General Standards Law for the Construction and Operation of Educational Centers

PURPOSE. This Law has the purpose of establishing the general standards applicable to the construction and operation of pre-basic and basic education centers, its provisions are of public order, mandatory compliance shall apply to public, community, and private educational establishments throughout the national territory.

GENERAL COMPETENCE. It shall be the responsibility of the Secretariat of State in the Office of Education to ensure the application of its provisions, making allocation of responsibilities in the administrative units that manage the concepts regulated by this Law.

TECHNICAL SANITARY, EDUCATIONAL, FORMATIVE AND RECREATIONAL REGULATIONS. The technical regulations contemplated in this Article comprise aspects of a sanitary, educational, formative, and recreational nature of educational establishments and address the following aspects:

• 1)

  Areas or spaces where the installations of educational centers are located;

• 2)

  General conditions of the installations, equipment, and constructions of educational centers; and,

• 3)

  Characteristics of the spaces, installations, and specific buildings of educational centers, according to their current and future use. The provisions of this Article shall apply to any type of educational center. In small-sized educational centers, various elements may be incorporated into a single building or installation; however, none shall be omitted.

AREAS AND SPACES. The areas and spaces where educational centers are located in accordance with the Municipal Strategic Development Plan and the Nation Plan shall comply with the following conditions:

• 1)

  They shall be spacious and with sufficient space for current and foreseeable future operation.

• 2)

  They shall be located in the central zones of towns, in no case in areas of natural risk or on terrain with very steep topography;

• 3)

  The zones where they are located shall have basic public services, such as: potable water and sanitation, electricity, telephone service, transportation, etc.;

• 4)

  They shall be located at least two thousand (2,000) meters away from hospitals, detention centers, laboratories, toxic substance storage centers;

• 5)

  They shall be located at least two hundred (200) meters away from main highways. The authorities shall establish conditions so that schoolchildren cross the highway only at designated places and with proper assistance from adults;

• 6)

  They shall be located at least five hundred (500) meters away from airports, docks, loading yards, and other facilities where heavy equipment operates;

• 7)

  They shall be located at least one hundred fifty (150) meters away from factories, workshops where sonic contamination is produced, cargo movements, or traffic of cargo vehicles; and,

• 8)

  They shall have a complete perimeter fence.

QUALITY OF INSTALLATIONS, BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES. The construction, facilities, and installations shall be:

• 1)

  Built with anti-seismic designs;

• 2)

  Built on land equipped with basic services;

• 3)

  Have fire safety conditions, indications for evacuations in case of emergency, pre-established open gathering sites;

• 4)

  Design provisions to prevent accidents;

• 5)

  The installations and buildings shall allow access to persons with disabilities;

• 6)

  Each educational center shall have at least a telephone service enabled;

• 7)

  Lighting and energy installations, electrical connections and lightning rods. When there is no public electricity service, basic installations shall be provided;

• 8)

  Each installation or facility shall be regulated;

• 9)

  Each educational center shall identify its name and type of establishment;

• 10)

  Each educational center shall be subject to police protection; and,

• 11)

  The conditions for areas such as ramps for persons with disabilities, as well as for wheelchair circulation or bands in sanitary services or any other mechanism or wheeled ambulances.

USE OF BUILDINGS AND INSTALLATIONS. Each building and installation of educational centers shall have spaces, facilities, and equipment for the following uses:

• 1)

  SANITARY USES:

  • a)

    Cistern or water storage tank system, served by piping or by bucket delivery;

  • b)

    Toilets or latrines, for each gender and male urinals;

  • c)

    Hand washing facilities or facilities for hand washing; in which case it shall not be a laundry sink;

  • d)

    Laundry, bathroom, storage room; and, e) Special potable water dispensers.

• 2)

  FOOD PREPARATION:

  • a)

    Kitchen-Pantry;

  • b)

    Ecological Stove;

  • c)

    Cafeteria;

  • d)

    Storage room; and, e) School Store (optional).

• 3)

  MEDICAL-SANITARY USES:

  • a)

    Clinic space;

  • b)

    First aid kit;

  • c)

    Instructions for first aid and sanitary emergencies; and, d) Alert or emergency notification system.

