Amended in Senate August 1, 2016

Amended in Assembly May 27, 2016

Amended in Assembly April 13, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 28, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1783

Introduced by Assembly Member Dodd

(Principal coauthor: Senator Wolk)

February 4, 2016

An act to add Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 17660) to Part 10.5 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, relating to school facilities.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1783, as amended, Dodd. School facilities: nonstructural earthquake hazards: begin delete assessment. end delete begin insert inspection. end insert

Existing law, the Field Act, generally requires the Department of General Services to supervise the design and construction of, the reconstruction or alteration of, or the addition to, a school building to ensure, among other things, that plans and specifications comply with adopted rules and regulations and building standards, including those relating to seismic safety. Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services, in cooperation with the State Department of Education, the Department of General Services, and the Alfred E. Alquist Seismic Safety Commission, to develop an educational pamphlet for use by school personnel to identify and mitigate the risks posed by nonstructural earthquake hazards.

This bill would require each school district, county office of education, and charter begin delete school located in an area of higher seismicity, as defined, end delete begin insert school, end insert on or before January 1, begin delete 2018, end delete begin insert 2020, end insert to begin delete develop a plan for the end delete begin insert complete an end insert inspection of the contents in begin delete each of its school buildings of end delete areas that are accessible to or occupied by pupils begin insert in each of its school buildings located in an area of higher seismicity, as defined, end insert to assess whether the contents begin insert in each area end insert comply with the guidelines set forth in the begin delete pamphlet, to identify school building contents that do not comply with the guidelines, end delete begin insert pamphlet end insert and to develop corrective actions to bring noncompliant contents into begin delete compliance. The bill would require, among other things, that the plan be developed in consultation with specified persons, that it designate the responsible person or persons who will perform the assessment and develop the corrective action plans for noncompliant contents, and that it include a cost estimate for the assessment. The bill would require each school district, county office of education, and charter school to complete the assessment on or before January 1, 2020. end delete begin insert compliance with the published guidelines. end insert The bill would require, within 60 days of completing begin delete an assessment end delete begin insert the inspections end insert for each begin insert area within a end insert school building, that a checklist of compliant and noncompliant contents be reported to the governing board of the school district, the county board of education, or the governing body of the charter school, as applicable, with a prioritization of noncompliant items that threaten the safety of pupils and school personnel and a set of recommended corrective actions to bring high-priority noncompliant contents into compliance with the published guidelines. By imposing additional duties on local educational agency officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. begin insert The bill would require the Department of Conservation, on or before February 1, 2017, to post instructions or a hyperlink on its Internet Web site on how to determine whether a school district, county office of education, or charter school building is located in an area of higher seismicity. 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.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) Following significant damage to school buildings in the 1933
Long Beach earthquake, the Field Act was enacted to mandate the
earthquake-resistant construction of schools.

(b) The Division of the State Architect (DSA) reviews the
design, construction, alteration, addition, and rehabilitation of
K-12 public schools and community colleges.

(c) The DSA also monitors the safety of nonstructural
components installed in school facilities.

(d) Implementation of the Field Act, as defined pursuant to
Section 17281 of the Education Code, depends upon a complex
interrelationship with dispersed responsibilities among state
departments and agencies, school districts, local government
building departments, educational institutions, and the construction
industry.

(e) The South Napa earthquake struck in the early morning on
August 24, 2014. Structural damage to schools was minimal.
However, nonstructural damage was significant and could have
been life threatening had the earthquake occurred during school
hours.

(f) The earthquake highlighted dangers posed by light fixtures,
unrestrained bookcases, storage units, furniture, and other similar
school contents that are not subject to the Field Act’s requirements.

(g) The DSA has issued guidelines for nonstructural earthquake
hazards in California schools, which include furniture and
equipment. However, there are no requirements in state law similar
to the requirements of the Field Act that require the DSA, local
fire agencies, or school districts to inspect schools to ensure that
school contents comply with the DSA nonstructural component
guidelines.

(h) School classrooms should be examined to ensure that
furnishings and equipment are properly located, anchored, and
braced to prevent harm to pupils and school personnel, and to
ensure egress from any room after an earthquake.

SEC. 2.  

Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 17660) is added
to Part 10.5 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, to read:

 

Chapter  8. Nonstructural Earthquake Hazards

 

17660.  

(a) (1)  begin delete By no later than end delete begin insert On or before end insert January 1, begin delete 2018, end delete
begin insert 2020, end insert each school district, county office of education, and charter
school begin delete located in an area of higher seismicity shall develop a plan
for the end delete begin insert shall complete an end insert inspection of the contents, as described
in Section begin delete 17662, end delete begin insert 17661, end insert in begin delete each of its school buildings of end delete areas
that are accessible to or occupied by pupils, including classrooms,
hallways, libraries, gymnasiums, multipurpose rooms, cafeterias,
computer rooms, administrative offices, and other similar begin delete spaces. end delete

begin insert spaces in each of its school buildings located in an area of higher
seismicity to assess whether the contents in each area comply with
the guidelines set forth in Chapter 3 (Furniture and Equipment)
of the “Guide and Checklist for Nonstructural Earthquake Hazards
in California Schools,” published by the Office of Emergency
Services in cooperation with the State Department of Education,
the Department of General Services, and the Alfred E. Alquist
Seismic Safety Commission pursuant to Section 8587.7 of the
Government Code, and to develop corrective actions to bring
noncompliant contents into compliance with the published
guidelines. end insert

(2) For purposes of this section, “higher seismicity” means an
area with the result of .30g or greater on the California Geological
Survey’s Ground Motion Interpolator found on the Department of
Conservation Internet Web site.

