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Sec. 1 As used in 410 IAC 6-5.1:
"Approved" means approved by the state board in all instances where not otherwise specified.
"Classroom" is any place or area within a school in which students are instructed.
"Dormitory" is any place, area, room, or building occupied and provided by the school for student housing.
"Food service" is any place, area, or room within a school building or dormitory where food is routinely prepared and served.
"Grade or grade level" is the finished ground level at the face of the exterior walls.
"Local health officer" means the health officer of any county or local health department, or his duly authorized representatives.
"Person" means an individual, partnership, co-partnership, firm, company, association, society, holding company, trustee, school corporation, school city, school town, school district, any consolidated unit of government, or any other legal entity, its or their successors or assigns, or agent of any of the aforesaid.
"School" is any place, or structure in which systematic instruction of any kind or grade is carried on for more than 10 persons for five hours or more per week or two and one-half hours or more per day, including preschools, kindergartens; elementary and secondary schools providing instruction to meet the compulsory attendance law pursuant to IC 20-8.1-3-17; colleges, universities and other post-secondary educational institutions.
The following shall not be considered to be educational institutions subject to the provisions of 410 IAC 6-5.1:
"School building or facility" is any structure used in connection with the operation of schools, including the site therefor, the equipment thereof, and all appurtenances thereto, such as heating, ventilation, water supply, sewage disposal, plumbing, drainage, lighting, walks, drives, playgrounds, athletic fields, and other necessary structures and improvements used in connection therewith.
"School site" is a plot of ground or property set apart for the use of a school.
"State board" means the state board of health.
"State health commissioner" means the commissioner of the Indiana state board of health or his duly authorized representatives.
"Swimming pool" is any structure, basin, chamber, or tank containing a body of water for swimming, diving, or recreational bathing, including its appurtenances.
Sec.2. 410 IAC 6-5.1 shall be administered by the state board through the state health commissioner.
Sec. 3. (a) 410 IAC 6-5.1 shall apply to every school building, including every existing building or portion of an existing building, devoted to school use.
(b) Any person or persons planning construction, addition to, or significant change in the construction of any school facility, shall prior to the initiation of any such construction, submit detailed plans and specifications, drawn to scale, to the state board for review and approval. These plans and specifications must be certified by a registered engineer or architect licensed to practice in the state of Indiana.
(c) Plans and specifications for construction or modification of sewage treatment and disposal facilities shall be submitted to the stream pollution control board of review and issuance of a construction permit prior to construction.
(d) If, after having been approved by the state board, the plans or specifications are changed in any respect covered by 410 IAC 6-5.1, such revised plans or specifications shall be submitted to the state board and approval obtained prior to implementation of the revisions in the project.
(e) Plans and specifications for school buildings and parts of buildings used for school purposes shall comply with all applicable requirements of the Indiana building rules pursuant to 675 IAC 1-1-1 through 3.
(f) The owner or his authorized agent shall also comply with all local laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations.
Sec. 4. The school site shall be so located, constructed and maintained to protect the health and safety of the students, and shall provide accessibility for the physically handicapped.
(a) All school sites, including additions to existing school sites, and sites formerly utilized for school purposes shall be approved by the state board prior to use or reuse of a building constructed thereon for school purposes. Approval of the school site may be obtained prior to submittal of construction plans for the school building or prior to acquisition of the site.
(b) Sufficient level acreage shall be available to accommodate the building, any planned expansion, its approaches, and its play area. Where a private water supply or private sewage disposal system must be used, additional acreage may be required in order to provide minimum separation distances, and to accommodate planned expansion.
(c) School sites shall be free from any hazards or nuisances.
Sec. 5. (a) All school buildings or parts thereof used for school purposes shall be located, constructed, and maintained to protect the health and safety of the students, and shall include provisions for the physically handicapped.
(b) All school buildings or parts thereof used for school purposes shall at all times be maintained in a clean, safe and sanitary condition and be in a good state of repair.
(c) Classrooms for preschool, kindergarten, and first or second grade students shall be part of the first story above grade, except where the building is fully sprinklered.
(d) In all classrooms, each student shall be provided with no less than 30 square feet of classroom area. The ceiling height for classrooms shall not be less than 71/2 feet.
(e) All interior surfaces in school buildings shall be well maintained, easily cleanable and of nontoxic, durable construction. Each floor of a school building shall have adequate space provided for storage of cleaning equipment.
