Amended in Senate April 20, 2015

Senate Bill No. 334

Introduced by Senator Leyva

February 23, 2015

An act to amend Section 38086 of, begin insert to add Sections 32241.5, 32246, 32247, 32248, and 32249 to, end insert and to add Article 13 (commencing with Section 49580) to Chapter 9 of Part 27 of Division 4 of Title 2 of, the Education Code, relating to pupil begin delete nutrition. end delete begin insert health. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 334, as amended, Leyva. Pupil begin delete nutrition: end delete begin insert health: end insert drinking water.

begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert Existing law requires a school district to provide access to free, fresh drinking water during meal times in school food service areas, unless the governing board of a school district adopts a resolution stating that it is unable to comply with this requirement and demonstrating the reasons why it is unable to comply due to fiscal constraints or health and safety concerns. Existing law requires the resolution to be publicly noticed on at least 2 consecutive meeting agendas and approved by at least a majority of the governing board of the school district.

This bill would delete the provision authorizing a school district to adopt a resolution stating that it is unable to provide access to free, fresh drinking water during meal times. The bill would instead specify that a school district shall provide access to free, fresh, begin delete clean, end delete and begin delete cold end delete begin insert clean end insert drinking water during meal times through the use of drinking water access points, as defined. The bill also would require a school district to provide access to free, fresh, begin delete clean, end delete and begin delete cold end delete begin insert clean end insert drinking water throughout the schoolday, including, but not limited to, during recreation times, as specified. By imposing additional duties on school districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would require a school district begin delete to, before the beginning of each school year, test, or provide for the testing of, drinking water for contaminants to ensure the drinking water meets specified drinking water quality standards, as provided. If the drinking water does not meet the specified drinking water quality standards, the bill would require a school district to provide alternative sources of free, fresh, clean, and cold drinking water to pupils. The bill also would require schools to provide public notices of the drinking water quality test results, as specified. end delete begin insert that has drinking water sources with drinking water that does not meet the United States Environmental Protection Agency drinking water standards for lead or any other contaminant to close access to those drinking water sources, to provide alternative drinking water sources, as specified, and to notify specified persons if the school district is required to provide those alternative drinking water sources. end insert By imposing additional duties on schools and school districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

begin insert

(2) Under existing law, known as the Lead-Safe Schools Protection Act, the State Department of Public Health is required to perform various activities related to reducing the risk of exposure to lead hazards in public schools.

end insert begin insert

This bill would require the State Department of Education to work with the State Department of Public Health to develop guidelines and best practices to ensure that lead hazards are minimized in the course of school repair and maintenance and abatement procedures. The bill would prohibit drinking water that does not meet the United States Environmental Protection Agency drinking water standards for lead from being provided at a school facility and would require a school district that has such drinking water to identify the most urgent mitigation needs and develop a protocol or plan for mitigation. The bill would require the State Department of Public Health to test drinking water sources at all schoolsites for lead in the drinking water and would require a school district to report information related to this testing to the State Department of Education and the State Department of Public Health. The bill would require a school that has lead-containing plumbing components to flush all drinking water sources at the beginning of each schoolday, as provided. By imposing additional duties on schools and school districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

end insert

begin insert (3) end insert begin insert   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:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 32241.5 is added to the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert ,
to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 32241.5. end insert   

The department shall work with the State Department
of Public Health to develop guidelines and best practices to ensure
that lead hazards are minimized in the course of school repair and
maintenance and abatement procedures. The data sent by school
districts to the department pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section
33247 shall be considered in the development of the guidelines
and best practices.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 32246 is added to the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 32246. end insert   

Drinking water that does not meet the United States
Environmental Protection Agency drinking water standards for
lead shall not be provided at a school facility.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 32247 is added to the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 32247. end insert   

(a) The State Department of Public Health shall test
drinking water sources at all schoolsites for lead in the drinking
water.

(b) A school district shall report drinking water lead testing
information, including, but not limited to, dates of testing, number
and type of drinking water sources tested, test results, and adopted
protocols or plans for mitigation, to the State Department of Public
Health and the department.

(c) The State Department of Public Health and the department
shall do both of the following:

(1) Establish a process for receiving, recording, and making
public the data received from school districts.

(2) Post the data received from school districts on the
departments’ respective Internet Web sites.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 32248 is added to the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 32248. end insert   

(a) A school district that has drinking water sources
with drinking water that does not meet the United States
Environmental Protection Agency drinking water standards for
lead shall work with the State Department of Public Health and
the local department of public health to identify the most urgent
mitigation needs and develop a protocol or plan for mitigation.

