New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 6A - EDUCATION › Chapter 26 - EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES › Subchapter 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 6A:26-1.2 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
The following words and terms shall have the following
				  meanings when used in this chapter unless the context clearly indicates
				  otherwise:
"24-hour school facilities" mean facilities that host
				  residents on site year round, require the availability of water at all hours,
				  employ staff on site 24 hours a day, and/or are care facilities, such as
				  hospitals with educational programs provided at the facilities.
"Additional costs" means the additional construction costs
				  beyond the area cost allowance for construction or the costs beyond reasonable
				  estimated actual costs for rehabilitation if such costs are the result of
				  factors outside the control of the school district, provided that either type
				  of costs results from design factors that are required to meet the facilities
				  efficiency standards and are approved or authorized pursuant to
				  18A:7G-5(g).
"Additional space" means space in excess of facilities
				  efficiency standards.
"Adjusted gross square footage" means the gross square
				  footage of a facility less excluded spaces.
"Annual maintenance budget amount" means the amount required
				  to be included in the school district's annual budget certified for taxes as a
				  deposit into the maintenance reserve account or in the required maintenance
				  line-item accounts.
"Application for State School Aid" or "ASSA" means the
				  application filed pursuant to
				  18A:7F-33, on a form issued by
				  the Commissioner, in which a school district sets forth student enrollment by
				  category and other pertinent information.
"Approved area for unhoused students" means the product of
				  the area allowance per FTE student times the number of unhoused
				  students.
"Approved LRFP" or "approved plan" means an LRFP that
				  conforms to the requirements of N.J.A.C. 6A:26-2 and that has been determined
				  by a Commissioner's final determination to ensure the school facilities are
				  educationally adequate to support over the next five years the achievement of
				  the New Jersey Student Learning Standards.
"Area allowance per FTE student" means 125 square feet for
				  preschool through grade five, 134 square feet for grades six through eight, and
				  151 square feet for grades nine through 12.
"Area cost allowance" means as set forth in
				  18A:7G-3.
"Building system" means a set of related or similar building
				  components that work together to perform a major function in a building or
				  facility.
"Capital maintenance" means maintenance intended to extend
				  the useful life of a school facility, including upgrades and replacements of
				  building systems, such as structure, enclosure, mechanical, plumbing and
				  electrical systems, and can be considered to constitute or be part of a school
				  facilities project.
"Capital project" means a school facilities project, other
				  capital project or land acquisition project.
"Capital reserve account" means as defined in
				  6A:23A-1.2.
"Certified laboratory" means a laboratory certified pursuant
				  to the provisions of N.J.A.C. 7:18.
"Comprehensive Annual Financial Report" or "CAFR" means the
				  official annual report of a governmental unit that includes all funds and
				  account groups, as defined in N.J.A.C. 6A:23A-1.2.
"Comprehensive maintenance plan" means a school district's
				  multi-year maintenance plan covering required maintenance activities for each
				  school facility in the school district adopted pursuant to this chapter.
"Cost index" means the average annual increase, expressed as
				  a decimal, in actual construction cost factors for the New York City and
				  Philadelphia areas during the second fiscal year preceding the budget year as
				  determined pursuant to rules promulgated by the Development Authority.
"County vocational school district" means a county vocational
				  school district established pursuant to
				  18A:54-1 et seq.
"Debt service" means as set forth in
				  18A:7G-3.
"Development Authority" means the New Jersey Schools
				  Development Authority established pursuant to
				  52:18A-237.
"District aid percentage" means the number, expressed as a
				  percentage derived from dividing the school district's equalization aid
				  calculated pursuant to
				  18A:7F-53 as of the date of the
				  Commissioner's determination of preliminary eligible costs by the school
				  district's adequacy budget calculated pursuant to
				  18A:7F-51 as of the date of the
				  Commissioner's determination of preliminary eligible costs.
"District board of education" means the local board of
				  education or State district superintendent in the case of a State-operated
				  district.
"District factor group" means an index of socioeconomic
				  status established by the Department of Education based upon indicators
				  available in the decennial census. School districts are arranged in 10 groups,
				  DFG A through DFG J, A being the group with the lowest socioeconomic status, J
				  the highest.
"Division" means the Department's Division of Administration
				  and Finance.
"Drinking water outlet" means any location at a school
				  facility, other facility, or temporary facility, as those terms are defined in
				  this section, where water is expected to be used for consumption or food
				  preparation.
"Educational adequacy" means, for purposes of a school
				  facilities project, the suitability of a facility to provide instruction that
				  will enable students to achieve the New Jersey Student Learning Standards and
				  will encompass the facilities efficiency standards combined with the
				  requirements of N.J.A.C. 6A:26-5.
