adopted following a |
public hearing that is conducted by the school board on the
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violations and the plan and that is preceded by at least 7 |
days' prior notice
of the hearing published in
a newspaper of |
general circulation within the school district. If the regional
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superintendent determines in the next annual inspection that |
the plan has not
been completed and that the violations have |
not been corrected, the regional
superintendent shall submit a |
report to the State Board of Education with a
recommendation |
that the State Board withhold from payments of general State |
aid
due to the district an amount necessary to correct the |
outstanding violations.
The State Board, upon notice to the |
school board
and to the regional superintendent, shall consider |
the report at a meeting of
the State Board, and may order that |
a sufficient amount of general State aid be
withheld from |
payments due to the district to correct the violations. This
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amount shall be paid to the regional superintendent who shall |
contract on
behalf of the school board for the correction of |
the outstanding violations.
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(c) The Office of the State Fire Marshal or a qualified |
fire official, as defined in Section 2-3.12 of this Code, to |
whom the State Fire Marshal has delegated his or her authority |
shall conduct an annual fire safety inspection of each school |
building in this State. The State Fire Marshal or the fire |
official shall coordinate its inspections with the regional |
superintendent. The inspection shall be based on the fire |
safety code authorized in Section 2-3.12 of this Code. Any |
violations shall be reported in writing to the regional |
superintendent and school board and shall reference the |
specific code sections where a discrepancy has been identified |
within 15 days after the inspection has been conducted. The |
regional superintendent shall address those violations that |
are not corrected in a timely manner pursuant to subsection (b) |
of this Section. The inspection must be at no cost to the |
school district.
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(Source: P.A. 90-464, eff. 8-17-97.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |