2023 New York Laws › EDN - Education › Title 1 - General Provisions › Article 9 - School Buildings and Sites › 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.