(1) FIRESAFETY.—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. 633.206(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 fire officials certified by the State Fire Marshal under s. 633.216. These standards must be used by all public agencies when inspecting public educational and ancillary plants, and the firesafety standards must be used by county, municipal, or independent special fire control district inspectors 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 in this section or chapter 633 and for withdrawal of any educational and ancillary plant, or portion thereof, from use until unsafe or unsanitary conditions are corrected or removed.

(2) 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) Each school cafeteria must post in a visible location and on the school website the school’s semiannual sanitation certificate and a copy of its most recent sanitation inspection report.

(c) Under the direction of the fire official appointed by the board under s. 1013.371(2), firesafety inspections of each educational and ancillary plant located on property owned or leased by the board, or other educational facilities operated by the board, must be made no sooner than 1 year after issuance of a certificate of occupancy and annually thereafter. Such inspections shall be made by persons certified by the Division of State Fire Marshal under s. 633.216 to conduct firesafety inspections in public educational and ancillary plants. The board shall submit a copy of the firesafety inspection report to the county, municipality, or independent special fire control district providing fire protection services to the school facility within 10 business days after the date of the inspection. Alternate schedules for delivery of reports may be agreed upon between the school district and the county, municipality, or independent special fire control district providing fire protection services to the site in cases in which delivery is impossible due to hurricanes or other natural disasters. Regardless, if immediate life-threatening deficiencies are noted in the report, the report shall be delivered immediately. In addition, the board and any other authority conducting the fire safety inspection shall certify to the State Fire Marshal that the annual inspection has been completed. The certification shall be made electronically or by such other means as directed by the State Fire Marshal.

(d) In each firesafety inspection report, 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 board shall take action to promptly correct the deficiencies or withdraw the educational or ancillary plant from use until such time as the deficiencies are corrected.

(3) 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 located on the property owned or leased by the board, or other educational or ancillary plants operated by the school board, and each public college may be conducted no sooner than 1 year after the issuance of the certificate of occupancy and annually thereafter by the county, municipality, or independent special fire control district in which the plant is located using the standards adopted by the State Fire Marshal. The board or public college 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 prepared pursuant to this subsection, the county, municipality, or independent special fire control district, 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 county, municipality, or independent special fire control district, in conjunction with the fire official appointed by the board, shall take action to require the board to promptly correct the deficiencies or withdraw the educational or ancillary plant 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 plant from use.

(4) 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.

(5) INSPECTIONS OF CHARTER SCHOOLS NOT LOCATED ON BOARD-OWNED OR LEASED PROPERTY OR OTHERWISE OPERATED BY A SCHOOL BOARD.—

(a) A safety or sanitation inspection of any educational or ancillary plant may be made at any time by a state or local agency authorized or required to conduct such inspections by general or special law. The agency shall submit a copy of the inspection report to the charter school sponsor.

(b) One firesafety inspection of each charter school that is not located in facilities owned or leased by the board or a public college must be conducted each fiscal year by the county, municipality, or independent special fire control district in which the charter school is located using the standards adopted by the State Fire Marshal. Upon request, the inspecting authority shall provide a copy of each firesafety report to the board in the district in which the facility is located.

(c) In each firesafety inspection report and formulated in consultation with the charter school, the inspecting authority shall include a plan of action and a schedule for the correction of each deficiency. If any immediate life-threatening deficiency is noted in any inspection, the inspecting authority shall take action to require the charter school to promptly correct each deficiency or withdraw the educational or ancillary plant from use until such time as all deficiencies are corrected.

(d) If the charter school fails to take corrective action within the period designated in the plan of action to correct any firesafety deficiency noted under paragraph (c), the county, municipality, or independent special fire control district shall immediately report the deficiency to the State Fire Marshal and the charter school sponsor. The State Fire Marshal has enforcement authority with respect to charter school educational and ancillary plants and educational facilities as provided in chapter 633 for any building or structure.

(6) INSPECTIONS OF PUBLIC POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION FACILITIES.—

(a) Firesafety inspections of public college facilities, including charter schools located on board-owned or board-leased facilities or otherwise operated by public college boards, shall be made in accordance with the Florida Fire Prevention Code, as adopted by the State Fire Marshal. Notwithstanding s. 633.202, provisions of the code relating to inspections of such facilities are not subject to any local amendments as provided by s. 1013.371. Each public college facility shall be inspected annually by persons certified under s. 633.216.

(b) After each required firesafety inspection, the inspecting authority shall develop a plan of action to correct each deficiency identified. The public college shall provide a copy of each firesafety inspection report to the county, municipality, or independent special fire control district in which the facility is located.

(c) Firesafety inspections of state universities shall comply with the Florida Fire Prevention Code, as adopted by the State Fire Marshal under s. 633.202.

(7) CORRECTIVE ACTION; FIRESAFETY DEFICIENCIES.—If a school board, public college board, or charter school fails to correct any firesafety deficiency noted under this section within the time designated in the plan of action, the inspecting authority shall immediately report the deficiency to the State Fire Marshal, who has enforcement authority with respect to educational and ancillary plants and educational facilities as provided in chapter 633 for any other building or structure.

(8) ADDITIONAL STANDARDS.—In addition to any other rules adopted under this section or s. 633.206, 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.

History.—s. 1, ch. 2002-287; s. 805, ch. 2002-387; s. 4, ch. 2003-3; s. 170, ch. 2007-217; s. 29, ch. 2008-235; s. 106, ch. 2009-21; s. 29, ch. 2010-78; s. 202, ch. 2011-5; s. 4, ch. 2011-79; s. 158, ch. 2013-183; s. 189, ch. 2014-17.