by Nicole Piscitani • Aug. 13, 2024
Senate Bill (SB) 112, the Ohio Childhood Safety Act, was signed by Gov. Mike DeWine on July 24, 2024. The bill was sponsored by former state Sen. Michael Rulli (R-Salem), who recently was elected to Ohio Congressional District 6. The bill requires annual inspections of doors in public schools by qualified inspectors. Rulli made the following statement during his sponsor testimony: “Overall, code-compliant doors play a crucial role in ensuring the safety and security of school occupants. By adhering to building codes and standards, schools can provide a safe and secure learning environment for students and staff alike.”
The bill was first introduced in April 2023. The Senate Education Committee and Rulli worked diligently with interested parties through 2023 and early 2024 to improve the bill from its introduced version.
SB 112 requires that the protective door assemblies in public school buildings comply with the National Life Safety Code (NFPA 101) standards if the door was installed in 2015 or after. Protective door assemblies that were installed prior to 2015 must comply with the NFPA 101 that was in effect on the date the protective door assembly was installed. However, if the protective door assembly was installed before the NFPA 101 was published and in effect, the door would have to comply with the Ohio Building Code (OBC) standards in effect at the time the door was installed. Additionally, the bill defines protective door assemblies as:
- doors with panic hardware or fire exit hardware;
- door assemblies in exit enclosures;
- electricity-controlled egress doors;
- door assemblies with special locking arrangements, such as delayed egress, sensor-release egress doors and elevator lobby doors.
A school district must have the protective door assemblies inspected annually by a qualified inspector. A qualified inspector is defined in the bill to include a person with the requisite degree, certification, professional standing, skill, knowledge, training and experience to evaluate compliance of a particular protective door assembly with NFPA 101 or other applicable standards. The state fire marshal must adopt rules necessary to implement the requirements and provide additional clarification.
The inspector must issue a report to the school district that indicates whether the protective door assembly is or isn’t in compliance. If the door is out of compliance, the inspector would also need to indicate the severity and determine if it is a serious risk of a fire or life safety hazard.
School districts would have up to 18 months to address noncompliance issues before receiving a citation. However, the bill explicitly states that no citation shall be issued if the school district is actively taking steps toward compliance, regardless of whether the protective door assemblies in the school building have actually achieved compliance. The bill outlines the citation process and indicates that only the authority having jurisdiction can issue the citation, and the bill defines that authority as “the organization, office, agency, or individual responsible for enforcing the requirements under the act.” A legislative analysis of the bill suggests that it could include the fire marshal, an assistant fire marshal or a fire safety inspector. The rules adopted by the state fire marshall should provide clarity on this provision. If a school district receives a citation, the bill allows a school governing authority to appeal the citation in the same manner as other Ohio Fire Code citations and penalties.
The bill goes into effect on Oct. 24, 2024.