(f) All portions of school buildings or parts thereof used for school purposes shall be provided with natural light by means of exterior glazed openings with an area not less than one-tenth of the total floor area, or shall be provided with artificial light. Windows shall be provided on only one side of each classroom.
| School Building Areas | Foot Candles |
|---|---|
| *410 IAC 7-15.1 requires that certain portions of food service areas be lighted in excess of 20 foot candles. | |
| **If used as a classroom, study hall or lecture room, auditoriums shall be provided with a minimum of 50 foot candles of light. | |
| Classrooms, laboratories, study halls, lecture rooms, art rooms, offices, libraries, and shops | 50 |
| Drafting rooms, typing rooms, sewing rooms, and those portions of rooms where detail work is to be done | 70 |
| Reception rooms, gymnasiums, cafeterias, food service areas*, and indoor swimming pools | 20 |
| Auditoriums**, shower/locker rooms, inside restrooms, corridors, store rooms, service areas and stairways | 10 |
(g) All light fixtures located in student areas shall be shielded to protect the students from injury due to bulb breakage.
(h) The exterior windows in classrooms shall be equipped with blinds, window shades of translucent material, or other approved means to control natural light.
(i) In student areas, windows having sills 30 inches or less from the floor shall be provided with approved safety glass or with protective devices installed on the interior of the room.
(j) All portions of school buildings or parts thereof used for school purposes shall be provided with natural ventilation by means of operable exterior windows with an area of not less than one-twentieth of the total floor area or shall be provided with a mechanically operated ventilating system. The mechanically operated ventilating system shall supply a minimum of five cubic feet per minute of outside air, with a total circulation of not less than 15 cubic feet per minute per occupant in all portions of the building. Each such ventilating system shall be kept continuously in operation whenever a room it serves is occupied.
(k) All school buildings or parts thereof used for school purposes shall be equipped with heating facilities with capacity sufficient to maintain a uniform temperature in all student areas under severest weather conditions. Portable space heaters are prohibited.
(l) Where provided, air-conditioning systems shall be capable of and shall be operated to maintain a temperature not to exceed 78 degrees F. and 65 percent relative humidity during periods of student occupancy.
(m) The building electrical systems shall comply with the applicable requirements of the Indiana electrical rules (675 IAC 6-1-1 through 2).
(n) All furniture and equipment used in any school building or a part of a building used for school purposes shall be durable and easily cleanable, with rounded corners and edges, and otherwise protected to ensure safety. Heights of furniture and equipment shall be based on the size of students using them.
(o) All primary and secondary school buildings or parts thereof used for school purposes shall provide storage for the clothing and belongings of each student. Lockers, hanger bars, or hooks shall be provided at the ratio of one for each student. Heights of lockers, hanger bars, hooks, and shelves shall be based on the size of students using them. Where provided, lockers shall set [sic.] upon closed front bases.
(p) Drinking water facilities shall be provided in all school buildings or parts thereof used for school purposes.
(q) Service sinks or similar facilities shall be provided in all school buildings or parts thereof used for school purposes.
(r) Provisions shall be made in all schools so that health examinations, screening tests, and first-aid service can be conducted to protect the health and safety of the students.
(s) Each school building or parts thereof used for school purposes shall be provided with restroom and sanitary facilities. Restrooms and sanitary facilities shall be kept in a clean condition, in good repair, well lighted and adequately ventilated. In cases where privies are provided, they shall be of the sanitary vault-type, constructed and operated in compliance with the standards of the state board.
(t) All student housing and dormitories, where provided by the school, shall be kept in good repair and shall be maintained in a clean, safe and sanitary condition.
Sec. 6. (a) Any room or area in a school building used for the storage preparation and serving of food, or the washing of food utensils, shall be constructed and operated in compliance with the applicable requirements of the food service rules of the state board (410 IAC 7-15.1).
(b) All food service equipment and utensils shall be in compliance with the applicable requirements of the food service rules of the state board (410 IAC 7-24).
(c) An adequate supply of hot and cold water, under pressure, shall be provided in all food service and related areas where food is prepared, or equipment, utensils, or containers are washed.
(d) In food services and related areas, handwashing facilities, including hot and cold water under pressure, shall be provided at locations convenient to the food preparation and utensil washing areas. Food preparation and utensil washing sinks are not acceptable as handwashing facilities for personnel. Each handwashing facility shall have either a mixing-type faucet or an automatic mixing device. Hot water must be available within a reasonable time after opening the faucets. An adequate supply of soap and individual sanitary towels in dispensers, or other approved hand-drying devices, shall be provided convenient, to all handwashing facilities. Common towels are not acceptable. If individual sanitary towels are provided a suitable container for used towels shall also be provided.
(e) After the effective date of 410 IAC 6-5.1, grease traps or interceptors shall be constructed to provide access for maintenance and cleaning only from outside the building.
Sec.7. (a) All swimming pools and related facilities operated as part of a school building shall be constructed in compliance with the applicable requirements of the Indiana swimming pool rules (675 IAC 9).
