ORS 326.125: Office of School Facilities; rules.

(1) For the purpose of assisting school districts and education service districts with capital costs, the Office of School Facilities is established within the Department of Education. The office shall be responsible for: (a) Distributing hardship grants to school districts with facility needs. Grants awarded under this paragraph may not exceed $500,000 and shall be provided to school districts based on the order in which the Department of Education receives the completed applications for the grants. A school district may be eligible for a grant under this paragraph if the school district meets requirements established by the State Board of Education by rule, including any requirements to provide matching funds. (b) Providing technical assistance and establishing and maintaining standards for facilities assessments and long-range facilities plans for school districts and education service districts. (c) Administering a certification program for qualified providers of technical assistance for the purposes described in paragraph (b) of this subsection. (d) Providing grants to school districts and education service districts for the cost of technical assistance for the purposes described in paragraph (b) of this subsection. The State Board of Education may establish by rule requirements for a district to receive a grant under this paragraph. Grants for a district under this paragraph may not exceed the following amounts, as adjusted under subsection (2) of this section: (A) $40,000 for a facilities assessment; (B) $40,000 for a long-range facilities plan; (C) $40,000 for an assessment of district facilities for potential environmental hazards under ORS 332.331; and (D) $40,000 for a seismic assessment or other specialized assessment. (e) Maintaining the Oregon School Facilities Database. The database must include information that: (A) Assists with analyzing, planning and prioritizing school capital improvement needs for school districts and education service districts by providing district-to-district and school-to-school comparisons; and (B) Is required by the State Board of Education by rule. (f) Administering the grant program described in ORS 286A.801. (g) Administering a statewide facilities assessment program. (2) To account for effects of inflation, the State Board of Education shall, by rule, biennially adjust the maximum amounts of technical assistance grants specified in subsection (1)(d) of this section based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, West Region (All Items), as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor. [2015 c.783 §5; 2017 c.700 §4; 2021 c.678 §10; 2023 c.175 §2; subsection (2) of 2023 Edition enacted as 2023 c.175 §3]