BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 677
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Date of Hearing: April 28, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Jose Medina, Chair
AB 677
(Dodd) - As Amended April 20, 2015
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 construction projects submitted to the Division
of the 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, on and after January 1, 2016, modernization
projects, as specified and submitted to the DSA, shall include
locks that allow doors to classrooms and any room with an
occupancy of five or more persons to be locked from the
inside.
3)Specifies that the locks provision to K-12 modernization
projects, as specified, only applies to modernization projects
that are funded by the proceeds of the sale of bonds issued
pursuant to a state bond act for school facilities that is
approved by the voters at a statewide election after January
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1, 2016.
4)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.
5)Requires the California Community Colleges (CCC) and
California State University (CSU) Trustees, and the urges the
University of California (UC) Regents, 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: Provides, as a condition of receipt of state bond
funds, that all new construction projects submitted to the DSA
include locks that allow classrooms and rooms with an occupancy
of five persons or more to be locked from the inside and that
these locks conform to Title 24 California Code of Regulations
specifications and requirements. Current law exempts doors
locked from the outside at all times and pupil restrooms from
these requirements (Education Code Section 17075.50)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: This measure was heard and approved by a vote of 7-0
in the Assembly Education Committee relating to issues within
its jurisdiction on April 8, 2015.
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Background. The DSA provides design and construction oversight
for K-12 schools and community colleges, and develops and
maintains accessibility standards and codes utilized in public
and private buildings throughout the State of California. The
DSA ensures that all plans, specifications, and actual
construction comply with Title 24 (California Building Standards
Code), develops and maintains accessibility standards pursuant
to the Americans with Disabilities Act, and reviews a school's
working drawings to ensure that the proposed structures meet
code requirements for seismic safety, fire & life safety, and
accessibility.
Purpose of the measure. According to the author, in the wake of
recent school shooting tragedies in Newtown, Connecticut and
Taft, California, the state needs to rethink its safety
procedures in schools. The author states, "The locks in many
school classrooms, offices, and other rooms where students and
school staff gather can only be locked from the outside which
places school staff and students in jeopardy when educators are
forced to go out into a hallway or their public areas to secure
their doors during a lockdown." This bill requires all new
construction or modernization projects in public schools (K-
university) to include installation of locks that allow
classrooms to be locked from the inside. The author contends,
"The locks will eliminate the need for staff to exit their
immediate facility during a disturbance at the school site."
Policy considerations. As presently drafted, this measure
requires the CCC, CSU, and requests the UC, when undergoing
construction or modernization projects to equip classrooms,
offices, or other rooms where students and staff gather, with
classroom function locks that allow the doors to be locked from
the inside. Existing law does not define "modernization" for
the higher education segments, it is unclear as to how the CCC,
CSU, and UC would be able to implement this bill when undergoing
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"modernization" projects.
Additionally, as presently drafted, it is unclear as to when a
CCC, CSU, or UC would have to ensure it replaces its existing
locks with classroom function locks.
Committee staff recommends the following amendments: 67387.
When construction or modernization projects are undertaken at a
campus or facility at a facility on a campus within its
jurisdiction, the governing board of each campus of the
California Community Colleges and the Trustees of the California
State University shall, and the Regents of the University of
California are requested to?
Lastly, the K-12 sections of this bill are contingent upon the
proceeds of the sale of bonds issued pursuant to a state bond
act for school facilities that is approved by the voters at a
statewide election after January 1, 2016. The author may wish
to consider making the higher education section of this measure
contingent upon the proceeds of the sale of bonds issued
pursuant to a state bond act for higher education facilities
that is approved by the voters at a statewide election after
January 1, 2016.
Related legislation. SB 316 (Block), which was 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 State Allocation Board to adjust modernization
grants to reflect the associated cost of installing locks. The
bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee suspense
file.
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AB 85 (Mendoza), which was introduced in 2012, would have
required 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:
Support
California Federation of Teachers (sponsors)
Opposition
Riverside County Superintendent of Schools
Analysis Prepared by:Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
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