• 4)

  EDUCATIONAL USES:

  • a)

    Auditorium;

  • b)

    Regular classrooms;

  • c)

    Civic room for multiple uses;

  • d)

    Laboratories; and, e) Workshops.

• 5)

  SPORTS AND RECREATION USES: a) Recreation spaces; and, b) Sports court.

• 6)

  SCHOOL GARDEN: a) Permanent crop garden; and, b) Vegetable plots and temporary cultivation spaces.

• 7)

  FUTURE EXPANSIONS: a) Spaces for future expansion of all buildings and installations.

RESPONSIBILITY OF BUILDERS. Any construction work of school centers and their installations shall comply with the provisions of this Law, even if the circumstance is not contemplated in the respective contracts. Parents, teachers, and students organized in the Municipal Educational Development Councils (COMDE), shall receive together with the corresponding authorities the completed works, verifying if they comply with the specifications of the contract. Public units that carry out construction through direct administration are equally obligated to comply with its provisions.

CONSTRUCTION OF SPORTS COURTS AND TOPOGRAPHICAL WORK IN EDUCATIONAL CENTERS. Companies contracted for the construction and maintenance of interurban roads shall include in their contracts at marginal costs the construction of asphalt or hydraulic concrete courts of multiple areas of pre-primary and primary educational centers, in the rural communities they observe.

USE OF SCHOOL CONSTRUCTIONS AND FACILITIES. School buildings and their installations shall be used solely for educational purposes, not being able to be given any other use that entails sanitary risks or contributes to the insecurity of male and female students; except in the case of elections where these classrooms are used for political purposes in electoral processes. Likewise in rural communities, the school also serves as a community meeting center to discuss matters relevant to the community.

COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION. Community organizations and private companies that operate corporate social responsibility programs shall, for the proper functioning of the construction, follow the guidelines for school construction.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION. No educational center may operate without accrediting compliance with the requirements indicated by this Law. It shall be the responsibility of the Secretariat of State in the Office of Education to certify establishments that comply with the requirements of this Law, for which purpose it shall designate in the departmental inspection directorates the responsibility of conducting the corresponding inspections. The Secretariat of State in the Office of Education shall revoke the operation of the establishment that does not comply with this Law. It shall be the responsibility of the Secretariat of State in the Office of Health to conduct inspections to verify compliance with sanitary order provisions as indicated by the Health Code. During the following two (2) years, schools must have minimum standards of cleanliness and pedagogical standards so that they may be certified by the Secretariat of State in the Office of Education.

NON-COMPLIANCE WITH STATE PROVISIONS. Non-compliance with the provisions of this Law defines administrative, civil, and penal responsibilities for those who infringe its provisions, in accordance with the Honduran Construction Code.

GRADUAL UPDATE PLANS. Educational centers that as of the effective date of this Law do not comply with the requirements indicated herein may register with the Secretariat of State in the Office of Education gradual implementation plans with periods not exceeding one (1) year.

REGULATIONS OF THIS LAW. The Secretariat of State in the Office of Education with the support of its school construction units and provisions that are traditionally developed by other school construction centers, shall issue no later than one hundred eighty (180) days counted from the effective date of this Law, the Regulation that shall contain the detailed and specific technical specifications applicable to school constructions in the different regions of the country in the terms determined by this Law. The Secretariat of State in the Office of Education, jointly with the Secretariat of State in the Office of Health, shall prepare the guide for the declaration and management of sanitary emergencies in pre-basic and basic educational centers.

EFFECTIVE DATE. This Decree shall become effective as of the day of its publication in the Official Gazette La Gaceta. Given in the city of Tegucigalpa, municipality of the Central District, in the Session Hall of the National Congress, on the ninth day of the month of June of two thousand eleven. ALBA NORA GÜÑERA OSORIO PRESIDENT RIGOBERTO CHANG CASTILLO SECRETARY JARIET WALDINA PAZ SECRETARY To the Executive Branch. Therefore: Execute. Tegucigalpa, M.D.C., June 23, 2011. PORFIRIO LOBO SOSA PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC THE SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE OFFICE OF EDUCATION. JOSÉ ALEJANDRO VENTURA SORIANO