"Educational space" means any space in a school facility for
				  general instruction, specialized instruction, administration or student
				  services and support.
"Emergency stabilization" means actions taken by a school
				  district to correct and eliminate an actual or imminent peril to the health and
				  safety of students or staff designed to render a school facility fit for
				  occupancy by students or staff.
"Emergent condition" means a condition is so injurious or
				  hazardous that it causes an imminent peril to the health and safety of students
				  and staff.
"Emergent project" means a capital project necessitating
				  expedited review and, if applicable, approval, in order to alleviate a
				  condition that, if not corrected on an expedited basis, would render a building
				  or facility so potentially injurious or hazardous that it causes an imminent
				  peril to the health and safety of students or staff.
"Estimated actual costs" means costs as determined pursuant
				  to 6A:26-2.3 or 3.4.
"Excess costs" means as set forth in
				  18A:7G-3.
"Excluded space" is an existing space that is not contained
				  in the facilities efficiency standards but may be included in a school
				  district's approved room inventory that would be structurally or fiscally
				  impractical to convert to other uses in the facilities efficiency standards as
				  demonstrated by the school district and that:
1. Delivers programs and services aligned to the New Jersey
				  Student Learning Standards; or
2. Provides support services directly to students.
"Facilities efficiency standards" means the standards
				  developed by the Commissioner pursuant to
				  18A:7G-4.
"Feasibility study" means a study undertaken to determine
				  whether a school facilities project is achievable in view of possible
				  identified factors that may influence the project's design or construction,
				  including, but not limited to, applicable Federal, State and local laws;
				  physical site conditions; market conditions; and costs and benefits. For
				  example, such a study may be a pre-construction evaluation undertaken by a
				  school district to determine whether it would be more feasible to replace
				  rather than renovate a school facility because of health and safety or
				  efficiency. It may also consist of a pre-land acquisition evaluation to
				  determine whether it would be more feasible to acquire land for a school
				  facilities project because of health and safety, efficiency, environmental
				  factors, physical site conditions, or cost.
"Filing year" means the year in which the comprehensive
				  maintenance plan is filed with the executive county superintendent.
"Final eligible costs" means as set forth in
				  18A:7G-3.
"Final plans and specifications" means the plans and
				  specifications utilized to bid a capital project and to undertake and complete
				  its construction.
"FTE" means as set forth in
				  18A:7G-3.
"Functional capacity" means the number of students that can
				  be housed in a building to provide sufficient space for the building to be
				  educationally adequate for the delivery of programs and services necessary for
				  student achievement of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards. Functional
				  capacity is determined by dividing the adjusted gross square footage of a
				  school facility by the minimum area allowance per FTE student for the grade
				  level students contained therein.
"Grant cycle" means the amount of annual funding available,
				  as determined by the Commissioner, for section 15 grants for school facilities
				  projects in RODs, other than county vocational school districts.
"Gross square footage" means the total square footage of a
				  school facility.
"Inconsistent space" means spaces that differ from the
				  facilities efficiency standards in number, configuration, size, location, or
				  use.
"Land acquisition" means an acquisition of land, whether by
				  purchase, condemnation, or by gift or grant, to be used as a school site. Land
				  acquisition is either an eligible cost of a school facilities project or an
				  other capital project not eligible for funding pursuant to EFCFA.
"Lead action level" means the lead action level established
				  by the United States Environmental Protection Agency at
				  40 CFR
				  141.80 for lead in drinking water.
"Lease-purchase agreement" means any agreement under which
				  the school district leases equipment or school facilities as the lessee, and
				  gives the school district the option of purchasing the leased property during
				  or upon termination of the lease with credit toward the purchase price for all
				  or part of rental payments that have been made by the school district in
				  accordance with the lease-purchase agreement.
"Lease-purchase payment" means as set forth in
				  18A:7G-3.
"Local funding" means the funds supplied by a school district
				  to finance the total costs of an other capital project.
"Local portion" means the amount of school bonds issued for a
				  school facilities project funded under
				  18A:7G-9 or 10.
"Local share" means as set forth in
				  18A:7G-3.
"Local support" means the local share or the local
				  portion.
"Long-range facilities plan" or "LRFP" means the plan
				  required to be submitted to the Commissioner by a school district pursuant to
				  18A:7G-4.
"Maintenance reserve fund" means the account established by a
				  school district pursuant to
				  18A:7G-13 into which it deposits
				  monies to be used exclusively for required maintenance of school
				  facilities.
"New construction" means a school facilities project that
				  consists of either:
1. New school facilities; and/or
2. Additions to school facilities characterized by an
				  increase in the gross square footage of the school facility and that is
				  necessary due to unhoused students.