(b) Swimming pools and related facilities shall be operated in compliance with the applicable requirements of the swimming and wading pool operation rules of the state board (410 IAC 6-2).
Sec. 8. (a) All school building and related facilities shall be supplied with safe, potable water from an approved source and an approved distribution system.
(b) The water for school buildings and related facilities shall be supplied under pressure. The water supply and distribution system shall be sized and constructed to deliver water at 20 pounds per square inch minimum pressure to all fixtures and appurtenances during periods of peak water demand. Exception: Where religious custom precludes the use of electrically or gasoline driven well pumps, school buildings may be served by hand-operated well pumps, provided the well and well pump are located and constructed in compliance with applicable sections of 410 IAC 6-5.1.
(c) Where a public water supply is available or becomes available within a reasonable distance from the school facility, a connection shall be made thereto and its water used exclusively. Exception: With prior written approval from the state board, alternate sources of water may be utilized for lawn sprinkling, bus washing, fire fighting, and other non-potable uses provided that a non-potable distribution system, totally separate from the potable system, is also utilized.
(d) Where a public water supply is not available, a properly located and constructed private water supply shall be provided.
(e) The minimum distances between wells and buried pump suction lines and from sources of contamination shall be in accordance with the following:
| Source of Contamination | Distance in Feet |
|---|---|
| *Exception: Sewers and drains of cast or ductile iron water works grade pipe having mechanical joints may be located closer than 100 feet but shall be located no closer than 30 feet from wells and buried pump suction lines. | |
| ** Exception: The separation distances enumerated herein shall not be considered adequate in areas where fissured stone or very permeable soils are encountered. | |
| Sewers and drains | 100 * |
| Septic tanks, absorption fields, wastewater treatment facilities, privies | 100 |
| Streams, lakes, ponds, ditches | 25 |
| Property lines | 100 ** |
(f) Wells shall be tested for stabilized yield and drawdown by high-capacity pumping (initially at 150 percent or more of the design pumping rate) for at least 24 hours, and the results submitted to the state board for review along with the final plans for any school facility improvement.
(g) Water supplies shall have no well head, well casing, pump, pumping machinery, or exposed pressure tanks or suction piping located in any pit, room, or space which is walled in or otherwise enclosed so that it does not have free drainage by gravity to the surface of the ground at all times.
(h) All water supply wells shall be cased, and the annular space properly sealed, to a depth of at least 25 feet below finished grade. The casing pipe of any well shall project not less than 24 inches above floor level, finished grade or the highest flood level of record, whichever is greater. No casing shall be cut off below finished grade except to install a pitless adapter.
(i) Well pumps, pressure tanks, storage tanks, etc., shall be sized to meet peak water demands and total daily demands. The minimum usable capacity of the pressure tank, in gallons, shall be three times the installed well pump capacity, in gallons per minute (for example, a pump of 30 gpm capacity would require a pressure tank of 90 gallons usable capacity). If the well or pump cannot meet peak demands, sufficient additional usable storage capacity shall be provided to meet peak demands.
(j) Each school building or addition to a school building may have a potable water supply where necessary to provide adequate service. However, where two or more potable water supply systems are located on the same site, the water supply systems shall be sufficiently interconnected to allow for the maximum possible utilization of each, should a system fail.
(k) After the effective date of 410 IAC 6-5.1, no potable water distribution line may be constructed which crosses a sewer with less than 18 inches vertical clearance, or which runs parallel to a sewer with less than ten feet horizontal separation, unless the sewer is constructed of water works grade cast or ductile iron pipe with mechanical joints within ten feet of the potable water distribution line. Lesser horizontal separation distances may be allowed on a case-by-case basis if 18 inches vertical clearance can be maintained.
(l) There shall be no direct physical connection, existing or potential, between a potable water supply system and an unsafe water supply system used for fire protection, lawn sprinkling, toilet flushing or other nonpotable uses.
(m) Wells and potable water distribution systems shall be disinfected after construction and after each repair. Before releasing the potable system for use, the water shall be tested and shown to be bacteriologically acceptable in at least two consecutive samples collected 24 hours apart.
(n) No new equipment, chemical additive, or treatment method shall be employed to treat the water in the potable water supply system of a school without having obtained prior written approval from the state board.
(o) The concentration of fluoride in a school water supply which has a fluoride adjustment program shall not exceed 5.5 milligrams per liter.
(p) Unless lower water system demands can be documented to the satisfaction of the state board, all school buildings and additions to school buildings constructed after the effective date of 410 IAC 6-5.1, shall have a water supply system capable of furnishing a minimum of 15 gallons per day per elementary student and below, 25 gallons per day per secondary student and above, and 100 gallons per day per dormitory bed, based on maximum building occupancy.
