May 29, A Survey Snapshot of State PK-12 School Facilities Officials: State Facilities Standards and Procedures on Natural Disasters

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1 May 29, 2013 A Survey Snapshot of State PK-12 School Facilities Officials: State Facilities Standards and Procedures on Natural Disasters Our nation s communities look to our school buildings as safe locations and places to gather in times of natural disasters. In response to the Moore, Oklahoma tornado tragedy where two elementary schools were struck; the National Council on School Facilities quickly surveyed state school facilities officials to provide the U.S. Department of Education an aggregated resource of each state s policy on school facility safety standards and procedures as they relate to natural threats. The National Center for Education Statistics Forum Guide to Facilities Information Management identifies natural threats under Facilities Management Emergency Type which is defines as, The type of abnormal and urgent circumstances that disrupt the normal operation of the building, threaten the health and safety of the occupants, or require an emergency response. This NCES data element includes the following natural threats: fire, hurricane and tropical storm, thunderstorm-severe, earthquake, winter storm, debris flows or mudslide, tsunami, volcano, wildfires-surface, ground or crown fire, extreme heat, tornado, and flood. The Council quickly compiled information from 22 states that responded to the following two questions: 1) Does your state have school facility standards in place to address regionally specific natural threats (tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, wild fires...other)? 2) Does your state define the emergency procedures for natural disasters, or is this done locally? Alabama Respondent: Perry Taylor, State School Architect, Alabama Department of Education; ptaylor@alsde.edu. State Level Natural Disaster School Facility Standards: Any new public K-12 school erected must have an Alabama Building Commission (ABC) approved safe space or spaces. The ABC adopted the ICC/NSSA Standard for the Design and Construction of Storms (ICC ). This mandate for an approved safe space for winds of 200 to 250MPH only applies to the construction of a completely NEW school. Existing schools are not required to have same. The national news made it appear that Alabama required that all schools have an approved safe space. Since the middle of 2010 when the law was passed, we have constructed or are in the process of constructing approximately 35 new schools. State Level Natural Disaster Emergency Procedures: Yes...mandated at the state level and must be included in each school system's annual Safety Plan. 1

2 Arkansas Respondent: Charles Stein, Director, Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation, Arkansas Department of Education; State Level Natural Disaster School Facility Standards: Per Act 1100 of 1991, school designs are required to meet seismic designs for the earthquake zones in which the project is being constructed. In the Arkansas School Facility Manual the guideline for addressing flooding is the building should be built at an elevation of no less than five feet above the elevation of the 100 year flood plain. Arkansas statutes states building plans may include a tornado shelter but does not require a shelter. State Level Natural Disaster Emergency Procedures: Emergency procedures for catastrophic events are developed and implemented on the local level. Additional References: California Respondent: Diane Waters, Senior Architect, California Department of Education; DWaters@cde.ca.gov. State Level Natural Disaster School Facility Standards: The Field Act in California sets high standards for buildings to withstand earthquakes. The California Building Code has different building standards for snow loads in different snow zones. California Geological Survey has Note 48, a checklist of geological hazards that must be considered when building public schools or hospitals in California. Fire Hazard Severity Zones have been established to identify portions of the state of California that are more vulnerable to wildfires. Design & siting standards have been established based on these Fire Hazard Severity Zones. 200 Year Flood zones were defined for Central California by the California Department of Water Resources. Senate Bill 5 (SB 5) signed into law in October 2007 updates the California Health & Safety Code to require the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to propose updated requirements to the California Building Standards Code for construction in areas protected by the facilities of the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan where flood levels are anticipated to exceed three feet for the 200-year flood event. State Level Natural Disaster Emergency Procedures: The California Education Code requires that each local education agency (LEA) develop comprehensive school safety plans which should address violence prevention and education about potential incidents involving crime and violence on school campus. It also requires the inclusion of disaster procedures into the comprehensive school safety plans. Guidance is given to suggest who should be involved in the development of these plans, and what types of issues should be covered. Fire and earthquake drills are required to be practiced periodically (as specified). California Department of Education provides education and outreach to LEAs on these Comprehensive School Safety Plans. CalEMA has guidelines for planning and training in compliance with the Standard Emergency Management System (SEMS). 2

