SB 334 Senate Bill - Bill Analysis

BILL ANALYSIS Ó

SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular

Bill No: SB 334
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|Author: |Leyva |
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|Version: |February 23, 2015 Hearing Date: |
| | April 8, 2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Lynn Lorber |
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Subject: Pupil nutrition: drinking water

NOTE: This bill has been referred to the Committees on
Education and Environmental
Quality. A "do pass" motion should include
referral to the Committee on
Environmental Quality.

SUMMARY

This bill requires school districts to provide access to free,
fresh, clean and cold drinking water throughout the schoolday,
and test or provide for the testing of drinking water at the
beginning of each school year.

BACKGROUND

The Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act provides services
for the purpose of increasing awareness regarding the hazards of
lead exposure, reducing lead exposure and increasing the number
of children assessed and appropriated blood tested for lead
poisoning. The Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program
offers home visitation, environmental home inspections and
nutritional assessments to families of children found to be
severely lead-poisoned. (Health and Safety Code § 105275 et.
seq.)

Drinking water quality

The federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) authorizes the United

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States Environmental Protection Agency to set standards for
drinking water quality and to oversee the states, localities and
water suppliers who implement those standards. The California
SDWA requires the State Water Resources Control Board to
regulate drinking water and to enforce the federal SDWA and
other related regulations. The duties and responsibilities
related to the regulation and oversight of drinking water were
transferred from the California Department of Public Health to
the State Water Resources Control Board in 2014. (HSC § 116270
et. seq.)

The State Water Resources Control Board's Division of Drinking
water regulates over 8,000 public water systems by inspecting
the systems, issuing permits, taking enforcement actions and
implementing new requirements due to changes in federal or state
law or regulations.

Current law requires schools that receive notification from a
public water system regarding non-compliance with any primary
drinking water standard or a violation of monitoring
requirements, to notify school employees, students and parents.

(HSC § 116450)
Lead-Safe Schools Protection Act

Current law prohibits, beginning January 1, 1994, the use of
lead-based paint, lead plumbing and solders, or other potential
sources of lead contamination in the construction of any new
school facility or the modernization or renovation of any
existing school facility. (Education Code § 32244)

Current law requires the State Department of Health Services
(now called the Department of Public Health) to:

1. Conduct a sample survey of schools 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.
Risk factors include location in relation to high-risk
areas, age of the facility, likely use of lead pain in or
around the facility, numbers of children enrolled under the
age of six, and results of lead screening programs.

2. Notify the principal of the school of the survey results

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within 60 days of the completion of testing. School
principals are required to notify the teachers and other
school personnel and parents of survey results within 45
days of receiving the survey results.

3. Advise any school that has been determined to have
significant risk factors for lead, and the school is
required to notify teachers, other personnel and parents
within 45 days.

4. Make recommendations to the legislature and California
Department of Education (CDE) on the feasibility and
necessity of conducting statewide lead testing and any
additional action needed relating to lead contamination in
schools.

5. Develop environmental lead testing methods and
standards.

6. Work with the CDE to develop voluntary guidelines to
ensure that lead hazards are minimized in the course of
school repair and maintenance and abatement procedures.
(EC § 32241, § 32242, and § 32243)

Drinking water at schools

Current law requires interior and exterior drinking fountains to
be functional, accessible, and free of leaks, and with adequate
water pressure. Drinking fountain water must be clear and
without unusual taste or odor, and have no evidence of moss,
mold, or excessive staining. Drinking fountains must appear to
have been cleaned each day that the school is in session. (EC §
17002)

Current law requires school districts to provide access to free,
fresh drinking water during meal times in the food service
areas. School districts may adopt a resolution

stating that it is unable to comply with this requirement and
demonstrate the reasons why it is unable to comply due to fiscal
constraints or health and safety concerns.
(EC § 38086)

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ANALYSIS

Providing fresh drinking water

1. Expands the existing requirement for school districts to
provide access to free, fresh drinking water during meal
times to require the provision of free, fresh, clean and
cold drinking water throughout the schoolday, including:

A. Meal times.

B. Recreation times in the recreation
areas of the schools, including while students are
engaged in physical activity. These areas include
playgrounds, gymnasiums, cafeterias, and recreation
centers.

2. Requires school districts to provide at least one drinking
water access point for every 100 students enrolled in the
school. This bill defines "drinking water access point" as
a station, plumbed or unplumbed, where students can access
free, fresh, clean and cold drinking water. This bill
authorizes an unplumbed access point to include water
bottles and portable water dispensers.

3. Deletes the existing ability for school districts to adopt
a resolution stating it is unable to provide access to
free, fresh drinking water during meal times.

Testing drinking water

4. Requires school districts, before the beginning of each
school year, to test or provide for the testing of drinking
water for contaminants, including lead and perchlorates.
This bill requires school districts to:

A. Test the drinking water it receives from
municipal water systems or other
water systems that the district provides in school

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facilities.

