Section 17295 Of Article 3. Approvals From California Education Code >> Division 1. >> Title 1. >> Part 10.5. >> Chapter 3. >> Article 3.
17295
. (a) (1) The Department of General Services shall pass upon
and approve or reject all plans for the construction or, if the
estimated cost exceeds twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), the
alteration of any school building.
(2) To enable the Department of General Services to pass upon and
approve plans pursuant to this subdivision, the governing board of
each school district and any other school authority before adopting
any plans for the school building shall submit the plans to the
Department of General Services for approval, and shall pay the fees
prescribed in this article.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 17295, where the
estimated cost of the reconstruction or alteration of, or an addition
to, any school building exceeds twenty-five thousand dollars
($25,000) but does not exceed one hundred thousand dollars
($100,000), a licensed structural engineer shall examine the proposed
project to determine if it is a nonstructural alteration or a
structural alteration. If he or she determines that the project is a
nonstructural alteration, he or she shall prepare a statement so
indicating. If he or she determines that the project is structural,
he or she shall prepare plans and specifications for the project
which shall be submitted to the Department of General Services for
review and approval. A copy of the engineer's report stating that the
work does not affect structural elements shall be filed with the
Department of General Services.
(c) If a licensed structural engineer submits a report to the
Department of General Services stating that the plans or activities
authorized pursuant to subdivision (b) do not involve structural
elements, then all of the following shall apply to that project:
(1) The design professional in responsible charge of the project
undertaken pursuant to this subdivision shall certify that the plans
and specifications for the project meet any applicable fire and life
safety standards, and do not affect the disabled access requirements
of Section 4450 of the Government Code, and shall submit this
certification to the department. The letter of certification shall
bear the identifying licensing stamp or seal of the design
professional. This provision does not preclude a design professional
from submitting plans and specifications to the department along with
the appropriate fee for review.
(2) Within 10 days of the completion of any project authorized
pursuant to subdivision (b), the school construction inspector of
record on the project, who is certified by the department to inspect
school buildings, shall certify in writing to the department that the
reconstruction, alteration, or addition has been completed in
compliance with the plans and specifications.
(3) The dollar amounts cited in this section shall be increased on
an annual basis, commencing January 1, 1999, by the department
according to an inflationary index governing construction costs that
is selected and recognized by the department.
(4) No school district shall subdivide a project for the purpose
of evading the limitation on amounts cited in this section.
(d) For purposes of this section, "design professional in
responsible charge" or "design professional" means the licensed
architect, licensed structural engineer, or licensed civil engineer
who is responsible for the completion of the design work involved
with the project.