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 public 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 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.
This bill would repeal the requirement that the State Department of Public Health develop voluntary guidelines. The bill would instead require the State Department of Education to make information available to school districts about the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s technical guidance for reducing lead in drinking water in schools. 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. 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 32241.5 is added to the Education Code,
2to read:
The department shall make information available to
4school districts, by posting on its Internet Web site or through any
5other means for distributing information it deems effective, about
6the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s technical
7guidance for reducing lead in drinking water in schools.
Section 32242 of the Education Code is amended to
9read:
The State Department of Public Health shall do all of
11the following:
12(a) Design and implement a strategy for identifying the
13characteristics of high-risk schools and provide a basis for
14statewide estimates of the presence of lead in schools attended by
15young children.
16(b) Conduct a sample survey, as described in Section 32241, to
17determine the likely extent and distribution of lead exposure to
18children from paint on the school, soil in play areas at the school,
19drinking water at the tap, and other potential sources identified by
20the State Department of Public Health for this purpose. To the
21maximum
extent possible, limited sample testing shall be used to
22validate survey results. The State Department of Public Health
23shall compile and summarize the results of that survey and report
24those results to the Legislature and the department.
25(c) Within 60 days of the completion of testing a schoolsite, the
26State Department of Public Health shall notify the principal of the
27school or director of the schoolsite of the survey results. Within
2845 days of receiving the survey results, the principal or director,
29as the case may be, shall notify the teachers and other school
30personnel and parents of the survey results.
31(d) Make recommendations to the Legislature and the
32department, based on the survey results and consideration of
33appropriate federal and state standards, on the feasibility and
P4 1necessity
of conducting statewide lead testing and any additional
2action needed relating to lead contamination in the schools.
3(e) As deemed necessary and appropriate in view of the survey
4results, develop environmental lead testing methods and standards
5to ensure the scientific integrity of results, for use by schools and
6contractors designated by schools for that purpose.
7(f) Evaluate the most current cost-effective lead abatement
8technologies.
Section 32246 is added to the Education Code, to read:
Drinking water that does not meet the United States
11Environmental Protection Agency drinking water standards for
12lead shall not be provided at a school facility.
Section 32249 is added to the Education Code, to read:
A school that has lead-containing plumbing components
15shall flush all drinking water sources at the beginning of each
16schoolday, consistent with protocols recommended by the United
17States Environmental Protection Agency. A school is not required
18to flush drinking water sources that have been shut off or have
19been certified asbegin delete free of lead.end deletebegin insert meeting the United States
20Environmental Protection Agency’s drinking water standards for
21lead.end insert
Section 38086 of the Education Code is amended to
23read:
(a) A school district shall provide access to free, fresh,
25and clean drinking water during meal times in the food service
26areas of the schools under its jurisdiction, including, but not
27necessarily limited to, areas where reimbursable meals under the
28federal National School Lunch Program or the federal School
29Breakfast Program are served or consumed. A school district may
30comply with this section by, among other means, providing cups
31and containers of water or soliciting or receiving donated bottled
32water.
33(b) A school district shall comply with this section through the
34use of drinking water access points.
35(c) For purposes
of this section, “drinking water access point”
36is defined as a station, plumbed or unplumbed, where pupils can
37access free, fresh, and clean drinking water. An unplumbed access
38point may include water bottles and portable water dispensers.
Article 13 (commencing with Section 49580) is added
2to Chapter 9 of Part 27 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education
3Code, to read:
4
(a) A school district that has drinking water sources
8with drinking water that does not meet the United States
9Environmental Protection Agency drinking water standards for
10lead or any other contaminant shall close access to those drinking
11water sources immediately upon receipt of test results or
12notification from the public water system.
13(b) (1) If, as a result of closing access to a drinking water source
14pursuant to subdivision (a), a schoolsite within a school district
15
no longer has the minimum number of drinking fountains required
16pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 401.0) of the
17California Plumbing Code (Part 5 of Title 24 of the California
18Code of Regulations), the school district shall provide alternative
19drinking water sources at that schoolsite.
20(2) An alternative drinking water source provided pursuant to
21this subdivision while the source of contamination is being
22mitigated may be from plumbed or unplumbed sources. Unplumbed
23sources may include, but are not limited to, portable water sources
24and bottled water.
25(c) A school district shall notify parents or legal guardians,
26pupils, teachers, and other school personnel of drinking water test
27results, immediately upon receipt of those test results, if the school
28
district is required to provide alternative drinking water sources.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
30this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
31local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
32pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
334 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
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