BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 677
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Date of Hearing: April 8, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
AB 677
(Dodd) - As Introduced February 25, 2015
[Note: This bill is doubled referred to the Assembly Higher
Education Committee and will be heard by that Committee as it
relates to issues under its jurisdiction.]
SUBJECT: School safety: door locks
SUMMARY: Requires K-12 and higher education institutions to
equip the doors of every classroom with locks that allow the
doors to be locked from the inside. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires all modernization projects submitted to the Division
of State Architect (DSA) to include locks that allow doors to
classrooms and any room with an occupancy of five or more
persons to be locked from the inside.
2)Requires, no later than January 1, 2022, the governing board
of each school district and each county superintendent of
schools to, for each school within its jurisdiction, equip the
doors of every classroom and every room with an occupancy of
five or more person with locks that allow the doors to be
locked from the inside. Requires the locks to conform to the
specifications and requirements set forth in the State
Building Standards Code.
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3)Requires the California Community Colleges and Trustees of the
California State University, and the urges the Regents of the
University of California, when constructing or modernizing a
campus or facility within its jurisdiction, to equip
classrooms, offices, or other rooms where students and school
staff gather with locking mechanisms that allow the doors to
be locked from the inside or equip doors with the best
alternative technology that accomplishes the same result.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires, under the Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of
1998, the State Allocation Board (SAB) to allocate to
applicant school districts, prescribed per-unhoused-pupil
state funding for construction and modernization of school
facilities, including hardship funding, and supplemental
funding for site development and acquisition.
2)Prohibits the SAB from apportioning funds to any school
district unless the applicant school district has certified to
the SAB that it has obtained the written approval of the
California Department of Education (CDE) that the site
selection, and the building plans and specifications, comply
with the standards adopted by the CDE.
3)Prohibits the SAB from apportioning funds to any school
district that has not received approval from the DSA that the
project meets Field Act requirements.
4)Requires the DSA, under the police power of the state, to
supervise the design and construction of any school building
or the reconstruction or alteration of or addition to any
school building to ensure that plans and specifications comply
with existing law and Title 24 regulations.
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5)Requires, on and after July 1, 2011, all new construction
projects submitted to the DSA to include locks that allow
doors to classrooms and any room with an occupancy of five or
more persons to be locked form the inside. Requires the locks
to conform to the specifications and requirements set forth in
Title 24 regulations. Exempts doors that are locked from the
outside at all times and pupil restrooms from the requirement.
FISCAL EFFECT: The Legislative Counsel has keyed this bill as a
state-mandated local program.
COMMENTS: School safety. Since 1999, when two high school
students killed 12 students and a teacher and wounded 23 others
before committing suicide at Columbine High School in Colorado,
school safety has been a major concern in schools across the
country. In such situations, schools will employ lock downs to
keep students in and perpetrators out. However, if teachers and
other school staff do not have the capability to lock the
outside from the inside, there could be a delay in time which
could increase risk to harmful situations to pupils and staff.
The SAB, the body that administers and allocates state bond
funds, held a subcommittee hearing on school safety where the
CDE reported that infrastructure, which includes safe rooms and
classroom locks, is only one component of school security.
Other components include securing perimeters, controlling access
(ingress and egress), appropriate school staffing, and clear
communication, including communication systems.
What does this bill do? AB 211 (Mendoza), Chapter 430, Statutes
of 2010, requires, as a condition for state education bond
funds, all new construction projects submitted to the DSA on and
after July 1, 2011 to include locks that allow a door to be
locked from the inside of a classroom or any room that
accommodates five or more people. This bill extends the
requirement to K-12 modernization projects submitted to the DSA.
The bill also requires all schools to be equipped with locks
that can be locked from the inside by January 1, 2022,
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regardless of whether the school is undergoing any
rehabilitation.
Classroom security locks, which are locks that can be opened
from the inside simply by turning a lever even when the door is
locked, are estimated to cost $300 each and about $500
installed. Costs would be higher if a door frame and/or door
need to be replaced.