(b) The protocol or plan shall identify timelines and funding
sources for mitigation.

(c) The protocol or plan shall be presented to and adopted by
the governing board of the school district at a regularly scheduled
public meeting within six months of the school district’s receipt
of the drinking water test results.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 5. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 32249 is added to the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 32249. end insert   

A school that has lead-containing plumbing components
shall flush all drinking water sources for a minimum of 30 seconds
at the beginning of each schoolday, consistent with protocols
recommended by the United States Environmental Protection
Agency.

end insert

begin delete SECTION 1. end delete
begin insert SEC. 6. end insert   

Section 38086 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

38086.  

(a) A school district shall provide access to free, fresh,
begin delete clean, end delete and begin delete cold end delete begin insert clean end insert drinking water during meal times in the food
service areas of the schools under its jurisdiction, including, but
not necessarily limited to, areas where reimbursable meals under
the begin insert federal end insert National School Lunch Program or the federal School
Breakfast Program are served or consumed. A school district may
comply with this section by, among other means, providing cups
and containers of water or soliciting or receiving donated bottled
water.

(b) A school district shall comply with this section through the
use of drinking water access points, as prescribed by Section 49580.

begin delete SEC. 2. end delete
begin insert SEC. 7. end insert   

Article 13 (commencing with Section 49580) is added
to Chapter 9 of Part 27 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education
Code, to read:

 

Article 13.  Drinking Water

 

49580.  

(a) A school district shall provide access to free, fresh,
begin delete clean, end delete and begin delete cold end delete begin insert clean end insert drinking water throughout the schoolday,
including, but not limited to, during both of the following:

(1) Meal times, as provided for in Section 38086.

(2) Recreation times, including, but not limited to, while pupils
are engaged in physical activity, in the recreation areas of the
schools under its jurisdiction. Recreation areas are any areas in
which pupils participate in recreation, including, but not limited
to, playgrounds, gymnasiums, cafeterias, and recreation centers.

(b) A school district shall comply with this section by providing
one or more drinking water access begin delete points for every 100 pupils
enrolled in the school. end delete begin insert points. end insert

(c) For purposes of this section, “drinking water access point”
is defined as a station, plumbed or unplumbed, where pupils can
access free, fresh, begin delete clean, end delete and begin delete cold end delete begin insert clean end insert drinking water. An
unplumbed access point may include water bottles and portable
water dispensers.

begin delete

49581.  

(a) Before the beginning of each school year, a school
district shall test, or provide for the testing of, drinking water for
contaminants, including, but not limited to, lead and perchlorates,
that the school district receives from municipal water systems or
other water systems that the school district is going to provide in
school facilities, at the schoolsite at which the drinking water will
be provided, to ensure the drinking water meets drinking water
quality standards prescribed by the California Safe Drinking Water
Act (Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 116270) of Part 12 of
Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code) and any implementing
regulations and the federal Safe Drinking Water Act of 1996 (42
U.S.C. Sec. 300f et seq.) and any implementing regulations.

(b) If the drinking water the school district receives from a
municipal water system or other water system does not meet the
standards specified in subdivision (a), the school district shall
provide alternative sources of free, fresh, clean, and cold drinking
water to pupils.

(c) Each school shall provide a public notice of the drinking
water quality test results obtained pursuant to subdivision (a) to
pupils, parents, and teachers. The notice shall clearly specify
whether the drinking water provided at the school is potable water,
as defined in Section 113869 of the Health and Safety Code.

end delete begin insert

begin insert 49581. end insert   

(a) A school district that has drinking water sources
with drinking water that does not meet the United States
Environmental Protection Agency drinking water standards for
lead or any other contaminant shall close access to those drinking
water sources immediately upon receipt of test results or
notification from the public water system.

(b) (1) If, as a result of closing access to a drinking water
source pursuant to subdivision (a), a schoolsite within a school
district no longer has the minimum number of drinking fountains
required pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 401.0)
of the California Plumbing Code (Part 5 of Title 24 of the
California Code of Regulations), the school district shall provide
alternative drinking water sources at that schoolsite.

(2) An alternative drinking water source provided pursuant to
this subdivision while the source of contamination is being
mitigated may be from plumbed or unplumbed sources. Unplumbed
sources may include, but are not limited to, portable water sources
and bottled water.

(c) A school district shall notify parents, pupils, teachers, and
other school personnel of drinking water test results, immediately
upon receipt of those test results, if the school district is required
to provide alternative drinking water sources.

end insert

begin delete SEC. 3. end delete
begin insert SEC. 8. 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.