Law clarifies size of storm shelters

Any district looking at new construction has likely fretted over storm shelter requirements. Since 2015, the International Building Code has required school buildings in “Tornado Valley” with a capacity of 50 or more occupants to build storm shelters. All of Arkansas is in “Tornado Valley,” which comes as no surprise to anyone who has lived here for long, and not to anyone in Wynne, which lost its high school in March.

In 2022, changes to the Arkansas Fire Code were made to sync with the IBC’s rules. Per those changes, starting January 1, 2023, any new school construction projects had to include storm shelters capable of accommodating the maximum number of people the building can hold. So, if your district was building a new gym that seats 1,500, the new gym had to be able to shelter 1,500. Pricey.

by Cody Kees Bequette, Billingsley & Kees

Realizing this interpretation would present a significant hardship to districts, Act 764 was passed this legislative session. Under Act 764, all new school construction between August 1, 2023, and January 1, 2025, must have a storm shelter, but the capacity does not have to exceed the load of the classrooms, vocational rooms, and offices. In other words, if a school has 300 students and a gym that seats 1,500, it has to be able to shelter the 300 students plus staff, not 1,500.

Come January 1, 2025, districts can construct shelters that are separate, detached buildings or a space within a building, but the capacity is still only the load of your classrooms and offices. The legislation included some additional language about capacity for catastrophic need.

There are still some questions about how Act 764 applies, and arguably the mandate for schools to include storm shelters in their new construction projects may not be enforceable until January 1, 2025. We await rules and regulations coming from the ADE.

Regardless, school districts should plan to add storm shelters to their new construction. Wynne certainly is.