AB 211 initially included modernization projects but was removed
by the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Since AB 211,
variations of this bill have been introduced but failed to pass
the Legislature. This bill is different than prior versions of
this bill in that prior versions made the requirement in
connection with a project funded by state bond funds. This bill
requires the installation of locks by 2022 whether or not a
school is being modernized, and whether or not states bond funds
are available to pay for the replacements. The last statewide
bond was passed in 2006 and new construction and modernization
funds have been exhausted since 2012. Opposition to this bill
is not based on objection to changing locks but with the costs.
Staff recommends an amendment stipulating that the requirement
to change all locks is contingent upon the passage of a
statewide education bond passed by voters after January 1, 2016.
Will changing locks require DSA approval? All K-14 proposed
public school construction and modernization projects must
receive approval from the DSA, which reviews architectural plans
for compliance with the Field Act (seismic safety); fire, life
and safety requirements; and access requirements under the
Americans with Disability Act. DSA grants approvals based on
the requirements specified by Title 24 regulations, also known
as the California Building Standards Code. However, there are
some exemptions based on the cost of a project that are adjusted
annually. According to the DSA, for 2015, DSA review and
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approval is not required for alteration or reconstruction
projects to school buildings governed by the Field Act with an
estimated construction cost of $41,548.70, or less. In
addition, DSA review and approval is not required for alteration
or reconstruction projects to school buildings governed by the
Field Act with an estimated construction cost between $41,548.70
and $166,194.78, when specific conditions are met. A small
school district with a few buildings may not need to seek
approval from the DSA solely to change locks. However, most
school districts will likely be required to seek DSA approval.
Arguments in support. The author states, "'Lockdowns,' a
temporary confinement of students and staff to classrooms,
offices and other rooms during or following a disturbance, have
proven to be an effective tool used on school campuses to
facilitate the safety of both students and staff during a
violent or potentially violent situation. In many cases,
lockdown procedures are required in school safety plans. The
door locks in many school classrooms, offices and other rooms
where students and school staff gather can only be locked from
the outside. The safety of students and school staff may be
jeopardized as staff must enter hallways in an attempt to lock
their doors during a 'lockdown.' Locking mechanisms that lock
the door from the inside, commonly referred to as classroom
function locks, have been invited for the doors to classrooms,
offices, and other rooms. Updating doors to include the lock
inside will eliminate the need for staff to exit their immediate
facility during a disturbance."
Arguments in opposition. The Riverside County Superintendent of
Schools states, "The locks in and of themselves are not our
concerns, but rather the costly secondary and tertiary
requirements that installing them would trigger. Specifically,
the requirement to replace locks in existing buildings would
trigger requirements to upgrade facilities to current
accessibility requirements relating to the width of doors, paths
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of travel, nearby restroom facilities and common spaces, and
perhaps even play spaces. This would occur because the very
nature of installing door locks relates to the 'entry and
egress' of a facility. Thus, what on the surface would appear
to be a limited-cost safety measure could lead to millions, if
not tens of millions, of dollars' worth of accessibility
projects."
Prior related legislation. SB 316 (Block), introduced in 2013,
would have required, on or after January 1, 2016, all
modernization projects submitted to the DSA to include locks
that allow doors to classrooms and any room with an occupancy of
five or more persons to be locked from the inside. The bill
also directed the SAB to adjust modernization grants to reflect
the associated cost of installing locks. The bill was held in
the Assembly Appropriations Committee suspense file.
AB 85 (Mendoza), introduced in 2012, requires all K-12
modernization projects and all community college district new
construction projects that include rehabilitation in a classroom
or a room with an occupancy of five or more to install locks
that can be locked from the inside. The bill as held in the
Assembly Appropriations Committee suspense file.
AB 211 (Mendoza), Chapter 430, Statutes of 2010, requires, as a
condition for state education bond funds, all new construction
projects submitted to the DSA on and after July 1, 2011 to
include locks that allow a door to be locked from the inside of
a classroom or any room that accommodates five or more people.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
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Support
California Federation of Teachers
California Labor Federation
State Public Affairs Committee of the Junior Leagues of
California
Opposition
California Association of School Business Officials
Corona-Norco Unified School District
County School Facilities Consortium (unless amended)
Los Angeles Unified School District (unless amended)
Riverside County Superintendent of Schools
Analysis Prepared by:Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087
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