Delaware Code Title 14 Sec. 2307 – School building maintenance standards
(a) On or before January 1, 2024, the Department of Education shall develop the facilities evaluation instrument and inspection cycle in consultation with the Division of Public Health, experts in school facilities maintenance, district superintendents, the Delaware State Education Association, and the Delaware Association of State Administrators.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 14 Sec. 2307
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- District: means a reorganized school district. See Delaware Code Title 14 Sec. 2301
- Evaluation detail component: is a site inspection template and assessment system that allows for individual district comment, incorporated within the facilities evaluation instrument, used to evaluate the areas of a school on a category by category basis. See Delaware Code Title 14 Sec. 2301
- Facilities evaluation instrument: means a document developed by the Department of Education that includes the evaluation detail component and the standard of good repair that is used to determine whether a school facility is in good repair. See Delaware Code Title 14 Sec. 2301
- School board: means a board of education of a reorganized school district. See Delaware Code Title 14 Sec. 2301
- School facilities: means any permanent building, portable building or structure, or commercial space owned, rented, operated, or leased by boards of education, including donated space, used as a classroom or for child care or any other space for education services including classrooms, cafeterias, staff lounges, staff offices, auditoriums, gymnasiums, or libraries. See Delaware Code Title 14 Sec. 2301
- Standard of good repair: means that part of the facilities evaluation instrument which outlines the school facility systems and components, as specified in this section, that should be considered in the inspection of a school facility to ensure that it is maintained in a manner that assures it is clean, safe, and functional. See Delaware Code Title 14 Sec. 2301
- State: means the State of Delaware; and when applied to different parts of the United States, it includes the District of Columbia and the several territories and possessions of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
- Year: means a calendar year, and is equivalent to the words "year of our Lord. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
(b) The facilities evaluation instrument is used to determine if a school facility is in good repair. The facilities evaluation instrument must be designed to identify areas of a school site that are in need of repair based upon a thorough inspection of the site. The facilities evaluation instrument must include a standard of good repair and an evaluation detail component.
(c) The standard of good repair must include the following facility categories and provide a description of a minimum standard of good repair for various facility categories:
(1) Gas leaks.
(2) Mechanical systems.
(3) Sewer.
(4) Interior surfaces.
(5) Overall cleanliness.
(6) Pest or vermin infestation.
(7) Electrical (interior and exterior).
(8) Restrooms.
(9) Sinks and fountains (inside and outside).
(10) Water quality.
(11) Fire safety.
(12) Hazardous materials (interior and exterior).
(13) Structural damage.
(14) Roofs (observed from the ground, inside and outside the building).
(15) Windows, doors, gates, and fences (interior and exterior).
(16) Visible mold or mildew.
(d) The evaluation detail component must be designed to allow for the determination of the scope of conditions across the school campus. In evaluating each area or space, the user should review each of the categories identified in the standard of good repair and make a determination of whether a particular area is in good repair.
(e) A school district may contract out inspection services.
(f) Each school district shall annually present the completed inspection findings and assessments at a public school board meeting.
(g) By May 1 of each year, the superintendent will submit a report of facility inspection findings and a board-approved repair and maintenance plan to the Department of Education, the chairs of the Bond Committee, the chairs of the House and Senate Education Committees, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and the Controller General.