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​Underlying Code and Regulations

The following is a list of laws, regulations, standards and Basic Education Circulars (BEC) which pertain to the PlanCon process:

  1. Articles 7 and 25 of the Pennsylvania Public School Code of 1949;
  2. Chapter 21, School Buildings, of the State Board of Education Regulations;
  3. Chapter 349, School Building Standards, of the Department of Education Standards;
  4. BEC 24 P.S. § 25-2574, "Reimbursements for School Construction Bond Issues," provides information on state reimbursement for bond issues funding school construction projects; and
  5. BEC 24 P.S. § 7-733, "School Construction Reimbursement Criteria," contains the following requirements for reimbursable school construction projects:
  1. CURRENT STANDARDS - A condition of reimbursement is to bring the entire building up to prevailing educational and reasonably current construction standards;
  2. DISTRICT-WIDE FACILITY STUDY - A district-wide facility study for all district facilities must have been completed prior to the submission of PlanCon Part A and within two years of that date. Refer to Attachment C in the PlanCon Part A instructions for additional information on district-wide facility study requirements;
  3. WOOD CONSTRUCTION - For any project involving the renovation of a multi-storied building with a Department of Labor and Industry classification of wood frame or ordinary construction (i.e., interior framing is partially or wholly of wood), a district must describe the plans and methods designed to address the health and safety issues related to this type of construction;
  4. 20-YEAR RULE - Buildings may only qualify for school construction reimbursement every twenty years at a minimum unless a variance is requested and approved. To determine the applicability of the "20-year" rule on a project building, calculate the number of years from the bid opening date of the previous reimbursable project to the bid opening date of the planned project; and
  5. 20% RULE FOR ALTERATION COSTS - An alteration project may not be eligible for reimbursement where the costs for alterations are less than 20% of the project building's replacement value unless a variance is requested and approved. This rule does not apply to area vocational-technical schools (AVTSs) or to leased buildings.

    A request for a variance from the departmental policies in BEC 24 P.S. § 7-733, except for the "20% Rule for Alteration Costs", must be submitted in the form of a resolution of the board of school directors. A request for a variance from the "20% Rule for Alteration Costs" may be submitted on the applicable PlanCon forms in PlanCon Parts A, D and G. Any request for variance must document the reasons why the variance should be granted.