Iowa Department of Education

The school building of the future needs to be designed as a learning center for the entire community and involve many more members of the community in the school's design and planning.  This idea of citizen participation reflects John Dewey's assertion that we not only need education in democracy, but also democracy in education. By engaging students, parents, educators and a wide variety of citizens in planning and designing schools as centers of community, the best aims of a democratic society will be served in both process and product.

The approval process required for the construction of school buildings requires that plans and specifications for all new school buildings, building additions, alterations and renovations used for school functions must be submitted to the Iowa State Building Code Bureau, a Division of State Fire Marshal's Office , prior to the start of construction.  It is no longer necessary to submit plans to the Iowa Department of Education.  Plans and specifications should be submitted at the time that they are submitted to contractors for bidding purposes.  These plans should be prepared and sealed by an architect or an engineer licensed to practice in Iowa (Iowa Code 544A)  .  Fire alarm plans and sprinkler plans and specifications are required for the submittal, along with the plan review fee and the plan submittal sheets.  The state is required to make comments on these documents within sixty days.

All new construction of school facilities used for educational use requires an architect. School districts are governmental entities that are empowered by law to enter into contracts for the construction of public improvements.  If the estimated total cost of a public improvement exceeds the competitive bid threshold of $100,000, the governmental entity must follow the competitive bid law (Iowa Code 26.3) and have an engineer licensed under chapter 542B, a landscape architect licensed under chapter 544B, or an architect registered under chapter 544A prepare plans and specifications, and calculate the estimated total cost of a proposed public improvement.  Public improvement (chapter 26.2) means a building or construction work which is constructed under the control of a governmental entity and is paid for in whole or in part with funds of the governmental entity, including a building or improvement constructed or operated jointly with any other public or private agency, but excluding emergency work or repair or maintenance work performed by employees of a governmental entity.  For school districts, examples of public improvement projects include school facilities, transportation facilities, and athletic complex facilities.

Competitive quotations for public improvement contracts (chapter 26.14) shall be required for a public improvement having an estimated total cost that exceeds the applicable threshold amount of $57,000 for a school district having a population of fifty thousand or more or the threshold amount of $40,000 for a school district having a population of less than fifty thousand, but is less than the competitive bid threshold of $100,000.  When a competitive quotation is required, the governmental entity shall make a good faith effort to obtain quotations for the work from at least two contractors regularly engaged in such work prior to letting a contract.  Quotations may be obtained from contractors after the governmental entity provides a description of the work to be performed, including plans and specifications prepared by an architect, landscape architect, or engineer. 

For new buildings or if site improvements are part of the project, a site plan showing compliance with State Accessibility Codes, Iowa Administrative Code 661-Chapter 302 and Chapter 18, is required.

Projects meeting the following definition must submit a Life Cycle Cost Analysis prior to construction:  "...any public agency shall prepare a Life Cycle Cost Analysis for any new construction having 20,000 square feet of usable floor space which is heated or cooled by a mechanical or electrical system or for any renovation where additions or alterations exceed 50 percent of the value of the facility and will effect an energy system."  Iowa Code 470 

Boiler and/or Elevator Inspections, if applicable, are handled by the Division of Labor.   

The following legislative initiatives that were passed in the 2006 legislative session have an effect on construction of school facilities:

Iowa Code Chapter 26 Public Construction Bidding (effective January 1, 2007)

If the estimated total cost of a public improvement exceeds the competitive bid threshold of one hundred thousand dollars, or the adjusted competitive bid threshold established in section 314.1B, the governmental entity (state, political subdivisions of the state, public school corporations, and all officers, boards, or commissions empowered by law to enter into contracts for the construction of public improvements, excluding the state board of regents and the state department of transportation) shall advertise for sealed bids for the proposed public improvement by publishing a notice to bidders as provided in section 362.3.  Additionally, the governmental entity may publish a notice in a relevant contractor organization publication and a relevant contractor plan room service with statewide circulation, provided that a notice is posted on a website sponsored by either a governmental entity.  The notice to bidders shall be published more than twenty days but not more than forty-five days before the date for filing bids.

Specific areas mentioned in Chapter 26 are the following:

1. Notice of hearing (Iowa Code section 73A.2). The school district must fix a time and place for hearing, and give notice by publication in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the district at least ten days before the hearing before entering into any contract for public improvement costing $100,000 or more. [This was increased, effective January 1, 2007, from the former threshold of $25,000.]

