The School Construction Authority (SCA) was established by the New York State Legislature in December 1988 to build new public schools and manage the design, construction and renovation of capital projects in New York City's more than 1,400 public school buildings, half of which were constructed before 1949.

The School Construction Authority manages the Department of Education's Capital Plan and is solely accountable for planning, real estate, and budgeting, as well as the scoping, design and construction of new schools and additions, as well as capital improvements to existing schools.

Placement of sole responsibility for the Capital Plan with the SCA offers several key benefits:

  • Improved management of the construction process
  • Reduced school construction costs as a result of simplified design standards
  • Increased competition among contractors
  • Online contractor prequalification
  • Enhanced coordination between the public and private sectors

The SCA is entering the last year of its current 2020-2024 five-year plan and the SCA looks forward to continuing to work together with all stakeholders as planning for the FY25-29 Capital Plan commences.

As part of the work to identify locations for all of the 46,010 new seats funded in this plan, 27,826 seats have been sited so far and work to finalize acquisition for another roughly 6,100 seats is ongoing. 

Every year, the SCA makes steady progress removing TCUs. This plan dedicates $317 million for the ongoing removal of these units with dedicated Capacity funding allocated to construct the needed seats to allow for the removal of the TCUs. To date, 281 TCUs have been removed, and plans are being developed to remove an additional 43 units leaving only 30 remaining TCUs. 

The SCA continues to recognize the importance of ensuring access for all students and has emphasized accessibility as a major priority. As a direct result of support from the City Council and community partners, the current Capital Plan also includes $750 million towards the critically important work of making our school buildings more accessible. Working together, the DOE and SCA have identified 65 accessibility projects; on track to make a third of the buildings in every district fully accessible and at least half of elementary school buildings fully or partially accessible. 

The SCA has also spearheaded the effort to reduce greenhouse emissions at our schools, becoming the first to commit to building all-electric new school buildings while working with our city partners to retrofit existing buildings. Last fall, SCA leadership stood alongside Mayor Adams to announce the groundbreaking of the first all-electric building conversion at P.S. 5 in Bedford-Stuyvesant. As part of the Administration’s “Leading the Charge” effort, $400 million was allocated in the Capital Plan to facilitate the conversion of 100 existing schools to all-electric heating and cooling by 2030. These projects will prioritize communities disproportionately burdened by climate change and environmental injustice, and help develop the next generation’s green workforce.
As always, the SCA's primary goal is to ensure that NYC public school children have the facilities necessary to prepare them for the 21st century and beyond. The SCA keeps moving forward, constantly innovating to ensure that we design and build schools that meet the current needs of our students and teachers. In all areas, our staff works to ensure the consistent high quality of work and that public dollars are spent wisely.