BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                        SB 572|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                              |
          |(916) 651-1520    Fax: (916)      |                              |
          |327-4478                          |                              |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 


                                    THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SB 572
          Author:   Pan (D)
          Amended:  4/22/15  
          Vote:     21  

           SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE:  6-2, 4/15/15
           AYES:  Liu, Block, Hancock, Leyva, Mendoza, Pan
           NOES:  Huff, Vidak

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE:  5-2, 5/28/15
           AYES:  Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza
           NOES:  Bates, Nielsen

          SENATE FLOOR:  17-19, 6/2/15 (FAIL)
          (ROLL CALL NOT AVAILABLE)

           SUBJECT:   School facilities:  school district advisory  
                     committee:  use or disposition of school buildings:   
                     school closures


          SOURCE:    Author


          DIGEST:  This bill requires the governing board of a school  
          district to appoint a district advisory committee prior to the  
          closing of a school within the district, and outlines the  
          membership and responsibilities of the committee.


          ANALYSIS:   










                                                                     SB 572  
                                                                    Page  2


          Existing law:

          1)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)

          2)Authorizes the governing board of any school district to  
            appoint a district advisory committee (DAC) 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.  Requires the appointment of a DAC 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)

          3)Outlines the membership of the DAC and its duties.  (Education  
            Code § 17389-17390)

          This bill:

          1)Requires the governing board of a school district to appoint a  
            DAC prior to the closing of a school within the district to  
            advise the governing board regarding the school closure.

          2)Requires that a school DAC appointed for the purpose of  
            advising on a school closure be representative of a cross  
            section of community members, including pupil representatives,  
            who are interested in, and may be affected by, the school  
            closure.  

          3)Requires that a school DAC created for the purpose of advising  
            on a school closure be involved in fact finding necessary for  
            an informal recommendation regarding school closure.

          4)Authorizes the fact finding duties of the school DAC to  
            include, but not be limited to, consideration of enrollment  
            projection, capacity and condition of facilities, uniqueness  
            of educational programs, environmental and safety concerns,  
            potential cost savings, housing and transportation options for  
            displaced students and transition strategies. 

          Comments








                                                                     SB 572  
                                                                    Page  3


          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 seeks to establish a 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.   
            Existing law allows, but does not require the use of an  
            advisory committee before decisions are made about school  
            closure.  

          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  







                                                                     SB 572  
                                                                    Page  4


               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.

          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:YesLocal:   Yes

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

           Potentially significant costs may result if the requirements  
            in this bill result in a reimbursable state mandate, depending  
            on the frequency of closures.  

           To the extent a DAC contributes to a decision to not pursue  
            school closure, the school district would not achieve related  
            cost savings.

           Though this bill does not impose any additional requirements  
            on CDE, there may be pressure for CDE to provide technical  
            assistance to school districts resulting in costs in the low  
            tens of thousands in General Fund.

          SUPPORT:   (Verified  5/28/15)

          California Association of Student Councils
          United Way of California


          OPPOSITION:   (Verified5/28/15)


          None received










                                                                     SB 572  
                                                                    Page  5


          Prepared by:Kathleen Chavira / ED. / (916) 651-4105
          6/4/15 16:09:59


                                   ****  END  ****