3 Colorado Respondent: Ted Hughes, Director, Public School Capital Construction Assistance, Colorado Department of Education; State Level Natural Disaster School Facility Standards: In Colorado all public school facility IBC code compliance done at the state level. There aren't any natural threat specific requirements that exceed the IBC codes at the state level, but each local school district may choose to address them. State Level Natural Disaster Emergency Procedures: It is done locally. Florida Respondent: Thomas Inserra, Director of Educational Facilities, Florida Department of Education; State Level Natural Disaster School Facility Standards: Florida follows several standards for school facility construction requirements. The Florida Building Code, Chapter 4, Section 423, State Requirements for Educational Facilities, Public shelter design criteria is defined in this section of the code for hurricane hardening of the school facilities building envelop. State Level Natural Disaster Emergency Procedures: Florida's Department of Education (DOE) has an Educational Facilities Disaster and Crisis Management Guide Book on the web site for all school districts to download and use as a guide for developing a more specific set of disaster guidelines for the individual districts use. Along with the Department of Education guide book the Florida Department of Emergency Management (DEM) also developed a Statewide Emergency Shelter Plan for the entire state of Florida. Both of these publications are used at the local level to develop policies and procedures to be used in the time of a natural disaster emergency. Additional References: State Uniform Building Code for Public Educational Facilities Construction: =0&cid=iccf&uid=iccf0002&clrA=005596&clrV=005596&clrX=005596&ref=/nonindx/ST/fl/st/b200v10/index.htm#b=423 The 2012 Florida Statutes: Title XLVIII K-20 EDUCATION CODE Chapter 1013 EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES Fla. Statutes Casualty, safety, sanitation, and fire safety standards and inspection of property. Georgia Respondent: Mike Rowland, Facilities Services Director, Georgia Department of Education; mrowland@doe.k12.ga.us. State Level Natural Disaster School Facility Standards: Georgia follows the International Building Codes with Georgia Amendments. Local building codes and standards may exceed those in the IBC, particularly along the coast. Georgia does not have threat specific language in law or State Board rule. State Level Natural Disaster Emergency Procedures: Every county in Georgia has an Emergency Management Agency (EMA) coordinator who has primary responsibility for emergency planning and response. The Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) oversees the training and preparation of the county EMA's and, of course, has responsibility for emergencies that span several counties. 3

4 GEMA's role in local emergencies is to support the local EMA, through rescues and recovery, security of impacted areas, mobilization of state resources to support the local EMA, and establishing communications assets to help coordinate all emergency response needs. Georgia established a statewide concept called Ready Georgia, with the idea of suggesting to citizens that preparation for possible emergencies is critical; it also establishes communications links. The Ready Georgia website is Hawaii Respondent: Duane Kashiwai, Public Works Administrator, Hawaii Department of Education; Duane_Kashiwai/FacilDev/HIDOE@notes.k12.hi.us. State Level Natural Disaster School Facility Standards: The Hawaii Department of Education (DOE) has established design guidelines for its facilities in it's Education Specifications, or EDSPECS. These guidelines cover the functional requirements for DOE facilities. In addition, the DOE does comply with the International Building Code (IBC) as adopted state-wide including all county specific requirements. State Level Natural Disaster Emergency Procedures: Yes - Both: State Civil Defense, County Civil Defense Agencies, and our own Hawaii Department of Education for students, staff, and parents. Iowa Respondent: Gary Schwartz, Education Program Consultant (Facilities), Iowa Department of Education; gary.schwartz@iowa.gov. State Level Natural Disaster School Facility Standards: Iowa has Iowa Administrative Code (IAC) Chapter 315 Weather Safe Rooms. The rules in this chapter do not require the construction of weather safe rooms but establish standards for design and construction of weather safe rules. Weather safe rooms are designed and constructed in compliance with the provisions of ICC , ICC/NSSA Standard for the Design and Construction of Storm Shelters, published by the International Code Council. Attached is a list of school districts in Iowa that received FEMA Safe Room grants through Iowa Homeland Security & Emergency Management. Iowa has spent $40,521,340 on tornado safe rooms at 37 schools. The average safe room occupancy is 771 students & staff. The average safe room cost per square-foot is $ and $1, per occupant. State Level Natural Disaster Emergency Procedures: For emergency procedures, the Iowa Safe Schools Coalition (ISSC) and the Iowa Dept of Education provide guidance to school districts for developing local procedures. The State Fire Marshal s Office requires under IAC Chapter conducts the inspections for fire and tornado drills in schools and warning systems. Additional References: Standards for Weather-safe Rooms. Iowa Administrative Code (IAC) 661-Ch. 315, implementing ICC standards ( Requirement of fire, tornado drills, warning systems, fire extinguishers, biennial fire safety inspections. Iowa Admin. Code -- Title III, Subtitle 5, Ch Kentucky Respondent: Greg Dunbar, Manager, District Facilities Branch Division of District Support, Kentucky Department of Education; Greg.Dunbar@education.ky.gov. 4

