ORIGINAL HOUSE ENGROSSED

BILL NO. 0275

ENROLLED ACT NO. 128, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FIFTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING

2001 GENERAL SESSION

AN ACT relating to school capital construction; modifying
and eliminating time limits as specified; imposing
conditions on state building adequacy standards; providing
an appropriation; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1.  W.S. 21-15-107(a) by creating new
paragraphs (ix) and (x) and by creating a new subsection
(m) and 21-15-111(b) and (c)(intro) are amended to read:

21-15-107. Statewide standards for school building
and facility adequacy; capital construction advisory group;
adequacy assessment; determination of building
deficiencies; annual reporting requirements.

(a) The state superintendent shall by rule and
regulation establish uniform statewide standards for the
adequacy of school buildings and facilities necessary for
providing educational programs prescribed by law for the
public schools. If a building owned by a district meets the
applicable standards under this subsection for use by the
district to educate students and was previously used for
the purpose of educating students, no municipal zoning
requirements shall be construed or applied so as to prevent
the district from using the building for the purpose of
educating students, or to require the district to make any
modification to the building as a condition of using the
building for the purpose of educating students. The uniform
standards shall at minimum include:

(ix) Graduated maximums and minimums pertaining
to required classroom square footage and gross square feet
per student by school type, accommodating small schools
with different grade configurations. Maximums developed

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under this paragraph shall not, by more than ten percent
(10%), exceed regional averages as developed by the council
of educational facility planners international or other
organizations with the information. In addition, student
projections, as used in gross square footage computations,
may not exceed the enrollment for the prior school year by
more than ten percent (10%). For purposes of student
enrollment for gross square footage computations under this
paragraph, consideration shall be given to other district
facilities available within a reasonable geographic area;

(x) Provisions enabling the design and the
square footage to be modified to accommodate joint and
nonschool uses of the facilities provided that any other
entity contributes the additional costs of the facility
incurred to accommodate the additional uses.

(m) Design and square foot variations that deviate
from the uniform standards set forth in subsection (a) of
this section may be recommended by the capital construction
advisory group and by the state superintendent by agreement
of the Wyoming department of education, the school district
and the independent consultant on state school capital
construction, if any, employed by the legislative service
office.

21-15-111. State capital construction assistance.

(b) A school district may apply for capital
construction assistance from the state under this section
by submitting written application to the state
superintendent through the state department of education on
forms prescribed and furnished by the department. In order
to be considered, applications shall contain the
certification under subsection (f) of this section,
information necessary to implement this section and plans

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for the proposed project as approved by the local board of
trustees in consultation with the school district building
advisory committee and developed in accordance with
district capital construction recommendations by
professional construction or architectural consultants on
behalf of the applicant district. Applications shall be
filed with the department on or before July June 1 of the
school year for which the assistance is requested.

(c) On or before September 15 of each year, The state
superintendent shall submit to the governor and joint
education interim committee a list of all new projects
eligible for state capital construction assistance. The
list shall specify the amount of funding necessary to
construct each project. The state's portion of an eligible
new project shall be the full amount of funding necessary
to construct the project, but reduced by any proposed new
district indebtedness under paragraph (e)(iii) of this
section designated in the application to fund that project.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, the state
superintendent may in his discretion reduce the amount of
funding specified on the list for any proposed capital
construction project submitted by an applicant district
under this section by eliminating project components the
state superintendent determines are not essential for
adequate facilities to provide the educational program
required by law for public schools. The state
superintendent shall not eliminate project components
contained in an application under this section without
consulting with the capital construction advisory group and
without providing the applicant district an opportunity to
provide information regarding whether the components are
essential for adequate facilities. Those new projects
eligible for state assistance are those which the state
superintendent determines:

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Section 2.  One hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00)
is appropriated from the general fund to the legislative
service office to be used by the management council
exclusively for independent consultant services as
specified by this section. Consulting services acquired
under this section may be available to the joint
appropriations interim committee for necessary independent
analysis and review of applications filed by school
districts under W.S. 21-15-107 for state capital
construction assistance for buildings and facilities
identified as inadequate by the state superintendent and to
the select committee on school capital construction created
under 2001 Senate File 0167 for responding to court
decisions regarding school capital construction.

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Section 3.  This act is effective immediately upon
completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law
as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming
Constitution.

(END)

Speaker of the House President of the Senate

Governor

TIME APPROVED: _________

DATE APPROVED: _________

I hereby certify that this act originated in the House.

Chief Clerk

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