N.J. Admin. Code § 6A:26-6.3

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024

Section 6A:26-6.3 - Educational facility planning standards

(a) The educational facility planning standards delineated in (b) through (h) below, in conjunction with the UCC, shall form the requirements for the design and construction of public schools. Specific standards for school facilities housing preschool students are set forth at N.J.A.C. 6A:26-6.4.

(b) General design and construction requirements shall be as follows:

1. School facilities shall afford space for general instruction, specialized instruction, administration, and student services, the adequacy of which shall be pursuant to the requirements of this section. In addition, school facilities shall afford accommodations for approved vocational and special education programs;

2. Instructional rooms with windows shall have no exterior obstructing wall within 20 feet of the major window wall;

3. Inner courts shall have a minimum width of 20 feet;

4. Concrete floors in all instructional areas, except shops, shall be covered with a resilient floor covering;

5. Power tools and machines in shops that generate dust shall be provided with dust-collecting equipment. The equipment shall be either single- or multi-use vacuum packs or a central dust-collection system. Installed systems shall comply with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 664 "Standards for the Prevention of Fire and Explosion in Wood Processing and Woodworking Facilities" (1998), incorporated herein by reference, as amended and supplemented, and N.J.A.C. 7:27-8. Copies of the NFPA Standard 664 may be obtained by contacting NFPA, 1 Batterymarch Park, P.O. Box 9101, Quincy, MA 02269-9101.

6. The ceiling height of an academic classroom or other instructional space containing more than 300 square feet in area shall average nine feet six inches, and no part of the ceiling or other obstruction shall be lower than eight feet. Instructional spaces of less than 300 square feet and areas of larger spaces devoted to clothing alcoves, storage or work space shall have a minimum ceiling height of eight feet;

7. Height of the ceiling or other obstruction in other areas shall provide a minimum clearance as listed below:

Gymnasium	22 feet
Auxiliary gymnasium	14 feet
Weight room	12 feet
Music room (vocal or instrumental)	12 feet
The minimum height from overall highest riser to ceiling shall be eight
feet.
Cafetorium	18 feet
Cafeteria	12 feet
Industrial arts and vocational shop	12 feet
Library/media center	91/2 feet

8. Public school corridors and all other administrative spaces shall have a minimum ceiling height of eight feet;

9. A health unit shall be provided and shall include a nurse's area, a waiting area, an examination area, a rest area with privacy, drinking water, and toilet facilities sized and arranged so physically disabled persons requiring assistance will be able to receive aid;

10. Instructional greenhouses shall meet the following standards in addition to the requirements of the UCC and the Fire Prevention Code:

i. All doors shall be a minimum of three feet wide;

ii. Drinking fountains shall not be located inside greenhouses; and

iii. Greenhouses may be either attached to a school building or located at least 20 feet from the school building.

11. Wherever chemicals are stored or used, an eyewash fountain or similar device capable of providing a 15-minute continuous water flow shall be provided. Eyewash devices shall also be provided per N.J.A.C. 6A:26-12.5;

12. The minimum dimension of an instructional space or specialized instructional space shall be 10 feet; and

13. The designs of new schools shall incorporate the guidelines developed by the United States Green Building Council known as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), "LEED for Schools," which is incorporated by reference herein, to achieve maximum energy efficiency and environmental sustainability in the design of schools. A copy of the guidelines may be obtained from the Office of School Facilities, PO Box 500, Trenton, NJ 08625-0500.

(c) Entrance and exit requirements shall be as follows:

1. Pick-up and drop-off areas shall be designed to provide safe entrances and egress for students and adults;

2. There shall be clearly marked walkways from drop-off areas into school facilities, and entrances to the school facility shall be clearly marked;

3. Minimum clear widths for egress corridors serving more than 100 students in pre-kindergarten and elementary schools (kindergarten through fifth grade) shall be:

i. Seven feet, wall to wall without lockers or wardrobes;

ii. Eight feet, wall to locker face with lockers or wardrobes on one side; and

iii. Nine feet six inches, locker face to locker face with lockers or wardrobes on both sides.

4. Minimum clear widths at any point in middle and high schools, grades six through 12, shall be:

i. Seven feet six inches, wall to wall without lockers;

ii. Eight feet six inches, wall to locker face with lockers or wardrobes on one side; and

iii. Ten feet, locker face to locker face with lockers or wardrobes on both sides.