5 State Level Natural Disaster School Facility Standards: The Kentucky Department of Education has adopted the Uniform State Building Code (the Kentucky Building Code based on the International Building Code). The administration of this code is the responsibility of the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction. This code provides criteria for wind (but not tornados), seismic, snow and other loads for the design of structural elements. KDE regulations prohibit buildings to be constructed in the 100 year flood plain. State Level Natural Disaster Emergency Procedures: KRS Earthquake and tornado emergency procedure system. The board of each local school district, and the governing body of each private and parochial school or school district, shall establish an earthquake and tornado emergency procedure system in every public or private school building in its jurisdiction having a capacity of fifty (50) or more students, or having more than one (1) classroom. The earthquake and tornado emergency procedure system shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following: (1) A school building disaster plan, ready for implementation at any time, for maintaining the safety and care of students and staffs. A drop procedure and safe area evacuation practice shall be held at least twice during each school year; (2) A drop procedure. As used in this section, "drop procedure" means an activity by which each student and staff member takes cover under a table or desk, dropping to his or her knees, with the head protected by the arms, and the back to the windows; (3) A safe area. As used in this section, "safe area" means a designated space including an enclosed area with no windows, a basement or the lowest floor using the interior hallway or rooms, or taking shelter under sturdy furniture; (4) Protective measures to be taken before, during, and following an earthquake or tornado; and (5) A program to ensure that the students and the certificated and classified staff are aware of, and properly trained in, the earthquake and tornado emergency procedure system. Effective: July 14, 2000; History: Amended 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 433, sec. 1, effective July 14, Created 1992 Ky. Acts ch. 29, sec. 1, effective July 14, Louisiana Respondent: Lona Hankins, Executive Director of Major Capital Projects, Louisiana Recovery School District; lona.hankins@rsdla.net. State Level Natural Disaster School Facility Standards: There is no State Authority in LA. However our State adopted the International Building Code Standards post Katrina. In New Orleans all of our new construction schools have to withstand Hurricane wind loads, in addition they must meet Advisory Base Flood Elevations. Historic renovations have a level of grandfathering some of these items. State Level Natural Disaster Emergency Procedures: Most school districts in LA have protocols for alerting of emergency to parents including automated calls and s. This is coordinated with City, Parish and State Emergency managers. Maryland Respondent: Barbara Bice, School Facilities Branch Chief, Maryland State Department of Education; bbice@msde.state.md.us. State Level Natural Disaster School Facility Standards: Same type of rigorous codes as New York, no specific school facilities mandated. State Level Natural Disaster Emergency Procedures: Maryland school systems all have emergency management plans. State Dept of Ed just issued revised Emergency Planning Guidelines for Local School Systems and Schools. General Assembly legislators required all school systems to submit revised plans to MSDE in February Starting point is multi-hazard assessment of each building. NIMS compliance recommended. Schools receiving State capital dollars are required to evaluate security at their main entrance. (focus 5

6 post-new Town was active shooter prevention/mitigation) Small amount of initial funding provided to create a Maryland School Safety Center. Additional References: Emergency Planning Guidelines for Local School Systems and Schools: Maine Respondent: Scott Brown, Director, School Facility Programs, State of Maine; scott.brown@maine.gov. State Level Natural Disaster School Facility Standards: In Maine, all public schools must be built to the code adapted by the State Legislature. The process is reviewed and approved by the Bureau of General Services which is a State Agency. State Level Natural Disaster Emergency Procedures: There is no statewide procedure for natural disasters, but there may be procedures adopted at the local level. Additional References: Maine mandates the 2009 International Building Code (IBC) for all municipalities with a population of 4,000 or more, with some Maine amendments. Montana Respondent: Madalyn Quinlan, Chief of Staff, Montana Office of Public Instruction; mquinlan@mt.gov. State Level Natural Disaster School Facility Standards: Montana does not have school facility standards in place to address regionally specific natural threats. State Level Natural Disaster Emergency Procedures: The emergency procedures for natural disasters are done locally. North Carolina Respondent: Steve Taynton, Chief, School Planning, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction; steve.taynton@dpi.nc.gov. State Level Natural Disaster School Facility Standards: To my knowledge, North Carolina does NOT have any such requirements. I have attempted to have certain new schools designated for emergency shelters with wind hardening, hookups for generators, etc but have had no luck so far. State Emergency Officials have, after the fact, hardened some schools and put in equipment to install temporary generators but there has been no coordination so far. State Level Natural Disaster Emergency Procedures: We do require drills for fire, tornado, etc. New Hampshire Respondent: Jeff Blaney, Administrator, Bureau of Facility Management, New Hampshire Department of Education; Jeffrey.Blaney@doe.nh.gov. State Level Natural Disaster School Facility Standards: All school buildings must comply with the International Building Code, and the National Fire Code. The only additional state requirement for new schools is the first floor of a school building must be built 10 feet above the 100 year FEMA base flood elevation. 6

