State Policy Profiles

State-level engagement in PK-12 public school facilities is firmly embedded in state systems. State boards of education, state education agencies, state legislatures, governors, and, in some cases, independent commissions and facilities authorities make decisions about state roles and responsibilities associated with the quality and delivery of public school facilities. These bodies govern through state codes, regulations, standards, and budgets, which direct and influence local policies and practices regarding public school buildings and grounds. In some states, education finance equity and adequacy court cases have also played a role in defining state responsibilities for public school facilities.

Although PK-12 public school facilities are managed locally, there are state facilities management roles and responsibilities that may involve strategic planning, data collection, state funding programs, standards, and systems for accountability. State agencies may also include programs for technical assistance and training that help districts meet standards, mitigate risk, and increase the quality of local district stewardship of public school buildings and grounds. State roles and responsibilities related to elementary and secondary public school facilities vary widely across the U.S. states, with unitary districts in Hawaii and U.S. Territories where the state agency and the local agency are combined.

Extensive data and information are needed for educational facility planning, decision making, and oversight. States play a role in collecting data and information on local school facilities and/or setting for such data collection. Relevant data helps stakeholders understand the broad impacts of their PK-12 infrastructure spending and investments on health, education, community and beyond. Facilities data falls into five major categories:

• Inventory: Data include addresses, geo-codes, building areas, site acreage, and year of construction.
• Design: Data include space descriptions, number of stories, designed-for purposes (i.e., elementary school, performance center).
• Utilization: Data includes school capacity for enrollment based on the educational programs provided, spaces that are shared, and the gross square footage per enrolled student.
• Condition: Data includes facility condition assessment data on the age and condition of major components, systems, and finishes.
• Budget and Finance: Data elements include the district expenditures for maintenance, operations, and capital improvements. 

See the NCES Forum Guide to Facility Information Management for more details.

School facilities require planning at many different levels to meet educational and community purposes. Educational facilities planning is needed for facilities operations, maintenance, and capital projects. Planning PK- 12 public school facilities enables states, districts, and communities to align their resources to their needs, ensure that priorities are met fairly, and that facilities are operated, managed, and built to modern health, safety, educational, and environmental standards. State policies, regulations, and/or guidance can be used to establish frameworks for local educational facility master planning.

State laws define how districts get access to local financing for school construction capital projects and whether or how states distribute state school construction funding. School facilities are funded with annually budgeted operating funds for utilities, cleaning, groundskeeping, maintenance, and repairs; and periodically budgeted, and usually bond-financed, capital funds, for school design, construction, renovation, and major repair projects.

Accountability systems for facilities involve facility standards, assessments, and reporting on the health, safety, education, and other factors associated with PK–12 public school buildings and grounds. It involves systems for measuring and communicating conditions, and the authority to encourage or enforce changes in school design, construction, operations, and maintenance. States vary widely in their approach, but most states set at least some standards for school facilities (such as square footage standards, design standards, environmental health standards, seismic standards, etc.) and establish mechanisms to ensure standards are met locally.