Amended in Assembly July 9, 2015

Amended in Senate June 3, 2015

Amended in Senate April 20, 2015

Senate Bill No. 334

Introduced by Senator Leyva

(Coauthors: Senators Leno and Pavley)

February 23, 2015

An act to amend begin delete Section end delete begin insert Sections 32242 and end insert 38086 of, to add Sections 32241.5, 32246, 32247, 32248, and 32249 to, 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 health.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 334, as amended, Leyva. Pupil health: drinking water.

(1) 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, and clean drinking water during meal times through the use of drinking water access points, as defined. By imposing additional duties on school districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would require 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 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. By imposing additional duties on schools and school districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(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 begin delete schools. end delete begin insert schools, including, among other activities, working with the State Department of Education to develop voluntary guidelines to ensure that lead hazards are minimized in the course of school repair and maintenance programs and abatement procedures. end insert

begin delete

This

end delete

begin insert This bill would repeal the requirement that the State Department of Public Health develop voluntary guidelines. The end insert bill would begin insert instead end insert 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 begin delete sources end delete begin insert sources, as defined, end insert at a sample of schoolsites, as specified, for lead in the drinking water, and would require the data collected through this testing to be posted on the Internet Web sites of the State Department of Education and the State Department of Public Health. The bill would require a public school that has lead-containing plumbing components to flush all drinking water sources at the beginning of each schoolday, except as provided. By imposing additional duties on public schools and school districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(3) 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.  

Section 32241.5 is added to the Education Code,
to read:

32241.5.  

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 gathered pursuant
to subdivision (b) of Section 32247 shall be considered in the
development of the guidelines and best practices.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 32242 of the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert is amended to
read: end insert

32242.  

The begin delete department end delete begin insert State Department of Public Health end insert
shall do all of the following:

(a) Design and implement a strategy for identifying the
characteristics of high-risk schools and provide a basis for
statewide estimates of the presence of lead in schools attended by
young children.

(b) Conduct a sample survey, as described in Section 32241, to
determine the likely extent and distribution of lead exposure to
children from paint on the school, soil in play areas at the school,
drinking water at the tap, and other potential sources identified by
the begin delete department end delete begin insert State Department of Public Health end insert for this purpose.
To the maximum extent possible, limited sample testing shall be
used to validate survey results. The begin delete department end delete begin insert State Department
of Public Health end insert shall compile and summarize the results of that
survey and report those results to the Legislature and the begin delete State
Department of Education. end delete begin insert department. end insert

(c) Within 60 days of the completion of testing a schoolsite, the
begin delete department end delete begin insert State Department of Public Health end insert shall notify the
principal of the school or director of the schoolsite of the survey
results. Within 45 days of receiving the survey results, the principal
or director, as the case may be, shall notify the teachers and other
school personnel and parents of the survey results.

(d) Make recommendations to the Legislature and the begin delete State
Department of Education, end delete begin insert department, end insert based on the survey results
and consideration of appropriate federal and state standards, on
the feasibility and necessity of conducting statewide lead testing
and any additional action needed relating to lead contamination
in the schools.

(e) As deemed necessary and appropriate in view of the survey
results, develop environmental lead testing methods and standards
to ensure the scientific integrity of results, for use by schools and
contractors designated by schools for that purpose.

(f) Evaluate the most current cost-effective lead abatement
technologies.

begin delete

(g) Work with the State Department of Education to develop
voluntary guidelines for distribution to requesting schools to ensure
that lead hazards are minimized in the course of school repair and
maintenance programs and abatement procedures.

end delete

begin delete SEC. 2. end delete
begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

Section 32246 is added to the Education Code, to read:

32246.  

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.

begin delete SEC. 3. end delete
begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

Section 32247 is added to the Education Code, to read:

32247.  

(a) The State Department of Public Health shall test
drinking water sources at a sample of schoolsites for lead in the
drinking water. The sample shall include schools that are
representative of the state by geographical region, size of
enrollment, and areas identified pursuant to Section 39711 of the
Health and Safety Code. begin insert It is the intent of the Legislature to
prioritize testing of schoolsites that have high risk factors, as
described in Section 32241. end insert

(b) The data collected by the State Department of Public Health
shall include drinking water lead testing information, including,
but not limited to, dates of testing, number and type of drinking
water sources tested, and test results. begin insert Upon collection of the data,
the State Department of Public Health shall notify the school
districts with schools that were tested of the test results. end insert

(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 testing water at schoolsites.

(2) Post the data collected during drinking water lead testing
on the departments’ respective Internet Web sites.

(d) The State Department of Public Health shall not test drinking
water sources that meet either of the following conditions:

(1) Are located at schoolsites constructed after January 1, begin delete 2010. end delete
begin insert 1993. end insert

(2) Have been tested by the State Department of Public Health
or a certified professional employed or hired by a school district
and meets the United States Environmental Protection Agency and
state drinking water standards for lead.

begin insert

(e) For purposes of this section, “drinking water source” is
defined as drinking water fountains and other fixtures that are
intended to convey water for human consumption.

end insert

begin delete SEC. 4. end delete
begin insert SEC. 5. end insert   

Section 32248 is added to the Education Code, to read:

32248.  

(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.

begin delete SEC. 5. end delete
begin insert SEC. 6. end insert   

Section 32249 is added to the Education Code, to read:

32249.  

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. A school is not required to flush drinking water sources
that have been shut off or have been certified as free of lead.

begin delete SEC. 6. end delete
begin insert SEC. 7. end insert   

Section 38086 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

38086.  

(a) A school district shall provide access to free, fresh,
and clean 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
federal 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.

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

begin delete SEC. 7. end delete
begin insert SEC. 8. 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 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.

begin delete SEC. 8. end delete
begin insert SEC. 9. 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.