BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1261
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Date of Hearing: May 15, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 1261 (Gorell) - As Amended: May 6, 2013
Policy Committee: Education
Vote:5-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes the governing board of a school district
that operates a program for expelled pupils to seek an exemption
from the State Allocation Board (SAB) regarding the facility it
uses to house this program. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the governing board, if a facility is not available
that meets building, electrical, and plumbing code
requirements, to submit a request to the SAB to exempt a
building or portion of a building to be used to operate a
program for expelled pupils from the current definition of
school building.
2)Prohibits the SAB from granting the exemption for longer than
two years if the governing board demonstrates the following:
a) The facilities are not located at a regular schoolsite.
b) The facilities comply with all applicable local building
standards and all relevant local health and safety
standards in the community in which it is located.
c) The facilities shall be used to operate a program for
expelled pupils.
d) Prohibits more than 124 K-12 pupils, at any one time,
from being at the facilities and from using the remainder
of the facilities for instructional purposes.
e) The use of the facilities is critical to providing an
effective community-based program.
f) The use of other facilities that would meet seismic
safety standards for school facilities is not practical.
g) A structural engineer has submitted a report certifying
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the facilities possess no substantial structural hazards.
3)Authorizes the SAB to renew an exemption.
FISCAL EFFECT
Minor, absorbable costs to the SAB to process exemption
requests, as specified.
COMMENTS
1)Background . Since its enactment in 1934, the Field Act has
required K-14 facilities to be designed and constructed
pursuant to building standards promulgated by the State
Architect. These requirements include review and approval of
building plans and specifications for structural safety by the
Division of the State Architect, within The Department of
General Services, and supervision of quality control
inspection during construction. The structural safety building
standards for K-14 facilities are only slightly more stringent
than those for the California Building Standards Code.
2)Purpose . Existing law establishes exceptions in adhering to
the Field Act for specified K-12 programs, including ROC/Ps,
community schools, pregnant and parenting teen, independent
study, and expelled pupils. The current exemption for
expelled pupil programs requires the program to do one of the
following:
a) Utilize available school facilities that meet the
building, electrical, and plumbing code requirements.
b) Apply for emergency portable classrooms.
c) Enter into a lease agreement for facilities, provided
the facilities are limited to a structure where a
structural engineer has submitted a report certifying that
there are no substantial structural hazards.
d) Before entering into a lease agreement, the governing
board must certify to the SAB that all reasonable efforts
have been made to locate the program in facilities current
regulations.
The sponsor of this bill, Oxnard Union High School District
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(OUHSD) owns a commercial property containing six classrooms
and a computer lab. This property is used as an adult school
at night, but is vacant during the day. As such, OUHSD would
like to establish an expelled pupil program on this property
site. This, however, is not permissible under current law
because the facility located on the site does not meet Field
Act requirements.
Per statute, the exemption referenced above for expelled pupil
programs only authorizes districts to lease facilities that do
not meet the Field Act or state regulations. It does not
allow the use of district owned facilities that do not meet
the Field Act. This bill establishes an exemption for
expelled pupil programs to allow these programs to operate at
a district-owned, non-Field Act compliant facility, as
specified.
3)OUHSD , located in Ventura County, enrolled 16,790 pupils in
nine schools in grades K-12. The district has one K-12
school.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081