National reports have raised concerns about the physical accessibility of public school facilities for people with disabilities. These facilities serve important roles as schools, voting locations, and emergency shelters, among other things. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to examine the physical accessibility of public school…

This paper identifies approaches, challenges, and best practices related to planning and designing today's academic library learning spaces. As part of the Project Information Literacy (PIL) Practitioner Series, qualitative data is presented from 49 interviews conducted with a sample of academic librarians, architects, and library consultants.…

This study aims to inform the California Department of Education (CDE) in ensuring the standards contained in Title 5 appropriately promote the planning and design of healthy, safe and educationally suitable K-12 school facilities. The study gathers and analyzes K-12 facility standards in ten case study states across the country to understand…

The purpose of this study was to inform the California Department of Education (CDE) in ensuring the standards contained in Title 5 appropriately promote the planning and design of healthy, safe and educationally suitable K-12 school facilities. The study gathers and analyzes K-12 facility standards in other states across the country to understand…

In November 1996, the voters of Montgomery County (Maryland) approved by referendum an amendment to the County Charter that changed the County Council's review and approval cycle of the six-year Capital Improvements Program (CIP) from an annual to biennial cycle. The referendum specified that in odd-numbered fiscal years (on years) the County…

In November 1996, the voters of Montgomery County (Maryland) approved by referendum an amendment to the County Charter that changed the County Council's review and approval cycle of the six-year Capital Improvements Program (CIP) from an annual to biennial cycle. The referendum specified that in odd-numbered fiscal years (on-years) the County…

In October 1992, Maryland Governor William Donald Schaefer established a 21-member task force to conduct an in-depth study and review 8 specific areas of the state's public school construction program. This report summarizes the committee's activities, findings, and recommendations. The first recommendation, to review project requests from the 24…

In 2005, the OECD Programme on Educational Building (PEB) organised two international experts' group meetings to discuss how countries define and evaluate quality in educational facilities. The research and experiences of six experts are presented in this article, in addition to the lessons learned from the experts' group meetings. The director of…

In November 1996, the voters of Montgomery County approved by referendum an amendment to the County Charter that changed the County Council's review and approval cycle of the six-year Capital Improvements Program (CIP) from an annual to biennial cycle. The referendum specified that in odd-numbered fiscal years (on-years) the County Council would…

The guide is intended to help in planning facilities for students with hearing impairments by acquainting the reader with assistive devices that help in the understanding of verbal language. An initial section reviews the prevalence of individuals with hearing impairments in Maryland. Assistive devices are then described, including induction loop…

Examines the role that state departments of education in California, Florida, Maryland, and Washington play with local school districts in planning, designing, constructing, and/or operation and management of educational facilities. (MLF)

Guidelines designed to help Maryland facilities planners, educators, and community members make informed choices about the types of facilities they will provide for secondary education services are presented in this document. The guide first describes the characteristics of at-risk students and presents an overview of dropout prevention programs.…

Less than adequate indoor air quality in schools can lead to a higher risk of health problems, an increase in student and teacher absenteeism, diminished learning, and even hazardous conditions. An indoor air quality program that addresses the planning, design, maintenance, and operation of public school buildings should be implemented at the…

Information concerning Maryland's 17 community colleges and the Maryland State Board for Community Colleges (SBCC) is presented as an aid for institutional planning. Chapter I presents an executive summary of the report, while Chapter II describes the statewide coordination of the community college system. Chapter III examines: (1) the colleges'…

To respond to fluctuations in population, a Maryland school system selected pre-engineered relocatable classroom modules. If school enrollment declines, the classroom modules could be removed, disassembled into halves, and trucked to another site. (MLF)