SB 526 - AS INTRODUCED
2024 SESSION
24-3100
12/02
SENATE BILL 526
SPONSORS: Sen. Whitley, Dist 15; Sen. Fenton, Dist 10; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Prentiss, Dist 5; Rep. Cornell, Hills. 22; Rep. Heath, Hills. 41; Rep. B. Sullivan, Sull. 1
COMMITTEE: Education
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ANALYSIS
This bill requires public school facility assessments and school building aid grants to consider building temperatures conducive to education during extreme external temperatures.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
24-3100
12/02
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Public School Infrastructure Fund; Facility Condition Assessment. Amend RSA 198:15-y, III(g) to read as follows:
(g) Funding for the department of education to support the development, implementation, and maintenance of a facility condition assessment for public elementary and secondary schools. A facility condition assessment shall assess the schools' facility condition, energy use, educational sufficiency, technology infrastructure, and ability to function during extreme external temperatures. In this chapter extreme external temperatures are temperatures which would likely result in a school district having to execute an extreme temperature plan as required under RSA 198:15-y, VI
(h) Funding for repairing, fixing, or replacing necessary infrastructure to avoid extreme temperatures in school buildings. In this chapter extreme temperatures in school buildings are temperatures which would result in a school district having to carry out an extreme temperature plan as required under RSA 198:15-y, VI.
(i) Other school building or infrastructure needs the governor, in consultation with the public school infrastructure commission, may identify, except for school building aid projects that are otherwise prohibited by law.
2 New Paragraph; Public School Infrastructure Fund; Planning for Extreme Temperatures Required. Amend RSA 198:15-y by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraphs:
V. Any proposals for new construction under this section shall plan for extreme temperatures.
VI. Any school district receiving funds under this section shall, within one year of receiving such funds, establish a plan and develop procedures to mitigate temperatures in rooms that reach 80 degrees Fahrenheit or above and set a maximum temperature in which a room can be occupied, which shall be no greater than 88 degrees Fahrenheit.
3 New Paragraphs; Grants for School Construction; Facility Condition Assessments. Amend RSA 198:15-a by inserting after paragraph V the following new paragraph:
VI.(a) A facility condition assessment produced using public school infrastructure funds under RSA 198:15-y, III shall be used to establish a school facilities priorities list in the department of education. The list shall identify schools that may need construction or major reconstruction within the next 10 years in order to provide an adequate learning environment in a safe, healthy, and efficient to operate facility, including but not limited to the school facilities ability to maintain a heat index conducive to learning during extreme external temperatures. The state board of education shall adopt rules pursuant to RSA 541-A relative to the establishment and procedures for the facilities priorities list.
(b) Beginning with construction authorized by a local school district on or after July 1, 2025, projects not on the school facilities priority list shall not be eligible for school building aid grants unless deemed an emergency pursuant to RSA 198:15-c, I(c).