Sec. 9. (a) All sewage treatment facilities for school buildings and related facilities shall be designed, constructed and maintained in accordance with the standards of the Indiana stream pollution control board.
(b) Where any governmental district, agency' community-type, or other public sewerage systems are available or become available within a reasonable distance from the school facility, a connection shall be made thereto and the public sewers shall be used exclusively. If a public sewerage system is not available, sewage shall be disposed of through an approved on-site sewage treatment facility.
(c) All parts of the sewer and sewage disposal or treatment system shall be located to prevent the possibility of contamination of the school water supply or the water supply of surrounding property owners. All components of the sewerage system shall be located at least 100 feet from any water supply well or buried pump suction line; however, sewers constructed of water works grade cast or ductile iron pipe having mechanical joints may be located within the 100-foot distance but not closer than 30 feet to a water supply well or buried pump suction line, with prior written approval of the state board. Exception: The separations enumerated herein shall not necessarily be considered adequate in areas where fissured stone or very permeable soils are encountered.
(d) All parts of the sewer and sewage disposal or treatment system shall be designed, constructed, and maintained to adequately transmit and dispose of daily sewage flows and peak sewage flows.
(e) Storm water or surface drainage shall not be discharged into any public or school sanitary sewer system. Water softener and filter backwash water, boiler blowdown water, and swimming pool water shall not be discharged into any sanitary sewer which drains to an on-site sewage treatment facility, without prior written approval of the state board.
(f) In all school buildings and additions to school buildings constructed after the effective date of 410 IAC 6-5.1, the following shall apply:
Sec. 10. (a) The township trustee, board of school commissioners, or similar school governing board shall be responsible for the satisfactory storage, collection and disposal of refuse generated in school buildings and related facilities.
(b) Refuse shall be stored inconveniently located, fly-tight, water-tight containers. Where service permits, approved hopper-type containers should be substituted for refuse cans.
(c) Refuse cans and containers shall be stored on racks with at least eight inches clearance off the ground, or on a concrete base, or by other approved construction. All refuse containers must be kept in a sanitary condition, and closed when not in use.
(d) The area around the refuse storage cans and containers shall be kept clean and free of litter.
(e) Refuse shall be disposed of at a permitted solid waste facility or in accordance with Rule 320 IAC 5[Pursuant to a style standard adopted by the code revision commission on August 25,1983, the revisor has renumbered 320 IAC 5 concerning the refuse disposal act as 330 IAC 4.] Transferred to 320.1 IAC 5
(f) All incinerators for combustible refuse shall be designed, constructed and maintained in accordance with the applicable rules of the Indiana air pollution control board [325 IAC].
(g) Garbage and empty food containers shall not be placed in any incinerator constructed for the disposal of combustible refuse.
(h) All toxic or hazardous waste generated by a school facility shall be collected, stored, and disposed of in accordance with the applicable rules of the Indiana environmental management board [320 IAC].
Sec.11. (a) No condition shall be created in any school building that is not conducive to health and safety.
(b) No flammable, explosive, toxic, or hazardous liquids, gases, or chemicals shall be placed, stored, or used in any building or part of a building used for school purposes, except in approved quantities as necessary for use in laboratories, shops, and approved utility rooms. Such liquids, gases, or chemicals shall be kept in tightly sealed containers, and stored in safety cabinets or approved storage rooms when not in actual use, and in accordance with applicable requirements of the flammable liquids code (675 IAC 11.3).
(c) Employees and students who must use machines and equipment in shops, laboratories, and food services shall be supplied with the appropriate safety devices for personal protection.
(d) All prescription drugs dispensed to the students under a doctor's order shall be stored in a locked cabinet or room under adult supervision. All prescription drugs shall be dispensed to the students under adult supervision.
Sec. 12. The state health commissioner or local health officer is authorized to make inspections to determine the condition, of school buildings and sites. The commissioner or local health officer shall have the authority to enter at reasonable times any private, public, or religious school building for the purpose of inspecting and investigating conditions relating to the enforcement of 410 IAC 6-5.1.
Sec. 13. The state health commissioner or local health officer is hereby authorized to enforce the provisions of 410 IAC 6-5.1. Ordinances, rules, regulations, and other requirements adopted by local government agencies shall not designate standards that are incompatible with or less stringent than 410 IAC 6-5.1.
Sec. 14. If any section, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase or word of 410 IAC 6-5.1, or any other part thereof, be declared invalid for any reason, the remainder of 410 IAC 6-5.1 shall not be affected thereby and shall remain in full force and effect.
SECTION 2. The following is repealed:
410 IAC 6-5
Rule 5. School Construction Regulations Repealed.
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