7 State Level Natural Disaster Emergency Procedures: State law requires emergency response plans to be developed and exercised by each school. The plans must be based on and conform to the Incident Command System and National Incident Command System. New Jersey Respondent: Bernie Piaia, Director, Office of School Facilities Division of Administration and Finance, New Jersey Department of Education; State Level Natural Disaster School Facility Standards: The building code for schools in governed by the NJ Department of Community Affairs, Division of Codes and Standards. This includes building and fire codes. Adopted Codes and Standards Code Adoption Date International Building Code -NJ ed., 2009 Obtained From: International Code Council, Inc. [888] Sept (w/tech. amendments at NJAC 5: National Electrical Code, 2011 Obtained From: National Fire Protection Assoc [617] May (w/tech. amendments at NJAC 5: ) National Standard Plumbing Code, 2009 Obtained From: National Assoc. of Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors [800] or in New Jersey at [800] Sept (w/tech. amendments at NJAC 5: ) International Energy Conservation Code-NJ ed,2009(residential) Obtained From: International Code Council [888] and ASHRAE (Commercial) Obtained From: American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. [800] Sept (w/tech. amendments at NJAC 5: ) International Mechanical Code,2009 Obtained From: International Code Council [888] Sept (w/tech. amendments at NJAC 5: ) International Fuel Gas Code,2009 Obtained From: International Code Council [888] Sept (w/tech. amendments at NJAC 5: ) International Residential Code -NJ ed., 2009 Obtained From: International Code Council [888] Sept (w/tech. amendments at NJAC 5: ) Rehabilitation Subcode 5:23-6 Obtained From: State of NJ, Department of Community Affairs, Division of Codes and Standards [609] Updated Yearly Barrier-Free Subcode 5:23-7 Obtained From : State of NJ, Department of Community Affairs, Division of Codes and Standards [609] ANSI A Obtained From: ANSI 11 West 42nd St New York, NY or International Code Council [888]

8 May (w/tech. amendments at NJAC 5:23-7.2) Post 9/11 school construction enhancements for new schools. Other state agencies have oversight on school facilities, in particular the NJ Department of Environmental Protection. The following is the link to DEP web site regarding school facilities issues. State Level Natural Disaster Emergency Procedures: The School security issues are typically handled at the local level through the local OEM (Office of Emergency Management) but the NJDOE does offer guidance and requires each school to have a planning document. Access to these requirements is contained in the links below. The legislature recently passed, unanimously in both Houses, a law to establish a School Security Task Force. It awaits action from the Governor. New Mexico Respondent: Martica Casias, Planning and Design Manager, New Mexico Public School Facilities Authority; mcasias@nmpsfa.org. State Level Natural Disaster School Facility Standards: The NM State building code refers to the International Building Code (IBC) for minimal structural design based upon the facilities location in the state, prescribing different structural requirements for wind, snow, flood and rain zones. State Level Natural Disaster Emergency Procedures: The New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) provides a document titled Planning for Safe Schools in New Mexico. This document does not provide guidance on how to build a facility that anticipates a natural disaster, but does discuss emergency evacuation, shelter in place, lockdown, chain of command, school closure, staff and parent notification and in general how to react to a natural disaster. New Mexico Department of Homeland Security assisted PED in the creation of this document. Found at PED also requires through an additional document School District Wellness Policy that addressed emergency drills, including fire drills and shelter in place drills. Additional References: The NMPED School District Wellness Policy guides schools in creating "a school safety plan at each school building focused on supporting health and safe environments and including but not necessarily limited to prevention, policies and procedures and emergency response." Safe Schools Response Plan guidance document from NMPED. Nebraska Respondent: Russ Inbody, Administrator of Finance & Organizational Services, Nebraska Department of Education; russ.inbody@nebraska.gov. State Level Natural Disaster School Facility Standards: No, local building codes would apply. State Level Natural Disaster Emergency Procedures: This is done locally. 8

