The Florida Senate

1013.12  Casualty, safety, sanitation, and firesafety standards and inspection of property.--The State Board of Education shall adopt and administer rules prescribing standards for the safety and health of occupants of educational and ancillary plants as a part of State Requirements for Educational Facilities or the Florida Building Code for educational facilities construction as provided in s. 1013.37, except that the State Fire Marshal in consultation with the Department of Education shall adopt uniform firesafety standards for educational and ancillary plants and educational facilities, as provided in s. 633.022(1)(b), and a firesafety evaluation system to be used as an alternate firesafety inspection standard for existing educational and ancillary plants and educational facilities. The uniform firesafety standards and the alternate firesafety evaluation system shall be administered and enforced by local fire officials. These standards must be used by all public agencies when inspecting public educational and ancillary plants, and the firesafety standards must be used by local fire officials when performing firesafety inspections of public educational and ancillary plants and educational facilities. In accordance with such standards, each board shall prescribe policies and procedures establishing a comprehensive program of safety and sanitation for the protection of occupants of public educational and ancillary plants. Such policies must contain procedures for periodic inspections as prescribed herein and for withdrawal of any educational and ancillary plant, or portion thereof, from use until unsafe or unsanitary conditions are corrected or removed.

(1)  PERIODIC INSPECTION OF PROPERTY BY DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARDS.--

(a)  Each board shall provide for periodic inspection, other than firesafety inspection, of each educational and ancillary plant at least once during each fiscal year to determine compliance with standards of sanitation and casualty safety prescribed in the rules of the State Board of Education.

(b)  Firesafety inspections of each educational and ancillary plant must be made annually by persons certified by the Division of State Fire Marshal to be eligible to conduct firesafety inspections in public educational and ancillary plants. The board shall submit a copy of the firesafety inspection report to the State Fire Marshal and, if there is a local fire official who conducts firesafety inspections, to the local fire official.

(c)  In each firesafety inspection report, the board shall include a plan of action and a schedule for the correction of each deficiency which have been formulated in consultation with the local fire control authority. If immediate life-threatening deficiencies are noted in any inspection, the board shall either take action to promptly correct the deficiencies or withdraw the educational or ancillary plant from use until such time as the deficiencies are corrected.

(2)  INSPECTION OF EDUCATIONAL PROPERTY BY OTHER PUBLIC AGENCIES.--

(a)  A safety or sanitation inspection of any educational or ancillary plant may be made at any time by the Department of Education or any other state or local agency authorized or required to conduct such inspections by either general or special law. Each agency conducting inspections shall use the standards adopted by the Commissioner of Education in lieu of, and to the exclusion of, any other inspection standards prescribed either by statute or administrative rule. The agency shall submit a copy of the inspection report to the board.

(b)  One firesafety inspection of each educational or ancillary plant must be conducted each fiscal year by the county, municipality, or special fire control district in which the plant is located using the standards adopted by the State Fire Marshal. The board shall cooperate with the inspecting authority when a firesafety inspection is made by a governmental authority under this paragraph.

(c)  In each firesafety inspection report, the local fire official in conjunction with the board shall include a plan of action and a schedule for the correction of each deficiency. If immediate life-threatening deficiencies are noted in any inspection, the local fire official shall either take action to require the board to promptly correct the deficiencies or withdraw the educational facility from use until the deficiencies are corrected, subject to review by the State Fire Marshal who shall act within 10 days to ensure that the deficiencies are corrected or withdraw the facility from use.

(3)  CORRECTIVE ACTION; DEFICIENCIES OTHER THAN FIRESAFETY DEFICIENCIES.--Upon failure of the board to take corrective action within a reasonable time, the agency making the inspection, other than a local fire official, may request the commissioner to:

(a)  Order that appropriate action be taken to correct all deficiencies in accordance with a schedule determined jointly by the inspecting authority and the board; in developing the schedule, consideration must be given to the seriousness of the deficiencies and the ability of the board to obtain the necessary funds; or

(b)  After 30 calendar days' notice to the board, order all or a portion of the educational or ancillary plant withdrawn from use until the deficiencies are corrected.

(4)  INSPECTIONS OF PUBLIC POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION FACILITIES.--Firesafety inspections of community college and university facilities shall comply with State Board of Education rules.

(5)  CORRECTIVE ACTION; FIRESAFETY DEFICIENCIES.--Upon failure of the board to take corrective action within the time designated in the plan of action to correct any firesafety deficiency noted under paragraph (1)(c) or paragraph (2)(c), the local fire official shall immediately report the deficiency to the State Fire Marshal, who shall have enforcement authority with respect to educational and ancillary plants and educational facilities as provided in chapter 633 for any other building or structure.

(6)  ADDITIONAL STANDARDS.--In addition to any other rules adopted under this section or s. 633.022, the State Fire Marshal in consultation with the Department of Education shall adopt and administer rules prescribing the following standards for the safety and health of occupants of educational and ancillary plants:

(a)  The designation of serious life-safety hazards, including, but not limited to, nonfunctional fire alarm systems, nonfunctional fire sprinkler systems, doors with padlocks or other locks or devices that preclude egress at any time, inadequate exits, hazardous electrical system conditions, potential structural failure, and storage conditions that create a fire hazard.

(b)  The proper placement of functional smoke and heat detectors and accessible, unexpired fire extinguishers.

(c)  The maintenance of fire doors without doorstops or wedges improperly holding them open.

(7)  ANNUAL REPORT.--The State Fire Marshal shall publish an annual report to be filed with the substantive committees of the state House of Representatives and Senate having jurisdiction over education, the Commissioner of Education or his or her successor, and the Governor documenting the status of each board's firesafety program, including the improvement or lack thereof.

History.--s. 1, ch. 2002-287; s. 805, ch. 2002-387; s. 4, ch. 2003-3.