Bill > HB0298

This bill requires the State Board of Education (state board) to establish and maintain a library of school building designs, which will include standardized designs for elementary, middle, high, and multi-level schools that meet various criteria such as safety, flexibility, and modern educational needs, and will be made available to Local Education Agencies (LEAs) at no cost. Additionally, the bill mandates that LEAs review designs from this library when planning new school construction, and if they develop their own designs, they must submit them for inclusion in the library. The bill also introduces standardized reporting requirements for school construction projects exceeding $1,000,000, requiring LEAs to report detailed cost and timeline information, which the state board will then publish online in a searchable format to promote transparency and identify best practices for cost-effective school construction. Furthermore, the bill amends existing guidelines for public school construction to include competitive bidding requirements for architectural and engineering fees that consider cost alongside qualifications, and mandates that contracts include life-cycle cost analysis for energy efficiency, operations, maintenance, and material durability.