"New Jersey Student Learning Standards" means the standards
				  established pursuant to
				  18A:7F-4.a.
"Other allowable costs" means the cost of temporary
				  facilities; site remediation; site development; acquisition of land/or other
				  real property interest necessary to effectuate the school facilities project;
				  fees for the services of design professionals, including architects, engineers,
				  construction managers, and other design professionals; legal fees; permitting
				  and plan review fees; financing costs; and the administrative costs of the
				  Development Authority or the school district incurred in connection with the
				  school facilities project.
"Other capital projects" means all projects, or portions
				  thereof, that are 100 percent locally funded, including:
1. Capital projects for the construction or rehabilitation of
				  other facilities;
2. Leased school facilities, other facilities or temporary
				  school facilities, unless used as temporary space for a school facilities
				  project in accordance with
				  6A:26-3.1 4, subject to Department
				  review of the terms and conditions of the lease, in the case of school
				  districts for which the State share of eligible costs for school facilities
				  projects is 100 percent;
3. Eligible capital projects for which a school district is
				  not seeking State support; and
4. Projects for which there are no costs eligible for State
				  support.
"Other facilities" means athletic stadiums; swimming pools;
				  any associated structures; or related equipment tied to such facilities,
				  including, but not limited to, grandstands and night field lights, greenhouses,
				  garages, facilities used for non-instructional or non-educational purposes, and
				  any structure, building, or facility used solely for school
				  administration.
"Preconstruction activities" means the activities that must
				  be undertaken prior to completion and submission to the Department of a school
				  facilities project application for approval and calculation of preliminary
				  eligible costs. Such activities can include site analysis, acquisition of land,
				  remediation, site development, feasibility studies, design work, and
				  acquisition of and design work for temporary facilities.
"Preliminary eligible costs" means the initial eligible costs
				  of a school facilities project, which shall be deemed to include the costs of
				  construction and other allowable costs, as calculated pursuant to the formulas
				  set forth in
				  18A:7G-7 after the completion of
				  preconstruction activities.
"Priority project categories" means the categories specified
				  in 6A:26-3.9(a)  and
				  18.1.
"Project documents" means educational specifications,
				  schematic plans, detailed plans and specifications, final plans and
				  specifications, and other documents required for capital project review and
				  approval by the Division.
"Quality Single Accountability Continuum" or "QSAC" means the
				  monitoring and evaluation process of school districts pursuant to
				  18A:7A-10 et seq.
"Redevelopment entity" means an entity authorized by a
				  municipal governing body to implement plans and carry out redevelopment
				  projects in the municipality pursuant to the Local Redevelopment and Housing
				  Law, 40A:12A-1 et seq.
"Regular operating school district" or "ROD" means a school
				  district other than an SDA district.
"Rehabilitation" means a school facilities project consisting
				  of the reconstruction, remodeling, alteration, modernization, or repair of a
				  school facility to keep the school facility functional for its original purpose
				  or for new purposes and that does not increase the gross square footage of the
				  school facility.
"Replacement cost" means the area cost allowance multiplied
				  by the gross square footage of the building for the year specified in this
				  chapter.
"Required maintenance" means, for purposes of determining "M"
				  in the formula in
				  6A:26-3.8, specific maintenance
				  activities required for system warranty purposes that are approved for repairs
				  and replacements to keep a school facility open and safe for use or in its
				  original condition - including repairs and replacements to a school facility's
				  heating, lighting, ventilation, security and other fixtures to keep the
				  facility or fixtures in effective working condition - and that does not consist
				  of routine or capital maintenance. Required maintenance is not an eligible cost
				  of a school facilities project.
"Room inventory" means a list of each general instructional,
				  specialized instructional, administrative, and support space, and the sizes and
				  numbers that would constitute a school facility adequate to support the
				  achievement of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards by the projected
				  student enrollment.
"Routine maintenance" means contracted custodial or
				  janitorial services; expenditures for the cleaning of a school facility or its
				  fixtures; the care and upkeep of grounds or parking lots; the cleaning of, or
				  repairs and replacements to, movable furnishings or equipment; or other
				  expenditures that are not required to maintain the original condition over the
				  school facility's useful life. Routine maintenance is not an eligible cost of a
				  school facilities project.
"School bonds" means as set forth in
				  18A:7G-3.
"School district" means a district board of education,
				  including a local or regional school district established pursuant to
				  18A:8-1 et seq. or 18A:13-1 et
				  seq.; a county special services school district established pursuant to article
				  8 of 18A:46-1 et seq.; a county
				  vocational school district established pursuant to article 3 of
				  18A:54-1 et seq.; and a school
				  district under full State intervention pursuant to
				  18A:7A-34 et seq.
