(A) The 1:1 school facilities option program is hereby established. Under the program, the Ohio facilities construction commission shall provide state funds to assist eligible school districts in constructing, acquiring, reconstructing, or making additions or repairs to any feature of a classroom facility that meets the design standards of the commission in lieu of that district participating in the classroom facilities assistance program under sections 3318.01 to 3318.20 of the Revised Code, in the case of a city, exempted village, or local school district, or sections 3318.40 to 3318.45 of the Revised Code, in the case of a joint vocational school district.

For purposes of this program, an eligible school district is either of the following:

(1) A city, exempted village, or local school district that has not entered into an agreement for any program under this chapter, except for emergency assistance under section 3318.351 of the Revised Code, prior to the effective date of this section. A district that received partial assistance prior to May 20, 1997, and can qualify for assistance under division (B)(2) of section 3318.04 of the Revised Code shall not be eligible for assistance under this section.

(2) A joint vocational school district that has not entered into an agreement for any program under this chapter prior to the effective date of this section.

An eligible school district may avail itself of the option provided under this section only at the time it becomes eligible for assistance under the classroom facilities assistance program in accordance with the annual percentile ranking of districts under section 3318.011 or 3318.42 of the Revised Code.

(B)

(1) The commission, at the request of a school district that meets the criteria set forth in division (A) of this section, shall assess the current conditions of the classroom facilities of that school district. Based on the results of the assessment, the commission shall determine the scope of the entire project, the basic project cost of the school district's classroom facilities needs, and the state's portion of the total project if the school district were to receive assistance under sections 3318.01 to 3318.20 of the Revised Code, in the case of a city, exempted village, or local school district, or sections 3318.40 to 3318.45 of the Revised Code, in the case of a joint vocational school district.

(2) A district that opts to receive assistance under this section shall be eligible to receive state funds in the amount of up to the greater of one million dollars or ten per cent of the state's share of the total project cost determined under division (B)(1) of this section. However, a district may choose to receive less than the maximum amount of state funds for which it is eligible under this division.

(3) A district that opts to receive assistance under this section shall match the amount of state funds it receives on a one-to-one basis. A district may generate the school district funds for its match using any lawful manner.

(C) The commission shall adopt guidelines and procedures for the administration of the program. The guidelines shall include the following:

(1) A requirement that, in order to participate in the program, the district's board of education must approve participation by an affirmative vote of not less than four-fifths of the board's full membership;

(2) The application process for districts;

(3) A requirement that, in order to participate in the program, the district shall provide a share that is at least equal to the amount of the state assistance provided under this section.

(D) If a district participates in the program established under this section, that district shall not have another project under sections 3318.01 to 3318.20 of the Revised Code, in the case of a city, exempted village, or local school district, or sections 3318.40 to 3318.45 of the Revised Code, in the case of a joint vocational school district, conditionally approved until the expiration of twenty years after the date the district enters into an agreement with the commission for assistance under this section.

Added by 132nd General Assembly File No. TBD, SB 8, §1, eff. 3/23/2018.

Added by 132nd General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 49, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2017.