A report on the inquiry into the future of school infrastructure recommended the ACT government make sure all schools meet a minimum standard and allocate funding to bring all schools up to scratch.

A separate program should be funded to make sure all schools could accommodate students with disabilities, the inquiry report said.

The education and community inclusion committee recommended the Education Directorate look at centralising all school infrastructure services to free up principals' time and improve equity between schools.

It heard that principals had to spend a lot of time attending to building problems and were stressed about determining which projects could be fixed using their school budgets and which ones could not.

Parents and Citizens' Associations often raise money for building projects to meet funding shortfalls.

The committee recommended a review of the formula used to calculate school capacity after it heard from the parent peak body and teachers' union that some schools that were technically under capacity had issues with overcrowding.

Students on the ACT Youth Advisory Council were enthusiastic about open-plan classrooms which they saw as modern and better for group discussions than traditional classroom designs.

However, Lorraine Taylor, principal of Sliverstream School in New Zealand, said her school had closed glass dividers between classrooms to reduce distractions and noise.

She told the inquiry: "the academic data for reading, writing and mathematics across New Zealand currently indicated that [open-plan learning spaces have] resulted in lower achievement".

The committee did not make any recommendations about classroom layout, but said "building flexibility into classroom design would appear to be an appropriate way of ensuring current and future needs can be met".

The committee visited six vertical schools during the inquiry. They noted challenges of multi-storey schools, such as lack of outdoor space, storage and parking for teachers.

But vertical schools had creative solutions, such as using rooftops for outdoor recreation and using spaces in multiple ways, for instance a staircase doubling as seating for learning.

The committee said the ACT government should construct vertical schools where required.

It recommended the government set tree canopy targets for schools and ensure playground designs were "gender sensitive".

University of Canberra academic and consultant landscape architect Gweneth Leigh said some students, especially high school girls, found their schools stressful and outdoor spaces were not meeting their needs.

The committee recommended upgrades to toilets, including building unisex toilets at public schools.

The government should develop an air quality plan and ensure adequate heating and cooling in schools after the committee heard that classes were at unsafe temperatures in summer and winter.

The committee also recommended the government better publicise school infrastructure processes to promote transparency around decisions.