The Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) provides districts and charter schools with support and guidance to build, maintain, and operate public school facilities throughout the state. This work includes:
- School construction – New school construction, major and minor capital improvements, land purchases and more. Some projects may require Certificate of Necessity and voluntary school assessment information.
- Contracts and procurement – State procurement, central contracting for construction projects/school operations, school custodian calculations and more.
Detailed information about this work is available in the school construction technical assistance manual, a reference guide for school building construction and operation.
Note: DDOE also oversees the non-discrimination policy for the state’s voluntary school and child care lead sampling program. Please see the current non-discrimination policy for more information.
Additional Resources
- VSA Summary – Provides an overview of the fees residential developers in New Castle County pay to the Department of Education (DDOE) to cover construction projects needed to increase school capacity due to new residential development.
- Certificate of Necessity applications – A Certificate of Necessity (CN) is a legal document that when approved allows districts to go to referendum for a major capital project. Includes approved CN applications.
- FY25 Construction Formula memo – Lists the current cost per square foot for construction.
- FY25 Construction State and Local Share memo – Lists the construction state and local share for projects requested in the FY25 budget.
- FY 2024-2025 State Capacity Report – School Year 2024-2025 School Capacity Reports.
- 2023-2024 Facility Use and Disposition Report – Highlights facility use changes for every Delaware school district.
- Floor plans – BIM 360 Docs is the web-based solution to house facility floor plans and custodial information. Approved DDOE access is required. For approval, contact the Education Associate, Capital Project Management.
- Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) – Includes resources for emergency procedures.
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – Offers information, guidance, and requirements for the operation of school facilities.
- Office of State Planning – Provides information for the Preliminary Land Use Service (PLUS).
- Division of Facility Management – Provides guidance for requirements during the construction process.
- Drinking Water Lead Sampling in Schools – Lists results of lead testing in Delaware schools with related resources.
- Facility Evaluation Instrument – Helps districts review and assess school facilities in a standardized way.
- Healthy Schools – A central location for information and resources for managing indoor air quality in Delaware schools.