9 New York Respondent: Carl Thurnau, Director of Facilities, New York State Education Department; State Level Natural Disaster School Facility Standards: Schools are required to have emergency management plans that address multiple potential hazards, but there are no specific facility requirements other than the building code. (International code with NY additions). State Level Natural Disaster Emergency Procedures: Local determination. The state has worked with state office of emergency management and state police to provide guidance, but implementation is a local decision. Ohio Respondent: Franklin Brown, Planning Director, Ohio School Facilities Commission; Franklin.brown@ofcc.ohio.gov. State Level Natural Disaster School Facility Standards: Seismic load resisting systems shall be designed and detailed in accordance with the current provisions from the Ohio Building Code and standard provisions from the materials code for that system (i.e. American Concrete Institute, American Institute of Steel Construction, etc.) Seismic Use Group, as defined in OBC Section shall be Group II minimum. 2. Wind loads shall be based upon the current provisions of Ohio Building Code, using a minimum wind speed of 90 mph (3-second gust), unless local weather data supports higher wind loads. 3. Importance factors for Snow load and Wind load shall be obtained from OBC Table , using Category II structure (minimum). We do require that the Architect/Engineer provide the Administration with a delineation of the safest locations in the building in the event of a tornado event. At the present time we have no requirement for "safe rooms." State Level Natural Disaster Emergency Procedures: The Ohio Attorney General's Office requires that each School District create and submit a district specific Site Safety and Emergency Plan (SSEP). The SSEP is required to be updated at least once every three years or whenever a major modification to a building occurs. A template has been provided to the districts to encourage consistency. Washington State Respondent: Gordon Beck, Director, School Facilities & Organization, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction; gordon.beck@k12.wa.us State Level Natural Disaster School Facility Standards: Washington State requires schools and key facilities to be designed and constructed to resist probable earthquake intensities at the location, unless other standards for design and construction earthquake resistance are prescribed at the local level per statute (RCW). The standards for such buildings per RCW in short requires the building has be to be able to withstand horizontal force of.05 of the weight of the building, for Western Washington only. Generally no standards for other natural hazards. State Level Natural Disaster Emergency Procedures: Washington State is currently engage with a three year project that includes a nearly completed statewide risk assessment of natural hazards, which identifies the exposure of each school campus in the state to the nine natural hazards. Washington like a 9

10 few states have many risks from natural hazards. Further efforts are being taken to better understand these risks posed at a building level, and assisting school districts to address those risk with mitigation planning. For example, there are efforts along the coast to provide vertical evacuation structures from tsunamis, with a focus on schools. These efforts include the construction of actual evacuation structures where the tsunami risks to life safety are very high. Also, Washington schools are required to hold 8 emergency drills per year including: one using the school digital mapping information system providing key facility information about all Washington schools to first responders. West Virginia Respondent: Mike Pickens, Executive Director, Office of School Facilities, West Virginia Department of Education; mepicken@access.k12.wv.us. State Level Natural Disaster School Facility Standards: State Level Natural Disaster Emergency Procedures: West Virginia is currently developing a Crisis Response Plan that will be in place in every WV school by August The template for this plan was approved by the WVBE December, This plan addresses physical threats as well as natural disasters. The protocols for emergency procedures are followed on all levels, local, county, state and federal depending on the severity of the crisis. Vermont Respondent: Cathy Hilgendorf, School Construction Coordinator, Vermont Agency of Education; cathy.hilgendorf@state.vt.us. State Level Natural Disaster School Facility Standards: No, but see following comments. ICE STORMS: After a damaging ice storm in 1998, the state found that many of our public school buildings were not equipped to serve as emergency shelters - they either had no generator or lacked the infrastructure to interface with a generator, or they did not have adequate meal preparation or shower facilities. Since then, any school district that wants to upgrade its facilities to at least be generator-ready can do so at state expense. FLOODING: Two years ago, when Hurricane Irene took out hundreds of VT roads and bridges and severely damaged several towns, our school buildings suffered very little damage. Turns out that, by luck more than by planning, few are built on flood plains or in the path of flood destruction. Our permitting process would consider flood zones now, but our historic school stock precedes those regulations. State Level Natural Disaster Emergency Procedures: State guidance and resources provided, minimal enforcement, local decisions. 10