(3) The Department of Conservation, on or before February 1,
2017, shall post begin delete instruction end delete begin insert instructions end insert or a hyperlink on its
Internet Web site on how to determine whether a school district,
county office of education, or charter school begin insert building end insert is located
in an area of higher seismicity.

begin delete

(b) The purpose of the plan shall be to assess whether the
contents comply with the guidelines set forth in Chapter 3
(Furniture and Equipment) of the “Guide and Checklist for
Nonstructural Earthquake Hazards in California Schools,” the
educational pamphlet published by the Office of Emergency
Services, in cooperation with the State Department of Education,
the Department of General Services, and the Alfred E. Alquist
Seismic Safety Commission pursuant to Section 8587.7 of the
Government Code, to identify school building contents that do not
comply with the guidelines, and to develop corrective actions to
bring noncompliant contents into compliance.

(c) The plan shall be developed in consultation with a California
licensed civil or structural engineer or a California licensed
architect, a representative of a local fire service agency, a school
administrator or school business official, a classroom teacher, and
a representative of classified school employees.

(d) The plan shall designate the responsible person or persons
in the school district, county office of education, or charter school,
as applicable, who will perform the assessment and develop the
corrective action plans for noncompliant contents. The plan shall
also identify all school buildings that are to be assessed and the
order of assessment.

(e) The plan shall include a cost estimate for the assessment.

(f) The plan shall be presented to the governing board of the
school district, the county board of education, or the governing
body of the charter school, as applicable, at a public meeting held
pursuant to the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing
with Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the
Government Code), or, in the case of a statewide charter school,
the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with
Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of
the Government Code).

end delete begin insert

(b) (1) Within 60 days of completing the inspection for each
area within school building described in subdivision (a), a checklist
of compliant and noncompliant contents shall be reported to the
governing board of the school district, the county board of
education, or the governing body of the charter school, as
applicable. The report shall include a prioritization of
noncompliant items that present an immediate and serious threat
to the safety of pupils and school personnel and a set of
recommended corrective actions to bring high-priority
noncompliant contents into compliance with the published
guidelines.

end insert begin insert

(2) The governing board of the school district, the county board
of education, or the governing body of the charter school, as
applicable, shall review the report in a public meeting held
pursuant to the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with
Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government
Code), or, in the case of a statewide charter school, the
Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with
Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of
the Government Code), and shall post the report on its Internet
Web site.

end insert begin insert

(c) (1) The superintendent of a school district, the county
superintendent of schools, or the chief administrator of a charter
school, as applicable, shall annually certify in writing to the
governing board of the school district, the county board of
education, or the governing body of the charter school, as
applicable, which corrective actions recommended in the report
submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) have been
taken and completed.

end insert begin insert

(2) The certifications for each school building shall be posted
to the school district’s, county office of education’s, or charter
school’s Internet Web site, as applicable.

end insert begin insert

(d) If a school district, county office of education, or charter
school completes an inspection pursuant to subdivision (a) before
January 1, 2017, the school district, county office of education, or
charter school may report the inspection and any corresponding
corrective actions it takes to the governing board of the school
district, the county board of education, or the governing body of
the charter school, as applicable, to comply with paragraph (1)
of subdivision (b).

end insert

begin delete

17661.  

(a) Each school district, county office of education,
and charter school shall complete an assessment pursuant to the
plan developed pursuant to Section 17660 on or before January 1,
2020.

(b) The person or persons designated pursuant to subdivision
(d) of Section 17660 shall, at minimum, complete the checklist
published in the “Guide and Checklist for Nonstructural Earthquake
Hazards in California Schools” to identify all compliant and
noncompliant contents found pursuant to Chapter 3 of the checklist.

(c) (1) Within 60 days of completing an assessment for each
school building, the checklist of compliant and noncompliant
contents shall be reported to the governing board of the school
district, the county board of education, or the governing body of
the charter school, as applicable. The report shall include a
prioritization of noncompliant items that present an immediate and
serious threat to the safety of pupils and school personnel and a
set of recommended corrective actions to bring high-priority
noncompliant contents into compliance with the published
guidelines.

(2) The governing board of the school district, the county board
of education, or the governing body of the charter school, as
applicable, shall review the report in a public meeting held pursuant
to the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section
54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code),
or, in the case of a statewide charter school, the Bagley-Keene
Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120)
of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code), and shall post the report on its Internet Web site.

(d) (1) The superintendent of a school district, the county
superintendent of schools, or the chief administrator of a charter
school, as applicable, shall annually certify in writing to the
governing board of the school district, the county board of
education, or the governing body of the charter school, as
applicable, which corrective actions have been taken and
completed.

(2) The certifications for each school building shall be posted
to the school district’s, county office of education’s, or charter
school’s Internet Web site, as applicable.

(e) If a school district, county office of education, or charter
school completes an assessment pursuant to subdivision (a) before
January 1, 2017, the school district, county office of education, or
charter school may report the assessment and any corresponding
corrective actions it takes to the governing board of the school
district, the county board of education, or the governing body of
the charter school, as applicable, to comply with paragraph (1) of
subdivision (c).

end delete

begin delete 17662. end delete

begin insert 17661. end insert   

For purposes of this chapter, “contents” includes, but
is not limited to, file cabinets, bookcases, desktop and countertop
equipment, equipment on carts, display cases, art objects, potted
plants, aquariums, equipment on wheels or rollers, such as pianos
and chalkboards, office equipment, refrigerators, vending machines,
shop and gym equipment, gas cylinders, gas piping, and storage
racks.

SEC. 3.  

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.