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 ****