(1) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules establishing standards for relocatables intended for long-term use as classroom space at a public elementary school, middle school, or high school. “Long-term use” means the use of relocatables at the same educational plant for a period of 4 years or more. Each relocatable acquired by a district school board after the effective date of the rules and intended for long-term use must comply with the standards. District school boards shall submit a plan for the use of existing relocatables within the 5-year work program to be reviewed and approved by the commissioner by January 1, 2003. A progress report shall be provided by the commissioner to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate each January thereafter. Relocatables that fail to meet the standards after completion of the approved plan may not be used as classrooms. The standards shall protect the health, safety, and welfare of occupants by requiring compliance with the Florida Building Code or the State Requirements for Educational Facilities for existing relocatables, as applicable, to ensure the safety and stability of construction and onsite installation; fire and moisture protection; air quality and ventilation; appropriate wind resistance; and compliance with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. If appropriate and where relocatables are not scheduled for replacement, the standards must also require relocatables to provide access to the same technologies available to similar classrooms within the main school facility and, if appropriate, and where relocatables are not scheduled for replacement, to be accessible by adequate covered walkways. A relocatable that is subject to this section and does not meet the standards shall not be reported as providing satisfactory student stations in the Florida Inventory of School Houses.

(2) Annual inspections for all satisfactory relocatables designed for classroom use or being occupied by students are required for: foundations; tie-downs; structural integrity; weatherproofing; HVAC; electrical; plumbing, if applicable; firesafety; and accessibility. Reports shall be filed with the district school board and posted in each respective relocatable in order to facilitate corrective action.

History.—s. 814, ch. 2002-387.