3. Failure to set and receive security deposit (section 73A.18). When receiving bids for a public improvement costing $100,000 or more, the district must require that all bids be accompanied by a deposit of money (certified check or share draft) in an amount equal to at least five percent, but not more than ten percent of the estimated total cost of the work. The amount of the deposit must be named in the advertisement for bids.

NOTE: If local board policy sets a lower threshold for bids than does state law, the district must comply with both the above public notice and security deposit requirements. The new law on this issue is HF 2713 which created new Chapter 26 of the Iowa Code. It establishes three tiers of procedures for governmental entities, including school districts, for public improvements, non-emergency repair or maintenance work not done by school district employees, and structure demolition. In very broad terms, new Chapter 26 does the following:

The table above is meant to provide a broad overview only and is not to be relied upon as legal advice. As always, when in doubt, contact your school attorney for guidance.

2006 Iowa Acts, Senate File 2272, Use of LOSST for School Infrastructure -
2006 Iowa Acts, Senate File 2272, Section 52 requires that any school system that utilizes local sales and services tax moneys for school infrastructure, must comply with the state building code in the absence of a local building code.  Because K-12 educational buildings, not located in jurisdictions which have been delegated enforcement authority from the State Fire Marshal, must already be submitted to this Office, the practical effects of this new law are the following.  Plans for educational projects, which are required to be submitted to the State Fire Marshal's Office on or after January 1, 2007, will be reviewed for compliance with both the State Fire Code and State Building Code, if the project is located in a jurisdiction that utilizes local sales and services tax moneys for school infrastructure and if the project is not subject to a local building code.  

2006 Iowa Acts, House File 2797, Submitting Construction Plans for Review and Approval and Construction Inspections of Buildings Subject to State Plans Review -
2006 Iowa Acts, House File 2797, Section 72 requires that any non-state owned building, whose construction is paid for wholly or in part with state appropriated funds, must be submitted to the State Building Code Bureau for construction plans review and approval, if it is built in a jurisdiction without local building code enforcement.  Local building code enforcement must include both the adoption and enforcement of a local building code through plan reviews and inspections. The requirement to submit plans begins on January 1, 2007; however any project having reached the point of owner approved, design development documents on or before January 1, 2007 will not be required to submit plans. 

2006 Iowa Acts, House File 2797, Section 72 also mandates that the State Building Code Bureau begin conducting construction inspections of buildings subject to State plans review, with the exclusion of additions, renovations and repairs. This includes all state-owned buildings and non-state owned buildings which are funded wholly or in part with state appropriated funds if constructed in areas without local building code enforcement.  For the first two years of this program, it is anticipated that most of these inspections will be carried out by a third-party inspection contractor.  Inspections are targeted to begin March 1, 2007 and they will be funded through an inspection fee which has yet to be determined.  Projects which are subject to these inspections and which obtain approval for construction from this Office, on or after February 1, 2007 should budget an amount not less than $2,000, in order to cover the cost of the anticipated inspection fees. 

K-12 schools will not be subject to these building code inspections based solely upon the new statute, 2006 Iowa Acts, Senate File 2272, Section 52, Use of LOSST for School Infrastructure. K-12 school will be subject to these building code inspections if they are constructed in whole or in part with state appropriated money and are built in an area without local building code adoption and enforcement.

 Contact:  Gary Schwartz

Links

Links below are to topics such as maintenance, construction, environmental issues, safety, design planning, design costs, financing, and security for school facilities.

American Institute of Architects AIA helps to locate an architect firm and provides information about the role of an architect for planning new school facilities.   American School & University Facilities This site contains information on topics such as maintenance, construction, environmental issues, and safety.  American School & University Facilities publishes at this site an annual Maintenance and Operations cost study.   Council of Educational Facility Planners International CEFPI, The School Building Association.   National Clearinghouse on Educational Facilities National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities at the National Institute of Building Sciences with resources on design, costs, financing, safety and security, school size, disaster planning, playgrounds, and more.   School Facilities Resources This school facilities resource list is provided by the Association of School Business Officials International.  Schools as Community Centers Schools as Centers of Community, A Citizen's Guide for Planning and Design.