§ 21-15-115 — Statewide standards for school building and facility adequacy

(a) The commission shall by rule and regulation establish
and maintain 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 or county 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:
(i) Requirements for educating students in a safe
environment including all applicable building, health, safety
and environmental codes and standards required by law for all
public buildings;
(ii) Building site requirements;
(iii) Building performance standards and guidelines
including energy efficiency criteria;
(iv) Assurances for the special needs of identified
student populations including children with disabilities;
(v) Standards for educational space to allow the
delivery of the required educational programs;
(vi) Building capacity criteria aligned to the
prescribed state educational program, with consideration given
to utilization differences between school sizes and school
levels in accordance with W.S. 21-15-117(e)(iv);
(vii) Technological capacity criteria sufficient to
meet required educational program needs and the requirements
imposed under the state education technology plan;
(viii) Building and facility accessibility.
(b) Repealed by Laws 2021, ch. 131, § 2.
(c) The commission shall not less than once every four (4)
years, review and evaluate the building and facility adequacy
standards established under subsection (a) of this section.
Review and evaluation of the standards shall include the
identification of local enhancements to buildings and facilities
during this review and evaluation period, and based upon
criteria and procedures developed by the commission, a
determination as to whether and how any local enhancements
should be incorporated into the statewide standards. The review
and evaluation under this subsection shall extend to components
of the annual evaluation of school buildings, the facility
remediation schedules and the needs prioritization process
established by the commission under W.S. 21-15-117. Findings and
recommendations pursuant to this subsection shall be reported to
the select committee on school facilities before the next
convening date of the legislative session immediately following
completion of the review and evaluation, and shall specifically
address any need to expand any needs assessment under W.S. 21-
15-117, to conduct a reassessment of building and facility
adequacy or to modify the needs prioritization process.
(d) The commission shall not hinder or curtail the right
of a school district to undertake local enhancements to
buildings and facilities which are in excess of state building
adequacy standards, as permitted by law.