(a)

1. (1) All applications for state financial participation under a project funding cycle of this Academic Facilities Partnership Program shall be submitted electronically by utilizing the master plan web tool located on the Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation’s website no later than 4:30 p.m. on March 1 of every even-numbered year.
2. (2) If during an even-numbered year the State Board of Education orders the involuntary annexation or consolidation of school districts, the receiving or resulting school district after annexation or consolidation may submit an updated master plan to the Office of the Director of the Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation no later than January 1 of the following odd-numbered year.
3. (3) If during an even-numbered year the board orders the involuntary annexation or consolidation of school districts, the receiving or resulting school district after annexation or consolidation may submit an application for state financial participation under this program to the Office of the Director of the Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation no later than February 1 of the following odd-numbered year.
4. (4) For the purposes of subdivisions (a)(2) and (3) of this section, the phrase “involuntary annexation or consolidation” includes annexations or consolidations approved or required by the board pursuant to Arkansas Code § 6-13-1601 et seq.

(b)

1. (1) A school district may apply for state financial participation under this part for:

   1. (A) Warm, safe, and dry space replacement projects;
   2. (B) Warm, safe, and dry systems replacement projects; and
   3. (C) Space projects.

2. (2)

   1. (A) If the state provides financial participation for an addition or conversion project, or a consolidation or annexation project that adds space to an existing campus, the district must construct any missing component to the POR specification.
   2. (B) The district will have to submit an accurate and complete POR, to include all existing spaces.
   3. (C) If the POR indicates deficient space components, the district must satisfy these components in the following order:

(i) Academic core areas;

1. (ii) Special education;

   1. (iii) Student dining areas; or

      1. (iv) Administrative.

2. (3)

   1. (A) The state will not participate in addition projects concerning gymnasiums, media centers, or auditoriums if the district already has this space or is in need, according to the POR, of:

      1. (i) Academic core areas;
      2. (ii) Special education; or
      3. (iii) Student dining areas.
   2. (B) State financial participation shall not be used for any gym space used for competition.
   3. (C) State financial participation for undersized facilities shall be limited to the space required to bring a facility up to size and shall not be approved for a new facility based on size alone.
   4. (D) Any new project must be deemed a prudent use of state funds.
3. (4) School districts are encouraged to discuss with the division before entering into demolition projects when the districts will be filing applications for state financial participation.

4. (5)

   1. (A) School districts applying for state financial participation for projects that support their facilities master plan shall:

      1. (i) File applications that include accurate and complete PORs, resolutions, schematic drawings, and other required documentation in a format prescribed by the division; and
      2. (ii) List the applications in the district’s facilities master plan.
   2. (B) School districts must comply with the timelines set out in subsection (a) of this section concerning submission of partnership applications with schematic drawings and district submitted PORs.
   3. (C) No project shall be approved if the district does not have a complete and approved facilities master plan as of September 1 of each even-numbered year.

   4. (D) No project application shall be submitted, reviewed, or approved if the district has begun construction on the project.

      1. (c)

5. (1)

   1. (A) Any project that applies for state financial participation must prove suitability.
   2. (B) All warm, safe, and dry space replacement projects that involve the division-approved demolition or repurposing of space for replacement of the same space will be considered a prudent and resourceful expenditure of state funds issue upon approval by the division and in compliance with POR requirements.

6. (2)

   1. (A) Warm, safe, and dry space replacement projects that replace student dining, kitchen, or media center space are not required to prove the suitability described in 6 CAR § 321-102(39)(B).
   2. (B) If the district provides a complete application for and the division agrees with the need for replacement of the student dining, kitchen, or media center space, the project will be eligible for state financial participation to the POR required size of a replacement student dining, kitchen, or media center space.
   3. (C) Replacement of a student dining, kitchen, or media center space will be based on condition and will not be based on size considerations alone.

7. (3) The district’s licensed design professional shall ensure that the project complies with current state law and the current Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, 12 CAR pt. 15, for the design of storm shelters, if required.

   1. (d)
8. (1) Any submission for state financial participation that does not comply with applicable state laws and this part and represent a prudent use of state funds shall be denied by the division.
9. (2) Any district whose submission is denied by the division under this section may submit a written appeal of the division’s decision to the Commission for Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation.

(e) In order to apply for state financial participation in a new construction project, a school district shall provide the division with a detailed narrative, description, and justification for the project and evidence of:

1. (1) Preparation for the new construction project as demonstrated by inclusion of the new construction project in the school district’s facilities master plan;

2. (2)

   1. (A) The adoption of a resolution certifying to the division the school district's dedication of local resources to meet the school district's share of financial participation in the new construction project.