5. Minimum clear widths for secondary egress corridors serving 100 or fewer occupants shall be five feet.

6. Doors from all spaces used by students and school staff, excluding lavatories, storage rooms, janitors' closets, instructional spaces under 300 gross square feet, and locker rooms, shall swing into the corridor and shall have a safety vision panel of 1/4 inch glazing that is at least 100 square inches.

(d) The environment requirements shall be as follows:

1. Windowless classrooms and other occupied instructional spaces that do not have operable windows equal to at least four percent of the floor space shall be air conditioned, excluding gymnasiums, industrial shops, kitchens, and locker rooms; and

2. School facilities shall be designed, constructed, and renovated consistent with the standards of the UCC and other applicable State and Federal laws for radon, lead, asbestos, and other contaminants, and subject to the enforcement of such standards by the applicable State or Federal agency.

(e) Safety requirements shall be as follows:

1. Glazing in fire-rated assemblies shall be in accordance with the UCC. All other interior glazing shall be safety glazing;

2. A check valve shall be installed in the line supplying gas to each classroom, laboratory, shop or the other area where gas is used by students, except home economics rooms;

3. Science rooms, laboratories, shops, and other instructional spaces in which an open flame and/or the use of hazardous chemicals occurs, with the exception of home-economic rooms, shall be equipped with an emergency safety cold-water shower and a floor drain or a self-contained water receptacle or catch basin;

4. All construction or alteration of playgrounds, playground equipment, and surfacing, including materials provided at the base of playground equipment, shall comply with the playground-safety subcode of the UCC at N.J.A.C. 5:23-11, and with N.J.A.C. 5:23-7, the Barrier Free Subcode of the UCC;

5. When provided, a ceiling paddle fan shall be located at least eight feet above the floor and be enclosed with a metal guard;

6. Playground equipment shall not be constructed of chromated copper arsenate treated wood; and

7. The storage of pesticides shall be in a locked metal cabinet and vented to the exterior.

(f) Electrical power and communications requirements shall be as follows:

1. Push-type emergency cut-out switches shall be provided at appropriate locations within shops to de-energize the electrical supply to non-portable machinery and shall have a clear unobstructed access of a minimum of 36 inches. The switches shall be provided on the basis of one for each 1,000 square feet or fraction thereof of floor area in the shop, but in no case less than two per shop. Reset of the interrupted service shall be by a key-operated switch located within the shop. The cut-off and reset circuits shall be designed and installed to negate the possibility of the control circuit being de-energized, thereby being inoperative;

2. All non-portable motorized equipment and machinery shall be provided with magnetic-type switches to prevent machines from automatically restarting upon restoration of power after an electrical failure or activation of the above emergency cut-off;

3. Instructional spaces shall be provided with sufficient electrical power, communication and data outlets to satisfy the school district's program and equipment needs as defined in the school district's approved technology plan or equivalent document and educational specifications for a school facilities project, with not less than two duplex outlets remotely located per space;

4. Large group areas such as assembly rooms, auditoriums and other large group instructional spaces shall be provided with electrical power, data, and communications outlets at appropriate locations and at the location of portable projectors and built-in speaker cables at stage and platform areas; and

5. A communication system shall be installed in each classroom to allow for emergency communication to local authorities. The communication system may be in the form of a telephone system capable of placing 9-1-1 calls.

(g) Lighting requirements shall be as follows:

1. Installed artificial lighting intensity shall comply with the following minimum footcandles, which shall be maintained on the task at any time:

Installed Lighting Intensity Locations	Minimum
Acceptable
Footcandles
Classrooms and instructional areas - study halls, lecture	50
rooms, art rooms, offices, libraries, conference rooms, work
rooms, shops, laboratories, and secondary school cafeterias
Drafting, typing, and sewing rooms	70
Reception rooms, gymnasiums, auditoriums, primary school	30
cafeterias, all-purpose rooms, and swimming pools
Locker rooms, washrooms, toilet rooms, corridors	10
containing lockers, and stairways
Corridors without lockers and storerooms	5
Classrooms for the partially sighted	70

2. As an alternative to compliance with the above requirements, instructional spaces shall comply with the American National Standards Institute standard number ANSI/IES RP3-00, Guide for Educational Facilities Lighting, (2000) incorporated herein by reference, as amended and supplemented, which is available for review at the Division. The document may be purchased from the American National Standards Institute, Inc., 11 West 42nd Street, New York, New York 10036.

