Emergencies under Section 751 are limited to situations or events that have actually occurred rendering the school facility's affected area or system closed or unusable.

Many urgent situations arise in school facilities that are not considered Section 751 emergencies.  Examples include:

• Potential closures such as structural repair work that needs to be performed on a stadium's grandstand so that it can remain open for use. 
• Potential system failures such as boiler repair work that needs to be performed so that a school building's heating system does not fail. 
• Timeline urgencies such as flooring work that needs to be performed before a school building opens for the academic year. 
  

​​​This emergency provision i​​s applicable to all public school districts, charter schools, career and technical centers, and intermediate units where the intermediate unit is housed in a facility owned by a public school district.

If the definition of an emergency is met, this emergency provision can be utilized, and the situation or event can be remedied as follows:

• The requirement to advertise the corrective work for bids is waived, allowing the school entity to solicit bids for the corrective work from at least three separate contractors. 
• There is no requirem​ent to receive three bids.  However, if more than one bid is received, an award needs to be made to the lowest responsible bidder. 
• Following an award of the corrective work, there is a post-event reporting requirement.  Compliance with this reporting requirement is met by completing and submitting the following form (Emergency Report Form) to the Division of School Facilities.
  

​​No. Work performed under this emergency provision is not subject to the multiple prime contract requirement also cited in Section 751 of the School Code.

​Yes. Using this emergency provision does not benefit a school entity when the total estimated cost for the corrective work falls within or below certain cost thresholds listed in Section 751.  ​​​

• If the total estimated cost for the corrective work falls between $12,600 and $23,200, using the emergency provision is of no benefit to the school entity, because this cost range is already subject to a three bid solicitation.
• If the total estimated cost for the corrective work is less than $12,600, the school entity can simply make an award to the contractor of their choosing, since this cost range is not subject to advertising for bids nor a solicitation of three bids. ​

Please note that the cos​​t thresholds indicated in this example change every January 1 based upon a consumer price index formula calculated by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry.  A school entity should consult with their solicitor to determine whether the cost of work falls within or below these annually updated cost thresholds.

​If an insurance company is involved, and they will directly obtain, contract, and pay the corrective work contractor, there is no need to treat the matter as an emergency.