CA-CHPS Criteria

The CA-CHPS Criteria is a flexible yardstick that precisely defines a high performance school in California. CA-CHPS addresses site and material selection, energy and water efficiency, indoor environmental quality and provides sustainable policies and operations to be adopted by school districts. School districts are encouraged to adopt the criteria for their new buildings and major modernizations.

Implementing the 2009 Edition of the CA-CHPS Criteria

On January 1, 2010, California’s 2008 Title 24 standard (the state’s energy efficiency code) went into effect. In conjunction, all new California CHPS projects, whether seeking CHPS Verified or CHPS Designed recognition, are now required to register under the 2009 Edition of the California CHPS Criteria (CA-CHPS). The 2006 CA-CHPS version required compliance with the Title 24-2005 energy code; the new edition of the CA-CHPS Criteria references the 2008 energy code. If you have questions about the status of your project, please contact Ed Wansing, CHPS Technical Programs Coordinator, at ewansing@chps.net.

2011 Addendum to the 2009 CA-CHPS Criteria Incorporating CALGreen, California's New Mandatory Green Code

California’s new green building code - known as CALGreen – goes into effect for new schools on January 1, 2011. Recognizing the need to incorporate the new code into our high performance school building criteria, CHPS has released an addendum to the 2009 edition of the California CHPS Criteria. The addendum will be required for use after January 1, 2011 in all new school construction projects (major modernizations and additions are not affected). The addendum contains unaffected prerequisites and credits that overlap or exceed the code, and new prerequisites and impacted credits which incorporate the green code into the CHPS Criteria. For new prerequisites, simply meeting code will ensure compliance. Credits have been adjusted so that points are given for exceeding code. New prereqs and affected credits are in three categories: Reduce Sewage Conveyance from Toilets and Urinals, Reduce Indoor Potable Water Use and Low-Emitting Materials. The CHPS Designed and CHPS Verified scorecards and templates will also be updated to reflect the addendum.

California’s High Performance Incentive Program - Visit the HPI-CHPS Verified Program webpage

In November of 2010, CHPS and the Division of the State Architect (DSA) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that allows a school district to apply jointly for CHPS Verified recognition and Proposition 1D High Performance Incentive Grant funding. In the CHPS Verified program, accountability rests on the design team, school district, CHPS, DSA (for design review) and a 3rd-party reviewer (for construction review) to ensure that the high performance features are implemented as intended. In order to participate in the HPI-CHPS Verified Program, you must register your project with CHPS Verified as early as possible in your project.Effective January 25, 2011, revisions to the HPI regulations significantly increased the incentive amounts. A High Performance Base Incentive Grant (HPBIG) is now available for projects utilizing the 2009 CA- CHPS Criteria. The HPBIG awards $250,000 for modernization projects meeting the minimum threshold of 20 HPI points and $150,000 for new construction projects meeting the minimum threshold of 27 HPI points. The HPBIG was created as a one time per school site incentive to apply for HPI Grant funding. Learn more about the HPI-CHPS Verified joint review process here.

Emphasis on Climate Concerns in 2009 CA-CHPS

Given the increasing necessity of taking drastic action to negate climate change, CHPS has implemented a new Climate category in the 2009 CA-CHPS Criteria. This category is aims to mitigate school buildings' contributions to carbon concentrations in our atmosphere. The category is comprised of three credits worth a total of ten points. One of these points is awarded for joining a CHPS-approved Climate Registry. In order to accurately quantify carbon emissions and reductions, it is essential to have comprehensive registries in place. For a list of the CHPS-approved climate registries, click here. In conjunction with the development of credit CL1.1 Climate Change Action, CHPS has developed a comprehensive Transportation Plan template. The template will give schools a tool to help them to track and reduce the number of vehicle miles traveled for student and staff transportation. Also included in the plan is a Greenhouse Gas Emissions calculator that will enable schools to track their carbon footprint related to transportation. The transportation plan (CL1.1.3) is worth one point in part of a larger Climate Change Action Credit added in the update to the CA-CHPS Criteria.
Download the Transportation Plan template»

Seeking LEI1.2.2: Using a CHPS Educated Professional

At this time, the CHPS Educated Professional program is under development. Projects will not be able to achieve this point until the program is fully available. To remain updated on the status of the program, please email education@chps.net.

Related Materials and Programs

2011 CALGreen Addendum

Approved Climate Registries

Transportation Plan template

2009 Edition CA-CHPS New School Construction Scorecard

2009 Edition CA-CHPS Modernization & New Building Scorecard

CHPS Verified Program

CHPS Designed Program

Past Editions

2006 Edition CA-CHPS Criteria

2006 Edition CA-CHPS New School Construction Scorecard

2006 Edition CA-CHPS Major Modernization Scorecard

2002 Edition CA-CHPS Criteria

2005 Edition CA-CHPS Energy Addendum

DOWNLOADS

CA CHPS Criteria
(2009 Edition)

Non-printable version only

School/District Official Architect/Engineer Consultants Contractor New Construction Major modernization Minor modernization/retrofits Programming and goal setting Selecting A/E team Site analysis Schematic Design Design Development Construction Documents Bidding Construction Administration Pre Occupancy Asssessment Tool Best Practices California