(h) Plumbing requirements shall be as follows:

1. The number of plumbing fixtures and ventilation requirements shall conform with the provisions of this chapter and be calculated according to the UCC;

2. General student toilet rooms shall be designed and labeled for student use, contain at least two of each required fixture and be directly accessible from a corridor or an open plan instructional space. Students housed within an instructional space in excess of 300 square feet shall not be required to travel through any other space except a corridor to reach a general pupil toilet room;

3. There shall be at least one general toilet room for each sex on each floor occupied by students, or all instructional rooms shall have individual toilet rooms. Where classrooms, shops, or physical education rooms are provided with self-contained individual facilities (water closet, lavatory, and drinking fountains), the pupil capacity of the rooms shall not be counted in computing the number of fixtures required in the general pupil toilet rooms;

4. Toilet facilities for preschool and kindergarten classrooms shall be provided as follows:

i. An individual toilet room shall be provided in each classroom and shall meet the following criteria:

(1) Be located and equipped in such a way as to ensure privacy for the students;

(2) Be accessible to physically disabled students and barrier free in design as per N.J.A.C. 5:23-7;

(3) Be equipped with an open front seat with a flood rim height no greater than 14 inches from the floor, and a lavatory (sink) with a flood rim height no greater than 26 inches from the floor.

ii. In lieu of providing an individual toilet room in each classroom as required in (h)4i above, toilet rooms may be provided adjacent to or outside the classroom if the following criteria are satisfactorily addressed:

(1) No child or group of children shall be left unsupervised at any time when traveling to or from the facilities. Provisions shall be made for adult supervision in a manner that will not infringe upon instructional time;

(2) Toilet facilities shall be readily accessible and the toilet room and signage shall be visible to a child from the classroom door;

(3) Toilet facilities shall be provided for both boys and girls and shall meet the requirements of (h)4i(4) above.

iii. If a school district chooses to provide toilet rooms adjacent to or outside the classroom in conformance with (h)4ii above, the chief school administrator shall certify to the executive county superintendent on forms prescribed by the Commissioner how the alternate method of compliance shall be addressed. The completed form and a copy of a resolution by the district board of education approving the alternate method of compliance shall be submitted to the executive county superintendent for approval. Thereafter, the chief school administrator annually shall resubmit the form certifying how the alternate method of compliance will be addressed. Any changes to the approved alternate method of compliance shall be submitted to the executive county superintendent for approval;

5. Entrance to toilet rooms and locker rooms shall be designed to prevent visibility into the room;

6. Water closets shall be separated by individual stall partitions, including doors that are of a smooth impervious material to permit effective cleaning;

7. Floors of all toilet, shower, and drying rooms shall be water-tight and impervious to moisture. Floors shall be provided with an integral cove base at least four inches high;

8. Flooring materials of ceramic tile, quarry tile, sheet vinyl, and plastic coatings designed for this purpose shall be deemed to meet the requirements of this subchapter except for use in showers. Resilient tiles or exposed concrete shall not be acceptable in toilet rooms;

9. Where showers are provided, shower heads shall be at least 30 inches apart, one shower head for each 10 students, with a shower head height of six feet, and 12 square feet of floor area shall be provided per shower head;

10. Preschool and kindergarten classrooms shall be equipped with a bubbler or water fountain; and

11. Arts and crafts classrooms shall be equipped with a water source, sink and appropriate sink trap.

N.J. Admin. Code § 6A:26-6.3

Recodified from N.J.A.C. 6A:26-6.2 and amended by R.2004 d.214, effective 6/7/2004.
See: 36 N.J.R. 243(a), 36 N.J.R. 2733(b).
Rewrote the section. Former N.J.A.C. 6A:27-6.3, Private schools for disabled students and schools for disabled students operated by the New Jersey Department of Human Services, recodified to N.J.A.C. 6A:26-6.5.
Amended by R.2007 d.81, effective 3/19/2007.
See: 38 N.J.R. 4533(a), 39 N.J.R. 899(a).
In (f)3, inserted "school" preceding "district's" two times; and in (h)4iii, inserted "school" preceding "district".
Amended by R.2013 d.145, effective 12/16/2013.
See: 45 N.J.R. 1026(a), 45 N.J.R. 2557(a).
Rewrote the section.