Commonly known as “portables,” these modular structures occasionally get moved around, or they remain in place for decades as a low-cost alternative to constructing newer and bigger schools to relieve overcrowding.
That question lacks a clear answer in Utah, with a decentralized network of boards for 132 school districts and 127 charter schools in charge of overseeing structural planning.
And while most of the hundreds of portable school buildings in use in Utah are similar in construction, minimum architectural and engineering requirements that cover them are loosely defined, beyond rules that seismic and soil conditions where they are located be studied.