B. Test the drinking water at the schoolsite at
which the drinking water is provided.

C. Ensure the drinking water meets drinking water
quality standards prescribed by the California Safe
Drinking Water Act.

1. Requires school districts to provide alternative sources of
free, fresh, clean and cold drinking water to students if
the drinking water received from a municipal
water system or other water system does not meet the
standards of the California Safe Drinking Water Act.

2. Requires school districts to provide a public notice of the
drinking water quality test results to students, parents
and teachers. The notice must clearly specify whether the
drinking water provided at the school is potable water.

STAFF COMMENTS

1. Need for the bill. According to the author, "To date,
there are few guidelines or requirements for the monitoring
of water quality and access in schools that receive water
from public water systems. There is a lack of attention in
the statute for monitoring water on school sites after it
has been delivered to them from a water system, regardless
of its categorization. Standards for water quality
monitoring and compliance in schools are not found in
statute. State plumbing codes pertaining to school
drinking fountains are outdated as most other states have
more stringent fountain-to-student ratios and provide more
flexibility for compliance. Currently, 38 states require
at least one water fountain per 100 students, while
California requires one per the first 150 students and one
per each 300 thereafter."

2. Author's amendments. The author wishes the amend this bill
as follows:

A. Delete the requirement that school districts test
or provide for the testing of drinking water sources,
and instead expand the Childhood Lead Poisoning

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Prevention Act to include water. Explicitly require
the Department of Public Health (DPH) to test drinking
water sources at all schoolsites for lead.

B. Require school districts that have drinking water
sources that do not meet the standards for lead and
any other contaminant established by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency to close access to
those sources of drinking water immediately upon
receipt of test results or notification from the
public water system. Require school districts to
provide alternative sources of drinking water if
closing access to drinking fountains on a schoolsite
violates the existing drinking fountain-to-student
ratio requirement.

i) Authorize school districts to provide
drinking water from plumbed or unplumbed sources
while the source of contamination is being
mitigated.

ii) Authorize an unplumbed source to
include portable water dispensers and bottled
water.

C. Require school districts that have drinking water
sources that do not meet the standards established by
the United States Environmental Protection Agency to
work with the DPH and the local department of public
health to
identify the most urgent mitigation needs and develop
a protocol or plan for mitigation.

i) Require the protocol or plan to
identify timelines and funding sources for
mitigation.

ii) Require the protocol or plan to be
presented and adopted by the school district
governing board at a regularly scheduled public
meeting within six months of the receipt of the
test results by the school districts.

D. Require lead testing information, including but

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not limited to the dates tested, number and type of
drinking water sources tested, test results, and
adopted protocols or plans for mitigation to be
reported by school districts to the DPH and the
California Department of Education (CDE).

i) Require the Department of Public Health
(DPH) and CDE to establish a process for
receiving, recording, and making public the data
received from school districts.

ii) Require the DPH and CDE to post the
data received from school districts on the
websites of both departments.

E. Require school districts to notify parents,
students, teachers and other school personnel of test
results, immediately upon receipt of those test
results, if the school district is required to provide
alternative sources of drinking water.

F. Require schools that have lead pipes to flush all
sources of drinking water for a minimum of 30 seconds
at the beginning of each schoolday, consistent with
protocols recommended by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency.

G. Require the CDE to work with the DPH to develop
guidelines and best practices to ensure that lead
hazards are minimized in the course of school repair
and maintenance and abatement procedures. Require the
data sent by school districts to the CDE to be
considered in the development of the guidelines and
best practices.

H. Delete the requirement that drinking water be
cold.

I. Delete the requirement for drinking water access
points for every 100 students.

3. Remaining issues. The author would like the following
issues included in this bill. Those issues may be best
addressed by the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.

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A. Require the testing of drinking water sources on
schoolsites to include tests for copper, as well as
for lead.

B. The frequency and recurrence of testing.

C. Certification of compliance with standards
established by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency.

4. No existing requirement to test at schoolsites. Current
law requires drinking fountain water to be clear and
without unusual taste or odor, and have no evidence of
moss, mold, or excessive staining. There is no requirement
in current law regarding the testing of drinking water, for
lead or any other contaminants, at schoolsites.

