Construction Standards

  • Educational Specifications

    The Texas Education Agency requires all school districts to create an educational program that guides the design process of new facilities and renovations to existing facilities. The Educational Specifications (Ed Specs) reflect a bird’s eye view of the Facility Educational Standards, which further expands on the specific spaces allocated to each Department and what goes into those spaces. The Educational Specifications also include information regarding the District’s academic vision and strategic planning goals, and design principle implementation.

    Facility Educational Standards

    The Facility Educational Standards (FES) expand upon the Educational Specifications by focusing on thedetailed program of spaces, how the space is used, and identifying the key elements to be provided in the space to meet the intended use. Relationship adjacency diagrams within the Facility Educational Standards graphically illustrate the space in relation to other spaces.

    The Facility Educational Standards were created to ensure parity and consistency, but the standards are not intended to restrict the effective or efficient design of school buildings. Flexibility to allow for minor deviations in spatial requirements is expected; thus, the educational facility should be nimble to fulfill the current programmatic requirements of the District, while being easily adaptable to future changes in educational direction and the effects those changes have on learning. During the course of the design of each project, the team of architects and engineers should work in concert with Fort Bend ISD staff and identify deviations from the Facility Educational Standards. Any deviance from the FES will require FBISD design manager approval.

    Technical Design Guidelines

    The Fort Bend ISD Technical Design Guidelines (TDGs) were developed to provide District personnel, as well as architects and engineers, with a cohesive set of standards and guidelines for use in the planning and design of Fort Bend ISD facilities. The TDGs build on the FES by providing detailed critieria of the building products used to construct the identified programmed spaces.

    The TDGs contain directions regarding Fort Bend ISD standards and design preferences for the construction of new buildings, as well as the renovation and/or modernization of existing facilities. These standards include both technical and performance-based specifications in addition to prescriptive requirements, including preferred products, systems, and materials to be used in programming, design, and construction.

    The TDGs also serve as a tool for quality control within Fort Bend ISD; by specifying the criteria of the building products, Fort Bend ISD can ensure that both quality and cost-effective building products are used and specified during the design and construction phases.