AB 1783, as amended, Dodd. School facilities: nonstructural earthquake hazards: inspection.
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 school, on or before January 1, 2020, to complete an inspection of the contents in areas that are accessible to or occupied by pupils in each of its school buildings located in an area of higher seismicity, as defined, to assess whether the contents in each area comply with the guidelines set forth in the pamphlet and to develop corrective actions to bring noncompliant contents into compliance with the published guidelines. The bill would require, within 60 days of completing the inspections for each area within a 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. 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.begin insert The bill would make implementation of these provisions contingent upon funding being 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:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:
P3 1(a) Following significant damage to school buildings in the 1933
2Long Beach earthquake, the Field Act was enacted to mandate the
3earthquake-resistant construction of schools.
4(b) The Division of the State Architect (DSA) reviews the
5design, construction, alteration, addition, and rehabilitation of
6K-12 public schools and community colleges.
7(c) The DSA also monitors the safety of nonstructural
8components installed in school facilities.
9(d) Implementation of the Field Act, as defined pursuant to
10Section 17281 of the Education Code, depends upon a complex
11interrelationship with dispersed responsibilities among state
12departments and agencies, school districts, local government
13building departments, educational institutions, and the construction
14industry.
15(e) The South Napa earthquake struck in the early morning on
16August 24, 2014. Structural damage to schools was minimal.
17However, nonstructural damage was significant and could have
18been life threatening had the earthquake occurred during school
19hours.
20(f) The earthquake highlighted dangers posed by light fixtures,
21unrestrained bookcases, storage units, furniture, and other similar
22school
contents that are not subject to the Field Act’s requirements.
23(g) The DSA has issued guidelines for nonstructural earthquake
24hazards in California schools, which include furniture and
25equipment. However, there are no requirements in state law similar
26to the requirements of the Field Act that require the DSA, local
27fire agencies, or school districts to inspect schools to ensure that
28school contents comply with the DSA nonstructural component
29guidelines.
30(h) School classrooms should be examined to ensure that
31furnishings and equipment are properly located, anchored, and
32braced to prevent harm to pupils and school personnel, and to
33ensure egress from any room after an earthquake.
Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 17660) is added
35to Part 10.5 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, to read:
36
(a) (1) On or before January 1, 2020, each school
40district, county office of education, and charter school
shall
P4 1complete an inspection of the contents, as described in Section
217661, in areas that are accessible to or occupied by pupils,
3including classrooms, hallways, libraries, gymnasiums,
4multipurpose rooms, cafeterias, computer rooms, administrative
5offices, and other similar spaces in each of its school buildings
6located in an area of higher seismicity to assess whether the
7contents in each area comply with the guidelines set forth in
8Chapter 3 (Furniture and Equipment) of the “Guide and Checklist
9for Nonstructural Earthquake Hazards in California Schools,”
10published by the Office of Emergency Services in cooperation
11with the State Department of Education, the Department of General
12Services, and the Alfred E. Alquist Seismic Safety Commission
13pursuant to Section 8587.7 of the Government Code, and to develop
14corrective actions to bring noncompliant contents into compliance
15with
the published guidelines.
16(2) For purposes of this section, “higher seismicity” means an
17area with the result of .30g or greater on the California Geological
18Survey’s Ground Motion Interpolator found on the Department of
19Conservation Internet Web site.
20(3) The Department of Conservation, on or before February 1,
212017, shall post instructions or a hyperlink on its Internet Web site
22on how to determine whether a school district, county office of
23education, or charter school building is located in an area of higher
24seismicity.
25(b) (1) Within 60 days of completing the inspection for each
26area withinbegin insert
aend insert school building described in subdivision (a), a
27checklist of compliant and noncompliant contents shall be reported
28to the governing board of the school district, the county board of
29education, or the governing body of the charter school, as
30applicable. The report shall include a prioritization of noncompliant
31items that present an immediate and serious threat to the safety of
32pupils and school personnel and a set of recommended corrective
33actions to bring high-priority noncompliant contents into
34compliance with the published guidelines.
35(2) The governing board of the school district, the county board
36of education, or the governing body of the charter school, as
37applicable, shall review the report in a public meeting held pursuant
38to the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section
39
54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code),
40or, in the case of a statewide charter school, the Bagley-Keene
P5 1Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120)
2of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
3Code), and shall post the report on its Internet Web site.
4(c) (1) The superintendent of a school district, the county
5superintendent of schools, or the chief administrator of a charter
6school, as applicable, shall annually certify in writing to the
7governing board of the school district, the county board of
8education, or the governing body of the charter school, as
9applicable, which corrective actions recommended in the report
10submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) have been
11taken and completed.
12(2) The
certifications for each school building shall be posted
13to the school district’s, county office of education’s, or charter
14school’s Internet Web site, as applicable.
15(d) If a school district, county office of education, or charter
16school completes an inspection pursuant to subdivision (a) before
17January 1, 2017, the school district, county office of education, or
18charter school may report the inspection and any corresponding
19corrective actions it takes to the governing board of the school
20district, the county board of education, or the governing body of
21the charter school, as applicable, to comply with paragraph (1) of
22subdivision (b).
For purposes of this chapter, “contents” includes, but
24is not limited to, file cabinets, bookcases, desktop and countertop
25equipment, equipment on carts, display cases, art objects, potted
26 plants, aquariums, equipment on wheels or rollers, such as pianos
27and chalkboards, office equipment, refrigerators, vending machines,
28shop and gym equipment, gas cylinders, gas piping, and storage
29racks.
This chapter shall not be implemented unless funding
31is provided for its implementation in the annual Budget Act or
32another statute.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
34this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
35local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
36pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
374 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
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