State Construction Department

School Facilities Commission

Chapter 3: Uniform Adequacy Standards

Effective Date: 01/15/2020 to 06/23/2021

Rule Type: Superceded Rules & Regulations

Reference Number: 027.0002.3.01152020

Uniform Adequacy Standards

Section 1. Authority. This Chapter is promulgated pursuant to Wyoming Statutes 21-15-114(a)(xv), (ix) and 21-15-115(a).

Section 2. Uniform Statewide Adequacy Standards. The Commission adopts the following uniform statewide adequacy standards for school buildings and facilities by reference. Recognizing that many Wyoming schools were constructed prior to the adoption of these standards, and that a long-term process is in place to bring all school facilities in the State of Wyoming into compliance with these adequacy standards, these standards shall control how school facility remediation shall be implemented.

1. (a) The following rules are incorporated by reference in these Commission rules.
2. (i) Maximum Allowable Square Footage Allotment Methodology, adopted by the Commission and effective on October 20, 2016.
3. (ii) Capacity Calculation Methodology, adopted by the Commission and effective on June 22, 2016 and updated on October 20, 2016.
4. (iii) Furniture Fixtures and Equipment (FF&E) Budget and Funding Methodology, adopted by the Commission and effective on June 22, 2017.
5. (iv) Wyoming School Facilities Commission Design Standards for Outdoor Athletic Facilities, adopted by the Commission and effective on April 21, 2016.
6. (v) Wyoming School Facilities Commission School Bus Maintenance and Parking Facility Design Guidelines, adopted by the Commission and effective on July 16, 2013.
7. (vi) Wyoming School Facilities Commission Design Guidelines, adopted by the Commission and effective on January 26, 2010.
8. (b) The Commission has determined that incorporation of the full text in these rules would be cumbersome or inefficient given the length or nature of the rule.
9. (c) The incorporation by reference does not include any later amendments or edition of the incorporated matter beyond the applicable dates identified in subsection (a) of this section.
10. (d) The incorporated matter is maintained at the Department's office in Cheyenne and is available for public inspection and copying at cost at the same location or on the Commission's website.
11. (e) Enrollment Projection Methodology. Student enrollment changes shall be analyzed as follows:

(i) Identify present and potential grade configuration levels.

(ii) Identify rural schools and in-town schools (busing for a particular grade configuration is not taking place from in-town to out-of-town and vice versa). In these instances, a rural school stands on its own for analysis, in-town schools stand on their own.

(A) District in-town attendance boundaries are not accounted for individually, but as a whole.

(iii) Kindergarten enrollment is based upon a simple linear forecast using ten (10) years of trailing data.

(iv) Based on the survival rate from each grade (K through 11) to the next grade (1 through 12) using the ten (10) year trailing data average, calculate projected enrollment for each year by applying the prior year's enrollment in the previous grade.

(v) The department in making recommendations to the commission for determining the most cost effective remedy may use the following:

(A) Increasing Enrollment - When the school district's past and projected enrollments show an increasing population trend, the enrollment shall be based on a five-year cohort survival calculation after substantial completion.

(B) Stable Enrollment - When the school district's past and projected enrollments show a stable population trend (when the pattern has multiple increases and decreases), the enrollment shall be based on the average of the cohort survival calculation for a period of five years starting from the anticipated date of occupancy.

(C) Best Available Data - In certain situations, other data (e.g. historical, economic or social) may be considered to most accurately predict population trends. In all cases, only data considered by the Commission as reliable should be used and documented upon which projected enrollment is calculated for all recommended remedies.

(f) Classroom and Other Spaces. The Uniform Adequacy Standards do not prescribe the size of the various spaces which may be included in the design of any particular school facility. The Maximum Allowable Square Footage Allotment Methodology provides an allowable square footage within which a facility is to be designed. The design process shall seek out the most efficient and effective manner of allocating classroom and other spaces within the allowable square footage to provide buildings and facilities necessary for delivering educational programs prescribed by law and the student capacity in the school as determined by the Capacity Calculation Methodology or as approved by the Commission.

Section 3. Enhancements and Adequacy Standards.

(a) The following criteria and procedures are to identify local enhancements to school buildings and facilities which are in excess of state building adequacy standards and to determine whether and how any local enhancements should be incorporated into the statewide adequacy standards.

(i) The Department shall maintain a record identifying all local enhancements.

(ii) The Department shall consult with the Wyoming Department of Education to determine if any local enhancements have a positive demonstrable effect upon delivery of the prescribed state educational program. If local enhancements have a positive demonstrable effect upon the delivery of the educational program, the Commission shall make a determination whether and how such local enhancements should be incorporated into the statewide adequacy standards.