BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 572
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Author: |Pan |
|-----------+-----------------------------------------------------|
|Version: |April 6, 2015 Hearing |
| |Date: April 15, 2015 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Consultant:|Kathleen Chavira |
| | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: School facilities: school district advisory
committee: use or disposition of ????..school buildings
SUMMARY
This bill requires the governing board of a school district to
appoint a district advisory committee to advise in the
development of districtwide policies and procedures about the
use and disposition of school buildings, and specifically
requires its appointment prior to the closing of a school within
the district.
BACKGROUND
Existing law declares the intent of the Legislature that the
community be involved before decisions are made about school
closure or the use of surplus space.
(Education Code § 17387)
Existing law authorizes the governing board of any school
district to appoint a district advisory committee to advise the
governing board in the development of districtwide policies and
procedures governing the use or disposition of school buildings
or space in school buildings which is not needed for school
purposes. Existing law requires the appointment of a
districtwide advisory committee purpose prior to the sale,
lease, or rental of any excess real property, but makes an
exception to this requirement for rentals for 30 days or less.
(Education Code § 17388)
SB 572 (Pan) Page 2
of ?
Existing law outlines the membership of the district advisory
committee and its duties. (Education Code § 17389-17390)
ANALYSIS
This bill expands the requirements for establishing a school
district advisory relative to the use of school buildings.
Specifically it:
1. Deletes the requirement that the advisory committee be
appointed prior to the sale, lease or rental of excess
property.
2. Requires the appointment of a school district advisory
committee:
A. To advise in the development of
districtwide policies and procedures around the use
and disposition of buildings, or space within
buildings, which are not needed for school purposes.
B. Prior to closing a school to advise the
board in the development of districtwide policies and
procedures governing the closure of the school.
STAFF COMMENTS
1. Need for the bill. This bill is prompted by the closure of
two Sacramento schools. According to the author, parents
and community stakeholders were brought into the
conversation after the school board had already decided to
close the school. SB 572 would seek to establish a district
advisory committee (DAC) for the purpose of advising the
school board whether or not to close a school and to
determine how to move forward based upon the decision. The
decision to close a school can profoundly affect parents,
entire communities, district personnel, and of course,
students. At the same time, a decision to not close a
school faced with declining enrollment, performance, and
financial support, can be irresponsible. In either case,
the author opines that it is vital to engage the community,
parents, district personnel, and students throughout the
entire decision process because their lives are most
affected. Current law allows, but does not require the use
SB 572 (Pan) Page 3
of ?
of an advisory committee before decisions are made about
school closure. This bill would require the creation of a
district advisory committee by every school district
governing board.
2. School closures. It is unclear how many school closures
occur in California annually. While districts do generally
notify the California Department of Education (CDE) of
school closures, due to the broad definitions used to
define a "closure" the data collected is problematic and
potentially overstates the type of "closure" intended to be
affected by this bill. It is also unclear how many
districts that initiate a school closure already establish
a DAC. According to information provided by the author,
nationally about 1% of schools have closed since 1995.
Current law does not require a district to take specific
steps when closing a school, but does specify the
Legislature's intent that there be community involvement
prior to these decisions being made. The CDE has developed
a Closing a School Best Practices Guide, available on its
website, which recommends that a DAC be formed for this
purpose and be involved in the fact-finding necessary for
an informal recommendation about school closure. The CDE
recommends the statutory DAC be expanded to include a
cross-section of community members who have an interest in
and may be affected by school closures. The CDE also
recommends that the DAC duties involve the determination of
enrollment projections and their impact on surplus space,
that it inventory the capacity and conditions of existing
facilities, determine per-student operating costs at each
facility; consider the uniqueness of the educational
program at each site, evaluate specific schools considered
for closure and identify specific new environmental/safety
concerns for each site, determine projected cost-savings
for each school considered for closure; identify
housing/transportation options for displaced students,
consider cost benefits of various property disposition/use
options, recommend transition strategies; make specific
recommendations about specific school sites to the board,
and assess the impact of school closure on district's
insurance coverage.
3. District Advisory Committee (DAC). Current law only
SB 572 (Pan) Page 4
of ?
requires a DAC to be established prior to the sale, lease,
or rental of any excess real property. While the stated
intent of the author is to ensure that an affected
community is granted the opportunity to participate in
decisions surrounding school closures, this bill mandates
that all districts establish a DAC regardless of whether a
school is being closed or property is being sold, leased or
rented.
Rather than establish a broad new mandate, staff recommends
the bill be amended to restore current law, and to
specifically require that a DAC be established prior to the
closure of a school. Staff further recommends the bill be
amended to outline the membership and duties of the DAC for
this purpose consistent with the elements of the Closing a
School Best Practices Guide outlined in staff comment #2.
SUPPORT
California Association of Student Councils
United Way
OPPOSITION
None received.
-- END --