   2. (B)

      1. (i) The resolution shall specify the approximate date that the board of directors of the school district intends to seek elector approval of any bond or tax measures.
      2. (ii) If as of the date of application the school district already has obtained elector approval of the bond or tax measure, the resolution shall identify the date of the election at which approval was obtained.
   3. (C) If the board of directors of the school districts intends to apply other local resources to pay the school district’s share of the financial participation in the new construction project, and does not intend to seek elector approval of a bond or tax measure, the resolution shall specify the approximate date the board intends to apply the other local resources.
   4. (D) If the resolution does not identify an approximate date for elector approval or application of other local resources, the submission shall be denied by the division;

3. (3)

   1. (A)

      1. (i) The total estimated cost of the new construction project.
      2. (ii) The total estimated cost of a new construction project shall be a minimum of three hundred dollars ($300) per student or one hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($150,000), whichever is less, per campus or district depending upon whether the project is a campus or district project.
      3. (iii) This project minimum does not apply to a construction project with a school nursing center.
   2. (B) Same warm, safe, and dry system projects shall not be combined for multiple facilities across multiple campuses except for warm, safe, and dry security systems as defined in 6 CAR § 321-102(41)(B)(i)(b)(1);
   3. (C) Multiple system projects shall not be combined to meet the minimum dollar threshold for Academic Facilities Partnership Program funding for a warm, safe, and dry systems replacement project except for warm, safe, and dry security systems as defined in 6 CAR § 321-102(41)(B)(i)(b)(2);
4. (4) The new construction project’s conformance with sound educational practices;
5. (5) The new construction project’s compliance with current academic facilities standards, including, without limitation, appropriate space utilization of the applicable school in the district as determined by the division;

6. (6) The allocation of project costs between new construction activities and maintenance, repair, and renovation activities if the new construction project includes improvements that could be classified as:

   1. (A) Maintenance;
   2. (B) Repair; and
   3. (C) Renovation;
7. (7) How the new construction project supports the prudent and resourceful expenditure of state funds and improves the school district’s ability to deliver an adequate and equitable education to public school students in the district;
8. (8) A statement of the district’s intent, if any, to seek incentives for LEED certification or Green Globes certification pursuant to 6 CAR § 321-109(c); and

9. (9) The following district-submitted PORs in accordance with the requirements of 6 CAR § 321-102(39):

   1. (A) On a new campus to compute suitability;
   2. (B) On an existing campus to compute suitability; or
   3. (C) On other existing campuses to compute district suitability.

(f)

1. (1) All proposed new construction projects shall be in compliance with the standards set forth in the Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities Manual.

2. (2) Variances to the Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities Manual standards may be granted by the division under the following:

   1. (A) Presentation by a school district of evidence of existing conditions that make compliance with applicable standards impractical or unreasonably burdensome; and
   2. (B) Other conditions determined by the division that warrant a variance.

(g)

1. (1) All applications for state financial participation under this program for new construction projects that are not considered warm, safe, and dry systems replacement projects pursuant to this part shall be prepared in accordance with the POR except in unusual and limited circumstances where the division determines that a waiver of the POR is the only means whereby the district can meet adequacy requirements.
2. (2) In such instances, a district may submit a request in writing to the division, signed by the district’s superintendent and president of its board of directors, setting forth in detail the circumstances requiring the waiver for the POR.
3. (3) No waiver shall result in the combining of funded spaces in which the waived space being added to another space results in one space being larger than the required POR size.
4. (4) POR-required spaces shall be individual and unique spaces and shall not consist of temporary or moveable walls, folding or temporary stages, etc.
5. (5) Floor-to-ceiling accordion-type walls may be permitted in limited and unusual circumstances upon district request and division approval.
6. (6) No waiver request shall be deemed granted unless and until the division issues a written notification that the waiver has been granted.

(h)

1. (1)

   1. (A) At least one hundred twenty (120) days before the application deadline set forth in subsection (a) of this section, a district may request in writing by letter or e-mail (received by the division during this period) and be granted by the division an early review conference that shall be held within seventy-five (75) days after the date of request.
   2. (B) The district may be advised through the early review conference process by an architectural and engineering firm if the school district pays the cost of the advice from the architectural and engineering firm.
   3. (C) To be granted an early project review, the district must submit a complete application.

2. (2) The early review conference shall consider the following:

   1. (A) Whether the proposed project is academic;
   2. (B) The application of the space calculation to the project;
   3. (C) The academic facilities wealth index of the district and the date at which the academic facilities wealth index will be applied to the partnership project if approved;
   4. (D) The project cost promulgated by the commission under Arkansas Code § 6-20-2509 for the project and the date on which the project cost data will be applied to the partnership project if approved;
   5. (E) If the applicant provides a complete application, a projected amount of state funding based on current application of the academic facilities wealth index and the project cost promulgated by the commission under Arkansas Code § 6-20-2509 to the planned project for planning purposes to allow a projection of local funding share required; and
   6. (F) Whether or not the proposed application, as submitted, meets all of the technical requirements for partnership applications as set out in the application guidelines and rules provided by the division for the applicable program application cycle.

3. (3)

   1. (A) The division shall make a written record of the findings of the review conference and provide a copy of the written record to the school district within five (5) working days after the written record is finalized.

   2. (B) All findings are subject to final review and commission approval.

      1. (i)
4. (1) The minimum requirement set forth in subdivision (e)(3) of this section may be waived by the division upon a recommendation being made by the director to the commission for the division for the minimum to be waived for cause and a majority of the commission supports the waiver.
5. (2) Districts must request the waiver by submitting a formal letter signed by the superintendent on district letterhead, which shall include a detailed justification for the request.
6. (3) The request must be uploaded and submitted with the project application due by March 1 of the even year.