Amended in Assembly April 5, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1572

Introduced by Assembly Member Campos

January 4, 2016

An act to begin insert amend Section 39800 of, and to end insert add begin delete Section 39800.1 to end delete begin insert Sections 39800.1 and 39800.2 to, end insert the Education Code, relating to school transportation.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1572, as amended, Campos. School transportation.

Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to provide for the transportation of pupils to and from school whenever in the judgment of the board the transportation is advisable and good reasons exist to do so.

This bill would entitle a pupil who attends a begin insert public, noncharter end insert school that is eligible for Title 1 federal funding to free transportation to and from begin delete school provided by the local educational agency, end delete begin insert school end insert if certain conditions are met. The bill would require begin delete the local educational agency to designate a liaison end delete begin insert a school district not currently providing transportation to all pupils attending schools that are eligible for Title 1 federal funding end insert to implement a plan developed, in consultation with specified stakeholders, to ensure that all begin delete entitled end delete pupils begin delete receive end delete begin insert entitled to end insert free transportation begin delete in a timely manner. end delete begin insert receive the transportation. end insert begin insert The bill would authorize school districts to contract with a municipally owned transit system to transport pupils if certain conditions are met. end insert begin insert By requiring new duties on a local educational agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. end insert

begin delete

By requiring new duties on a local educational agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

end delete begin insert

This bill would create the Transportation and Access to Public School Fund and require the Superintendent of Public Instruction, upon appropriation to this fund by the Legislature, to allocate moneys from this fund to school districts, county offices of education, entities providing services under a school transportation joint powers agreement, or regional occupational centers or programs that provide pupil transportation an amount equal to the actual costs of the entitled transportation pursuant to this bill. The bill would provide that these provisions shall become operative only to the extent that funding is provided in the annual Budget Act or another statute.

end insert

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(1) According to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau,
without a high school diploma, Americans are almost twice as
likely to live in poverty.

(2) Several independent academic studies indicate a marked
increase in school participation and graduation rates among
children who were guaranteed transportation to and from school.

(3) According to a recent report by California Attorney General
Kamala Harris, poverty and financial instability is the number one
cause of truancy in the state.

begin insert

(4) Research shows a strong relationship between access to
transportation and improved school attendance.

end insert

(b) Based on the findings and declarations in subdivision (a), it
is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would
support school participation and high school attainment among
low-income youth.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 39800 of the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert is amended to
read: end insert

39800.  

(a)  begin delete The end delete begin insert In addition to the requirement to provide
transportation pursuant to Section 39800.1, the end insert governing board
of any school district may provide for the transportation of pupils
to and from school begin delete whenever end delete begin insert whenever, end insert in the judgment of the
begin delete board end delete begin insert governing board, end insert the transportation is advisable and good
reasons begin delete exist therefor. end delete begin insert exist. end insert The governing board begin insert of a school
district end insert may purchase or rent and provide for the upkeep, care, and
operation of vehicles, or may contract and pay for the transportation
of begin insert middle school and high school end insert pupils to and from school by
begin delete common carrier or end delete begin insert a vehicle driven by a public employee of a end insert
municipally owned transit system, or begin delete may contract with and pay
responsible private parties for the transportation. These contracts end delete
may begin delete be made end delete begin insert contract end insert with the parent or guardian of the pupil
being transported. begin delete A end delete begin insert The end insert governing board begin insert of a school district end insert may
allow the transportation of preschool or nursery school pupils in
schoolbuses owned or operated by the begin insert school end insert district. A state
reimbursement may not be received by a begin insert school end insert district for the
transportation of preschool or nursery school pupils.

(b) As used in this article, “municipally owned transit system”
means a transit system owned by a begin delete city, end delete begin insert city end insert or by a district created
under Part 1 (commencing with Section 24501) of Division 10 of
the Public Utilities Code.

begin delete SEC. 2. end delete

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

Section 39800.1 is added to the Education Code, to
read:

39800.1.  

