Bonds have recently been passed in California for $15 billion in school construction. With schools being used for 20 to 40 years before their next major renovation, it is absolutely essential that this construction meets or exceeds the expectations of the school district and all key stakeholders. In order to improve the likelihood of success, California's Division of the State Architect (DSA) has instituted a requirement that all of these new schools follow the Collaboration for High Performance Schools (CHPS), of which the commissioning process is a requirement.
With significant confusion over what the commissioning process is, and the wide variety of experience and knowledge of the different school districts, DSA developed, under contract, a guideline on the commissioning process for school districts. This guideline is titled Adopting the Commissioning Process for the Procurement of Schools - Receiving Value for the Community's Investment.