The NJ Department of Education has issued guidelines to school districts on developing and completing new Long Range Facilities Plans. The new LRFPs, which will replace the plans done in 1999, must be submitted to the DOE no later than October 2005. The districts are assigned the responsibility for the LRFPs under the Abbott V (1998) ruling and the Educational Facilities Construction and Financing Act (EFCFA).

The DOE guidelines address all aspects of the district planning process. The guidelines make significant changes from the planning process used in 1999, including:

• A more holistic, comprehensive approach that views school buildings as a contributing factor to the attainment of the district's educational goals and objectives
• Review of current and future educational programs, including a review of the district's delivery of special education services
• Preparation of a timeline and task list for the planning process by March 31, 2005
• Assessment of preschool provider buildings, with the development a long-term plan for housing preschool students presently in buildings that do not meet DOE preschool planning standards (Abbott and Early Childhood Program Aid districts only)
• Identification of building systems needing remediation
• Use of creative options, such as campus schools; multi-story buildings; shared use buildings, including housing and commercial; and green space shared by multiple schools
• Elimination of requirement for school design models in the LRFP, with specific designs put off until the project application stage

DOE has advised the Abbott districts that data entry software, now under development, is a reporting tool, and not for planning or building design. The guidelines stress a planning process involving a considerable amount of "off-line" analysis, which should be already underway in the districts.

"We are urging all school and community stakeholders to carefully review these guidelines, and become engaged in the LRFP process," said Joan Ponessa, ELC Research Director. "New Abbott school facilities should not only be safe and adequate, but also contribute to neighborhood and community revitalization. Public input is essential to make that happen."

Prepared: February 4, 2005