"School enrollment" means the number of FTE students who are
				  recorded in the school registers on the last school day prior to October 16 of
				  the current school year, except that it shall not include FTE students in
				  evening programs, post-graduate students, and post-secondary vocational
				  students.
"School facility" means and includes any structure, building,
				  or facility used wholly or in part for educational purposes by a school
				  district and facilities that physically support the structures, buildings, and
				  facilities, such as school district wastewater treatment, power generating and
				  steam generating, but excludes other facilities as defined in this
				  section.
"School facilities project" means the acquisition,
				  demolition, construction, improvement, repair, alteration, modernization,
				  renovation, reconstruction, or capital maintenance of all or any part of a
				  school facility or any other personal property necessary for, or ancillary to,
				  any school facility. School facilities project includes, but is not limited to,
				  fixtures; furnishings and equipment; site acquisition; site development;
				  services of design professionals such as engineers and architects; construction
				  management; legal services; financing costs; and administrative costs and
				  expenses incurred in connection with the project. To qualify as a school
				  facilities project, the project must be new construction to meet the housing
				  needs of unhoused students, or rehabilitation to keep a school facility
				  functional for its original purpose or for a new purpose accomplished within
				  the gross square footage of the original building. Maintenance projects
				  intended solely to achieve the design life of a school facility and routine
				  maintenance do not constitute school facilities projects.
"SDA district" means a school district that received
				  education opportunity aid or preschool expansion aid in the 2007-2008 school
				  year.
"Section 15 grant" means a grant of funds to be made pursuant
				  to 18A:7G-15.
"Short-term notes" means temporary notes or loan bonds as
				  described in
				  18A:24-3.
"Special education student" means a student receiving
				  specific services pursuant to
				  18A:46-1 et seq. and N.J.A.C.
				  6A:14, Special Education.
"State debt service aid" means the amount of State aid
				  determined pursuant to
				  18A:7G-9 for school bonds issued
				  for school facilities projects approved by the Commissioner on or after July
				  18, 2000, in school districts that elect not to have the Development Authority
				  or a redevelopment entity construct the project or that elect not to finance
				  the project under
				  18A:7G-15; and the amount of
				  State aid determined pursuant to
				  18A:7G-10 for school bonds or
				  certificates of participation issued for school facilities projects approved by
				  the Commissioner prior to July 18, 2000.
"State debt service aid percentage" means the district aid
				  percentage or 40 percent, whichever is greater.
"State share" means as set forth in
				  18A:7G-3.
"State support" means the State share or State debt service
				  aid.
"Temporary facility" means a facility used for educating
				  students on a temporary basis while awaiting completion of a school facilities
				  project that will permanently house students. It also means:
1. A facility reviewed and approved by the executive county
				  superintendent and/or the Division as substandard prior to June 7, 2004, and a
				  facility approved by the Division, as a temporary facility under the rules in
				  effect on or after that date;
2. A facility not planned or constructed as a permanent
				  school facility that is rented, leased, or otherwise acquired by a school
				  district or a private school for the disabled for use by public school
				  students; and
3. A temporary classroom unit, self-propelled van or other
				  mobile unit, whether or not installed on a school district-owned school site.
"Total costs" means the final eligible costs plus excess
				  costs, if any, for a school facilities project to be constructed by the
				  Development Authority or a redevelopment entity or financed pursuant to
				  18A:7G-15; the total cost of the
				  project as determined by the school district for a school facilities project
				  not to be constructed by the Development Authority or a redevelopment entity or
				  financed pursuant to
				  18A:7G-15, and the total costs of
				  an other capital project as determined by the school district.
"Type I school district" means a school district established
				  in a city, pursuant to
				  18A:9-2, where board members are
				  appointed by the municipality, and where the governing body of the municipality
				  issues school bonds for school district capital projects, pursuant to
				  18A:22-20 and
				  18A:24-11.
"Type II school district" means a school district established
				  in a municipality other than a city, every consolidated school district, and
				  every regional school district, pursuant to
				  18A:9-3, where board members are
				  elected or appointed by the municipality, as applicable, and where the district
				  board of education issues school bonds for school district capital projects in
				  a school district without a board of school estimate, pursuant to
				  18A:24-12.
"Uniform Construction Code" or "UCC" means N.J.A.C.
				  5:23.
"Unhoused students" means the number of students in excess of
				  the functional capacity of a school facility calculated pursuant to
				  6A:26-2.2(c).
"Useful life" means the applicable recovery period for
				  depreciation purposes determined under Section 168 of the Internal Revenue Code
				  of 1986,
				  26 U.S.C. §
										168 as amended and supplemented, and the
				  applicable regulations.