N.Y. Education Law § 409-d: Comprehensive public school building safety program

§ 409-d. Comprehensive public school building safety program. 1.

Program establishment. The commissioner is authorized and directed to

establish, develop and monitor a comprehensive public school building

safety program which shall include a uniform inspection, safety rating

and monitoring system. Such program shall require the inspections of all

public school buildings throughout the state (i) at least once between

the period commencing with the first day of January, two thousand twenty

and ending with the thirty-first day of December, two thousand twenty

and (ii) at least once between the period commencing with the first day

of January, two thousand twenty-two and ending with the thirty-first day

of December, two thousand twenty-two, provided that such inspections

shall exclude public school buildings in a school district required to

conduct building condition surveys between January first, two thousand

twenty and the end of such period in accordance with regulations of the

commissioner adopted pursuant to subparagraph one-a of paragraph c of

subdivision four of section thirty-six hundred forty-one of this

chapter, and provided further that such exclusion shall not apply in the

case of a school district which has not completed the building condition

surveys so required and submitted the same to the department. Under such

program, the commissioner may require inspections of public school

buildings as deemed necessary to maintain the safety of school buildings

and the welfare of the occupants, and such program shall establish a

safety rating system for such school buildings to assess the need for

maintenance, repairs, rehabilitation, reconstruction, construction and

other improvements related to the structural integrity and overall

safety of public school buildings including but not limited to building

systems related to electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation, and air

conditioning, sanitation and health, fire and accident protection; and

require that such ratings be used for the purpose of developing a

buildings condition survey as required pursuant to subdivision four of

section thirty-six hundred forty-one of this chapter and a five year

facilities plan as required pursuant to clause (i) of subparagraph two

of paragraph b of subdivision six of section thirty-six hundred two of

this chapter.

2. Commissioner's authorization. In implementing the program, the

commissioner is authorized to:

(a) require the inspection of every public school building and

prescribe qualifications of persons who may perform or supervise such

inspections in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(b) establish a safety rating system keyed to the structural integrity

and overall safety of the building. Such system shall rate every major

building system contained within a building and where practicable

identify critical maintenance and include such information in the plan

required in subdivision ten of section thirty-six hundred forty-one of

this chapter;

(c) require each school district to develop a buildings condition

survey;

(d) require each school district to develop a five year capital

facilities plan;

(e) establish a process for monitoring all school buildings; and

(f) provide for waivers of the requirements of this section and/or

section four hundred nine-e of this article for districts whose school

building safety inspection procedures in existence on the effective date

of this section are in substantial compliance with such requirements.

3. Notification. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the

contrary, the commissioner shall be authorized to notify in writing any

school district or board of cooperative educational services the

existence of a hazardous condition found in any school building within

the school district that is in violation of applicable building, health,

or safety codes or regulations that may threaten the health and/or

safety of students or staffs. Such notice must be acknowledged and

responded to within five business days or less. Such notice shall be

delivered to the superintendent of the school district or the district

superintendent of the board of cooperative educational services. In the

case of a city school district in a city having a population of one

million or more inhabitants such notice shall be delivered to the

chancellor of the city district.