5. Survey of schools. Current law requires the State
Department of Health Services (now called the Department of
Public Health) to conduct a sample survey of schools 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. The Department of Health Services
conducted a study, beginning in 1994, of the extent of lead
contamination in paint, soil and water in California
schools. Data was collected from 200 randomly selected
schools between 1995 and 1997; the report was submitted to
the Legislature in 1998. The report states:

The United States Environmental Protection Agency
(USEPA) has set the action level for lead in
drinking water at 15 parts lead per billion (ppb)
parts water. The action recommended by USEPA is
to remove the drinking water outlet from service
immediately until the lead content falls below
the action level. Study data indicate that an
estimated 18.1 percent of California schools are
likely to have lead in drinking water at or above
the federal action level. Lead exceeding this
level was found at 10.5 percent of schools where
the sampled outlet had been used within 24 hours
of testing. These findings indicate that in some

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situations drinking water from school water
outlets could contribute to children's lead
exposure, and demonstrate a need for monitoring
lead from drinking water outlets in schools.
Water from outlets that have been left standing
for 24 hours are generally more likely to contain
higher lead levels than water from outlets that
have recently been flushed. However, within the
study, this flushing procedure did not always
reduce lead content to below the action level.
The age of the school was not a significant
factor in the amount of lead in drinking water.
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED462820.pdf

Current law required the Department of Health Services to
work with the California Department of Education to develop
guidelines to ensure that lead hazards are minimized in the
course of school repair and maintenance and abatement
procedures. These guidelines were never developed.

6. Los Angeles Unified. The Los Angeles Unified School
District (LAUSD) requires all drinking water fountains,
faucets and food service faucets to be
flushed for a minimum of 30 seconds prior to the first use
each day. Reference Guide REF-3930.3 states:

Water that remains stationary within standard
piping for extended periods of time can leach
lead out of pipes joined with lead-containing
solder as well as brass fixtures or galvanized
pipes. Flushing fixtures has been found to be an
effective means of reducing lead levels below the
Action Level set by the Environmental Protection
Agency. Based on past studies and current data,
all drinking water fountains, faucets and food
service faucets must be flushed for a minimum of
30 seconds prior to the first use each day.
Faucets not used for human consumption which are
labeled "Hand Wash Only" or "Laboratory Use Only"
are not required to be flushed daily.
http://www.lausd-oehs.org/docs/ReferenceGuides/REF
-3930.pdf

According to the Los Angeles Unified School District

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(LAUSD), the district tested drinking fountains for
lead annually between 1988 and 2009, but halted
testing due to budget reductions. In 2013, the LAUSD
Board of Education requested an audit titled
"Maintaining School Cleanliness and Safety" after the
board expressed concerns about the effectiveness of
the district's cleanliness, safety and custodial
programs due to the declining budget for maintenance
and operations.

One of the audit's objectives was to assess the daily
flushing of drinking fountains. The audit found, of
the 35 schoolsites visited, 23 had drinking fountains
inside the classroom; six of the 23 schoolsites did
not flush the drinking faucets for a minimum of 30
seconds prior to the first use each day. The audit
also found that, although the classroom drinking
faucets had not been flushed, the administrators at
the six schoolsites had certified that all applicable
fixtures had been flushed.
http://notebook.lausd.net/pls/ptl/docs/PAGE/CA_LAUSD/FL
DR_ORGANIZATIONS/FLDR_OIG_PUBLICATIONS_AUDIT_REPORTS/13
512MAINTINSCHOOLCLEANLINESS.PDF

The LAUSD reports it has replaced drinking fountains
at 200 schoolsites at a cost of $15,000 - $20,000 per
drinking fountain.

7. Existing requirement to provide drinking water. Current
law requires school districts to provide access to free,
fresh drinking water during meal times in the food service
areas. School districts currently have the authority to
adopt a resolution stating that it is unable to comply with
this requirement and demonstrate the reasons why it is
unable to comply due to fiscal constraints or health and
safety concerns. This bill eliminates the ability for
school districts to adopt a resolution exempting themselves
from providing fresh drinking water

during meals. It is unclear how many districts adopted
such a resolution, or the reasons for not being able to
meet the requirement to provide free, fresh drinking water
during meal times.

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8. Related and prior legislation.

RELATED LEGISLATION

AB 496 (Rendon) authorizes the California Department of
Education (CDE) to receive funds from any available state
and federal source, to be allocated to school districts to
comply with the existing requirement to provide fresh
drinking water during meals. AB 496 requires the CDE to
identify available sources of funding, including funds for
safe drinking water programs administered by the CDE, the
State Department of Public Health, the Department of Water
Resources, and the State Water Resources Control Board. AB
496 is pending in the Assembly Education Committee.

PRIOR LEGISLATION

SB 1413 (Leno, Ch. 558, 2010) requires school districts to
provide access to free, fresh drinking water during meal
times in the food service areas. School districts may
adopt a resolution stating that it is unable to comply with
this requirement and demonstrate the reasons why it is
unable to comply due to fiscal constraints or health and
safety concerns.

SUPPORT

American Civil Liberties Union
California Black Health Network
California Food Policy Advocates
Children Now
Clean Water Action
Community Water Center
Environmental Justice Coalition for Water
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Mission: Readiness
WeTap

OPPOSITION

California Association of School Business Officials
Los Angeles Unified School District

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