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, a pupil attending
a begin insert public, noncharter end insert school that is eligible for Title 1 federal
funding shall be entitled to free begin delete transportation, from the local
educational agency, end delete begin insert transportation end insert to and from school, if either
of the following conditions are met:

(1) The pupil resides more than one-half mile from the school.

(2) The neighborhood through which the pupil must travel to
get to school is begin delete unsafe due to end delete begin insert unsafe, as defined by the plan
established pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b), which
may include factors, including, but not limited to, end insert stray dogs, begin delete no end delete
begin insert lack of end insert sidewalks, known gang activity, begin insert presence of environmental
problems and hazards, required crossings of freeways or busy
intersections, end insert or other reasons documented by stakeholders begin insert in the
plan developed end insert pursuant to subdivision (c).

(b) (1) A begin delete local educational agency end delete begin insert school district not currently
providing transportation to all pupils attending schools that are
eligible for Title 1 federal funding end insert shall begin delete designate a liaison that
shall be responsible for implementing end delete begin insert implement end insert a plan to ensure
that all pupils entitled to free transportation pursuant to subdivision
(a) receive the transportation.

(2) The begin delete liaison shall be trained to end delete begin insert plan shall end insert identify and
accommodate the special rights of homeless youth, as defined
pursuant to the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
(42 U.S.C. Sec. 11301 et seq.).

(c) The plan required by paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) shall
be developed with the consultation of teachers, school
administrators, regional local transit authorities, begin delete the Air Resources
Board, end delete begin insert local air districts, end insert the Department of Transportation,
parents, pupils, and other stakeholders.

(d) If free, dependable, and timely transportation is not begin insert already end insert
available begin delete for end delete begin insert to end insert pupils entitled to transportation services pursuant
to this section, the begin delete local educational agency end delete begin insert school district end insert shall
ensure that the pupils entitled to the transportation are provided
free begin delete transportation using its existing funds, unless the local
educational agency determines that lack of transportation does not
reduce pupil school attendance. end delete begin insert transportation. end insert

begin insert

(e) Notwithstanding subdivision (f), transportation provided
pursuant to this section shall be provided by a public employee.

end insert begin insert

(f) A school district may partner with a transit authority to
provide the transportation provided pursuant to this section to
middle school and high school pupils if all of the following
conditions are met:

end insert begin insert

(1) All drivers are public employees of a municipality owned
transit agency as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 39800.

end insert begin insert

(2) The transit agency can certify that the public transit system
can ensure consistent, adequate routes and schedules to enable
pupils to get home, to school and back, and does not charge the
school district more than marginal cost for each transit pass.

end insert begin insert

(3) Nothing in this section would prevent a local transportation
agency from providing no-cost transit passes to pupils attending
Title 1 schools.

end insert begin insert

(g) All transportation provided pursuant to this section shall
be reimbursed by the Transportation and Access to Public School
Fund created pursuant to Section 39800.2.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 39800.2 is added to the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert , to
read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 39800.2. end insert   

(a) The Transportation and Access to Public School
Fund is hereby created in the State Treasury to be administered
by the department.

(b) Funds in the Transportation and Access to Public School
Fund shall, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be allocated
to the department for allocation to local educational agencies
pursuant to the process established by the Superintendent.

(c) Commencing with the 2017-18 fiscal year, the
Superintendent shall allocate from the Transportation and Access
to Public School Fund to each school district, county office of
education, entity providing services under a school transportation
joint powers agreement, or regional occupational center or
program that provides pupil transportation an amount equal to
the actual costs of the entitled transportation established pursuant
to Section 39800.1. The allocation shall be in addition to any
amount apportioned for home-to-school transportation pursuant
to Article 10 (commencing with Section 41850) of Chapter 5 of
Part 24.

(d) This section shall become operative only to the extent that
funding is provided in the annual Budget Act or another statute
for the purposes of this section.

end insert

begin delete SEC. 3. end delete

begin insert SEC. 5. end insert   

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.