Outside Committee Assignments. The State Superintendent should serve in his or her official capacity only on committees directly concerned with education. Power to Stay Action of County Boards. The State Superintendent of Schools shall have the authority, either at the request of the President of the State Board of Education or on the State Superintendent’s own motion, to order a stay of any action taken by any local board of education, whether the local board's action is taken by way of rule, regulation, resolution, bylaw, or other order. The stay shall be issued within 5 days of the date notice of the action is received by the State Superintendent or the State Board. The stay shall not exceed 60 days in duration, unless the local board’s action has been appealed to the local board or the State Board, in which case the stay may remain in place until the State Board has issued a final decision on the appeal. The stay may be dissolved at any time by the State Superintendent or the State Board. The State Superintendent of Schools shall report annually to the State Board of Education the names of all superintendents and their professional assistants appointed under authority of Education Article, §§4-201 and 6-201, Annotated Code of Maryland. Purpose. The following requirements of this regulation shall be followed by local school systems to obtain the State Superintendent's approval of certain school construction projects pursuant to Education Article, §2-303(f), Annotated Code of Maryland. Applicable projects include the following: Plans or specifications for the remodeling of or addition to a school building if the remodeling or addition costs more than $350,000; Plans or specifications for the construction of a new school building; and Change orders that cost more than $25,000 for the remodeling, restoration, or construction of a school building. Exceptions. A public school construction project or public school capital improvement project for which State planning approval is requested and approved by the Board of Public Works pursuant to Education Article, §5-301, Annotated Code of Maryland, is excepted from the requirements of this regulation. Procedures. Requests for approval shall be in writing and addressed to the State Superintendent. The State Superintendent shall approve or disapprove all applicable projects under §B of this regulation. If the State Superintendent disapproves any plan, specification, proposal, or change order, the Superintendent shall state in writing the reasons for disapproval. Approvals required by the fire marshal and other State and local agencies shall be obtained by the local school system before submitting a request for approval of the Superintendent. A local school system may use Interagency Committee/Public School Construction Program (IAC/PSCP) forms for the above referenced requests. If the IAC/PSCP forms are used, a notation of Non-State Funded Project shall be placed at the top of each form. Requests for approval shall be addressed to the State Superintendent of Schools, c/o School Facilities Branch, 200 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201. Upon completion of the project, a letter shall be submitted to the Superintendent from the local school system certifying that the project is completed. The following information shall be submitted: Notification of intent to proceed with a project under §B of this regulation; Educational specifications consistent with the outline for educational specifications in the IAC/PSCP Administrative Procedures Guide; Schematic plans; Design development documents; Construction documents; Contract award or authorization for use of local staff; Change orders over $25,000. The State Superintendent of Schools shall report to the State Board of Education the: Condition of existing public school buildings; Adequacy of existing public school buildings to support educational programs; and Cost to upgrade facilities to specified criteria. Contingent on a State appropriation funding the survey, local school systems shall conduct a facilities assessment survey beginning in fiscal year 2008 and at least every 4 years thereafter. Contingent on State funding, the Department shall: Identify minimum criteria based on the most recent editions of federal, State, and local facilities guidelines, standards, and codes addressing building, site, student capacity, educational programs, and supporting services factors; Identify current construction cost estimate parameters using data from the Interagency Committee on School Construction; and Consult with representatives of local school systems prior to issuing the assessment criteria, construction cost parameters, and survey instrument. Local School Systems. Subject to §D(2) of this regulation and contingent on State funding, local school systems shall: Assess the adequacy of public school facilities by applying specific minimum criteria to specified building elements in individual schools and report individual school data to the Department; and Estimate the construction cost to remedy facilities deficiencies in individual schools and report individual school data to the Department. Local school systems may exempt school buildings proposed for closing within the next 4-year period from the survey. The Department shall compile the assessment and cost data into composite findings for the school system and the State and compare these findings to the Final Report of the Task Force to Study Public School Facilities, dated February 2004. The Department may not release any individual school data. School Health Services. School health services shall be provided in designated health facilities consistent with COMAR 13A.05.05.10. Physical Education Program. Scope. This section applies only to schools: Built and occupied, or renovated and occupied, after January 1, 2013; and For which a request for proposal for the selection of an architectural and engineering design consultant for construction or renovation was initiated after July 1, 2010. Purpose of Facilities. The facilities required in this section are to support the Physical Education instructional program required in COMAR 13A.04.13. Design Guidelines. The design of facilities required in this section shall be based on voluntary guidelines approved by the State Board of Education for physical education programs. The following minimum spaces are required: Gymnasium; Teacher office or planning area; Equipment storage area or areas; Outdoor instructional playing field; and Outdoor instructional hard surface area. Waiver. The local superintendent of schools may request a waiver of all or part of this section based on design constraints due to: Size of the school site; Configuration of the school site; and Zoning. The State Superintendent of Schools may waive all or part of this section. The waiver decision of the State Superintendent of Schools may be appealed to the State Board of Education. The State Superintendent shall develop and administer the Lacrosse Opportunities Program to increase opportunities for minority students to participate in lacrosse in their communities. Definitions. In this regulation, the following terms have the meanings indicated. Terms Defined. “Agency” means a local education agency serving a population of students at least 80 percent of which are minority students. “Local education agency” means any of the 24 local public school systems in the State. “Minority student” means a student who is an Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian-American, African-American, Hispanic American, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander. Grant Application. An agency may submit an application to receive a grant on forms developed by the Department. An application shall include: A description of the scope and purpose of the proposed program; A business plan that includes the estimated total cost of the proposed program; and Any other information required by the Department in grant application guidelines or forms. Grant Award. An agency receiving a grant award shall provide matching funds from any combination of federal, county, municipal, or private sources. The Department shall ensure that the grant does not exceed 50 percent of the total annual cost of the grantee’s program. To the extent funds are available, the State Superintendent or designee will award grants to agencies that meet the requirements for a grant under this regulation. Education Article, §§2-205, 2-303, 2-305, 5-301, 7-103, and 7-409, Annotated Code of Maryland Effective date: August 28, 1963 Regulation .03 adopted effective February 26, 1979 (6:4 Md. R. 278) Regulation .04 adopted effective January 27, 1986 (13:2 Md. R. 138) Chapter revised effective January 15, 1989 (15:27 Md. R. 3129) Regulation .01B amended as an emergency provision effective July 23, 2025 (52:16 Md. R. 845); adopted permanently effective October 27, 2025 (52:21 Md. R. 1025) Regulation .03 amended effective November 1, 1999 (26:22 Md. R. 1694) Regulation .04 adopted effective March 12, 2007 (34:5 Md. R. 561) Regulation .05 adopted effective October 3, 2011 (38:20 Md. R. 1203) Regulation .06 adopted effective December 22, 2014 (41:25 Md. R. 1486)