school districts; optimal square footage

SB1816 - school districts; optimal square footage

Education Elections

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: David C. Farnsworth
Last action: 2026-02-09
Official status: Senate second read
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill text contains blanks (_____) for the specific dates by which calculations and postings must occur.

SB1816: School Building Size and Bond Election Rules

This law requires the state board to calculate how much building space each school district needs based on student numbers, then stops districts with too many buildings from holding bond elections.

What This Bill Does

Requires a state board to calculate the optimal square footage for every school district using student enrollment data and grade levels.
Counts students in charter or private schools if they lease space inside public school buildings when calculating needs, based on building capacity rather than actual attendance.
Mandates that the board posts each district's needed building size and its current actual size ratio on a website.
Requires the board to notify county officials about any district where existing buildings are at least 10% larger than what is optimal.
Stops school districts with excess space from calling elections to issue new bonds or change approved capital projects.

Who It Names or Affects

School district governing boards
The state board responsible for calculating building needs
County superintendents and county boards of supervisors

Terms To Know

Optimal square footage: The amount of building space a school district should have based on the number of students it serves.
Bond election: A vote where citizens decide if a school district can borrow money to build or fix facilities.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill text leaves the specific dates for calculations and website postings blank.
The law does not define what happens if a district already has excess space when this rule takes effect, only that they cannot call new elections.

Bill History

2026-02-09 Senate
Senate second read
2026-02-05 Senate
Senate Rules: None
2026-02-05 Senate
Senate Education: None
2026-02-05 Senate
Senate first read

Official Summary Text

SB1816 - school districts; optimal square footage

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

SB1816 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
school districts; optimal square footage

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

SB 1816

Introduced by

Senator
Farnsworth

AN
ACT

amending title 15, chapter 4, article 5,
Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 15-492; amending title 41,
chapter 56, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 41-5702.01;
relating to school facilities.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 15, chapter 4, article 5,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 15-492, to read:

START_STATUTE
15-492.

Optimal square footage; election eligibility

Notwithstanding section 15-491, if the
ratio of a school district's optimal square footage to actual square footage of
all buildings that are owned by the school district, as calculated pursuant to
section 41-5702.01, is at least one hundred ten percent, the school
district governing board may not Call an election to either:

1. Determine whether bonds of the
school district may be issued and sold.

2. Change the list of capital
projects or the purposes authorized by prior voter approval to issue bonds.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Title 41, chapter 56, article 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 41-5702.01, to read:

START_STATUTE
41-5702.01.

School district buildings; optimal square footage; posting;
notification

A. On or before _____ of each year,
the board shall calculate the optimal square footage for each school district
in this state based on the number of students served by the school district and
grade configurations prescribed in section 41-5711, subsection
C. For the purpose of calculating the number of students served by
the school district, the board shall use the sum of the following:

1. The most recent average daily
membership data for the school district.

2. If a school district leases a
building or a portion of a building to a charter school or private school, the
student capacity of the building or the portion of the building.� The board may
include the student capacity of a leased building or portion of a building
pursuant to this paragraph only after verifying the lease.� The board shall
include the full student capacity of a leased building or portion of a building
pursuant to this paragraph without regard to whether the lease grants to the
lessee exclusive rights to use the school building or school facilities that
are the subject of the lease.

B. On or before _____ of each year,
the board shall:

1. Post on the board's website both
of the following:

(
a
) The optimal
square footage for each school district in this state calculated pursuant to
subsection A of this section.

(
b
) The ratio
of each school district's optimal square footage to actual square footage of
all buildings that are owned by the school district.

2. Submit to each county school
superintendent and county board of supervisors a notification that:

(
a
) Identifies
each school district in this state for which the ratio calculated pursuant to
paragraph 1, subdivision (
b
) of this subsection is at
least one hundred ten percent.

(
b
) Includes a
statement that any school district that is identified pursuant to subdivision (
a
) of this paragraph is ineligible to call a bond election pursuant to
title 15, chapter 4, article 5.�
END_STATUTE