Common minimum facility requirements

(a) The State Board of Education shall establish common minimum facility requirements which each public school facility must meet in order to be certified for use in any component of the educational or recreational program of that school. Such minimum requirements shall include those provisions of law or state board policy on matters that relate to fire and physical safety; sanitation and health, including temperature and ventilation; minimum space, size, and configuration for the various components of the instructional program; and construction stability, quality, and suitability for intended uses. Such minimum requirements shall not prohibit wood construction that is otherwise in compliance with state minimum standard codes as they existed on January 1, 2014. As used in this subsection, the term “state minimum standard codes” shall have the same meaning as in paragraph (9) of Code Section 8-2-20. (b) The State Board of Education shall adopt policies and procedures to ensure that each school facility meets minimum standards as determined by state board policy. (c) A proposed plan of action which includes a list and description of each deficiency and time limits within which such deficiencies are to be corrected must be submitted to the State Board of Education for review and approval. Further, the state board shall have the authority, in accordance with Code Section 20-2-243, to withhold all or part of the state funds in support of this part from any local unit of administration refusing or failing to implement the plan of action for deficiency remediation approved by the state board. (d) A local board of education shall be exempt from county and municipal assessments and fees for county and municipal building permits and inspections and exempt from county and municipal impact fees. History. Code 1981, § 20-2-261, enacted by Ga. L. 1985, p. 1657, § 1; Ga. L. 1987, p. 1169, § 1; Ga. L. 1993, p. 541, § 1; Ga. L. 1995, p. 915, § 1; Ga. L. 2014, p. 813, § 1/SB 301. 427 20-2-262 20-2-262. Low-wealth capital outlay grants to local school systems; criteria for eligibility. (a) The General Assembly finds that many local school systems in Georgia have relatively weak local tax bases and are unable to raise revenues sufficient to meet their facility needs. The General Assembly further finds that even with current levels of state capital outlay support, these systems must wait for years before they can accumulate funds to initiate construction projects that are needed immediately. For some systems, the availability of the local option sales tax does not resolve their problem, because their commercial tax base is as meager as their property wealth. It is the intent of the General Assembly to provide for state capital outlay grants specifically targeted to lowwealth school systems, on a short-term basis, in order to help such systems initiate what they have been unable to accomplish with existing revenue sources. (b) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) “Equivalent millage” means, for a local school system that is eligible to receive local option sales tax proceeds for maintenance and operation purposes, the combination of property tax revenues and sales tax revenues representing the amount that would be generated by a designated rate of mills. (2) “Full-time equivalent student count” shall have the same meaning as provided in Code Section 20-2-260. (c) The State Board of Education shall provide eligible local school systems with low-wealth capital outlay grants as provided for in this Code section, subject to appropriation by the General Assembly. Such grants shall provide sufficient funds to cover 92 percent of the state eligible cost of the local school system’s first priority project in the five-year facilities plan, as contained in the system’s most recently approved local facilities plan. In addition, for each mill over 12 mills levied by the local school system or over an equivalent millage of 12 mills, the state board will authorize an additional 1 percent of the state eligible cost of the local school system’s first priority project in the five-year facilities plan, as contained in the system’s most recently approved local facilities plan, up to a maximum of 8 additional mills. (d) Local school systems which meet the following criteria shall be eligible for a low-wealth capital outlay grant: (1)(A)(i) The amount of sales tax revenues per unit in the full-time equivalent student count of the local school system is ranked in the bottom 25 percent of local school systems for sales tax revenues per unit in the full-time equivalent student count; and (ii) The value of property per unit in the full-time equivalent 428 20-2-262 ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY EDUC. 20-2-262 student count of the local school system is ranked in the bottom 25 percent of local school systems for value of property per unit in the full-time equivalent student count; (B) For local school systems in which the amount of special purpose local option sales tax revenues is ranked in the bottom 25 percent of local school systems receiving such sales tax revenues, such systems may submit a request to the department for consideration; provided, however, that the local school system shall be required to commit the equivalent of five years of such revenues for the project. The department shall consider factors such as the high cost of a project, the local school system’s ability to manage the project on its own, and the needs of the local school system, in determining whether to approve a project pursuant to this subparagraph; or (C) For local school systems that are consolidating educational facilities in accordance with a local facilities plan, the amount of special purpose local option sales tax revenues for a local school system over a five-year period would not generate the required local contribution, as determined pursuant to subsection (c) of this Code section; (2) The local school system’s millage rate for maintenance and operation is at least 12 mills or an equivalent millage thereof; (3) A special purpose local option sales tax is in effect in the local school district or the local school system has in place a millage rate for debt service on bonds, or both; and (4) The local school system uses prototypical specifications as defined by the State Board of Education for the project. (e) No local school system qualifying for a low-wealth project pursuant to this Code section shall have a required local contribution, as determined pursuant to subsection (c) of this Code section, that is greater than the revenue generated by the applicable special purpose local option sales tax revenue over its five-year period. In the event that the sum of such required local contribution and the low-wealth capital outlay grant determined pursuant to subsection (c) of this Code section is less than the state eligible cost of the project, the state shall provide funds to make up the difference; provided, however, that the local school system shall repay the state such difference through future earned regular entitlements. (f) In the event of destruction or damage to an educational facility caused by a fire or natural disaster in which the majority of the facility is destroyed or damaged, a local school system which meets the eligibility criteria in subsection (d) of this Code section shall be 429 20-2-263 immediately qualified for and may receive low-wealth capital outlay grants pursuant to this Code section for the concurrent update, repair, or replacement of the portion of the facility that was not destroyed or damaged so long as the facility is 20 years old or older. History. Code 1981, § 20-2-262, enacted by Ga. L. 1999, p. 400, § 1; Ga. L. 2001, p. 148, § 14; Ga. L. 2010, p. 162, § 3/HB 905; Ga. L. 2012, p. 202, § 18/HB 760; Ga. L. 2019, p. 1050, § 2/SB 67. Editor’s notes. Ga. L. 2012, p. 202, § 19/HB 760, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that this Act shall apply beginning with Fiscal Year 2014 applications for funds and for each fiscal year thereafter. 20-2-263. Grant program to incentivize adoption of digital learning; rules and regulations. (a) The State Board of Education is authorized to establish a grant program to incentivize the adoption of digital learning using high speed internet connections across Georgia schools. The grant program shall include funding, subject to appropriations by the General Assembly, for grants to local boards of education for the purchase of technology capital, including, but not limited to, desktop computers, network equipment, wireless equipment, tablet computers, laptop computers, and any other technology devices or equipment that advances student learning. (b) The state board is authorized to develop rules and regulations to implement the grant program, including requiring local school systems to commit to expanding and paying for high speed bandwidth for five years and a plan of use of the bandwidth in each school for instructional purposes, requiring each local school system to demonstrate that it has a technology plan that incorporates the use of new technology into student learning and includes a component for professional development for staff, and requiring local matching funds from local school systems to demonstrate long-term sustainability. The grant program criteria may take into account the financial need and lack of existing bandwidth of a local school system and any previous grants received by the local board of education pursuant to this Code section and may provide for waiver of the matching funds requirement for local school systems that demonstrate financial need. History. Code 1981, § 20-2-263, enacted by Ga. L. 2013, p. 1061, § 20/HB 283. 430 T.20, C.2, A.6, P.11 ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY EDUC. 20-2-270 PART 11 REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AGENCIES