6-21-112. Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation.

6-21-112. Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation. (a) In order to ensure that substantially equal access to adequate educational facilities and educational equipment is provided for all public school students in Arkansas, the General Assembly finds that a division of public school academic facilities and transportation should be established under the direct supervision of the Commission for Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation. (b) There is created the Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation, which shall operate under the supervision of the Commission for Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation. (c)(1) The Commission for Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation shall select an individual to serve as the Director of the Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation. The director shall serve at the pleasure of the commission. (2) The person selected as the director shall: (A) Be a person of good moral character and qualified technically and by experience to direct the work of the Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation; (B) Have significant knowledge and experience in construction; and (C) Have ten (10) years' experience in an administrative, supervisory, or management position. (3) No person who is related within the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity to any member of the Commission for Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation shall be eligible to serve as the director. (d) The director, with guidance and approval from the Commission for Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation, shall be responsible for hiring all employees of the Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation. (e)(1) The Secretary of the Department of Transformation and Shared Services shall assign one (1) individual to serve as a technology liaison to the Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation. (2) The secretary shall assign one (1) individual from the staff of the Building Authority Division to serve as a physical plant liaison to the Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation. (f) The Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation shall: (1) Provide information or assistance to the Academic Facilities Oversight Committee as requested; (2) Use recommendations or assessments of the Academic Facilities Oversight Committee or the General Assembly as a basis for establishing the policies and procedures of the Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation; (3) Develop and implement the Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities Program Act, § 6-21-801 et seq.; (4) Administer the various programs of state financial participation in support of local academic facilities; (5)(A) Develop and implement an ongoing uniform process for collecting, inventorying, and updating information on the condition of all public school academic facilities in the state. (B) If the process developed is an automated statewide system, it shall encompass all school districts; (6) Develop and implement an ongoing process for collecting records from state agencies of all lawfully required inspections of public school academic facilities conducted by state agencies and commissions; (7) Develop a facility cost index that provides a methodology for comparing the cost of repairing the condition of a public school academic facility to the cost of replacing the public school academic facility with a facility containing the same amount of square footage; (8) Conduct unannounced random on-site inspections of public school academic facilities; (9) Enforce through planning minimum standards for accessibility to public school academic facilities and programs for individuals with disabilities; (10) Develop guidelines for competitive bidding, competitive negotiation, and other methods of procurement for public school academic facilities projects; (11) Develop incentive programs to reward school districts for innovative, effective, and efficient use of local and state resources with regard to public school academic facilities; (12) Review applicable statutes and rules for conflicts with or omission of energy-related content; (13) Administer the school transportation program in the various school districts of Arkansas, including without limitation: (A) The training of school bus drivers; and (B) The inspection of school buses, as defined in § 6-19-110; (14) Keep records showing the location of the academic facilities in the state by school district; (15)(A) Report by October 1 of each year to the Governor, the House Committee on Education, the Senate Committee on Education, and the Academic Facilities Oversight Committee on the status of implementation of the Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities Program Act, § 6-21-801 et seq. (B) The report also shall include summary results of lawfully required inspections of public school academic facilities by state agencies and commissions; (16) Report by October 1 of each even-numbered year to the Governor, the House Committee on Education, the Senate Committee on Education, and the Academic Facilities Oversight Committee on the state academic facilities master plan; (17) Maintain a public access website dedicated to public school academic facilities; and (18) Develop and implement a statewide facilities needs priority list that provides a methodology for: (A) Prioritization of state school district facility needs; and (B) Comparing the school district advancement of improving facility conditions with school district master plans. (g) The Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation may: (1) Contract with, retain the services of, or designate and fix the compensation of consultants, advisors, architects, engineers, and other independent contractors as may be necessary or desirable to carry out the Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities Program or any related program over which the Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation has authority; (2)(A) Accept all donations, grants of money, equipment, supplies, materials, and services conditional or otherwise from private sources, from municipal and county governments, from the state, and from the United States Government. (B) The Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation may use any of its resources to further the Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation's purposes and functions; and (3) Make and enter into all contracts, commitments, and agreements and execute all instruments necessary or incidental to the performance of its duties and powers under this section, the Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities Program, or any other related program over which the Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation has authority. (h) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall coordinate and share certain administrative, custodial, legal, internal finance, and other necessary personnel and responsibilities to effectuate the daily operations of the Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation and the Division of Information Systems.