BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 334|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 334
Author: Ducheny (D)
Amended: 5/6/09
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 5-0, 4/15/09
AYES: Romero, Liu, Maldonado, Padilla, Simitian
NO VOTE RECORDED: Huff, Alquist, Hancock, Wyland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-5, 5/28/09
AYES: Kehoe, Corbett, DeSaulnier, Hancock, Leno, Oropeza,
Yee
NOES: Cox, Denham, Runner, Walters, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wolk
SUBJECT : Special Education: school facilities: new
construction
grant eligibility
SOURCE : County Schools Facilities Consortium
DIGEST : This bill requires the State Allocation Board to
apply increases in the per pupil grant amount for new
construction funding authorized by Proposition 1D, (AB 127,
[Nunez], Chapter 35, Statutes of 2006), to the per pupil
grant amount for special day class students, as specified.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires that new construction
grants be adjusted annually to reflect construction cost
changes, as specified, and authorizes the State Allocation
CONTINUED
SB 334
Page
2
Board (SAB) to adopt regulations that adjust the new
construction grant amounts for qualifying individuals with
exceptional needs.
Existing law also specifies the methodology for determining
whether a school district is "eligible" for state school
construction funding. This method basically requires a
district to compare the numbers of students that it will
have five years in the future to the existing building
space. If the district's space is sufficient to house the
estimated number of students, it does not qualify for state
funds. If its space is insufficient, it qualifies for
state funding to house the "unhoused" students determined
in this calculation. New construction funds are provided
in the form of a per unhoused pupil grant. The amount
received is calculated based upon the assumed capacity per
classroom. Currently, the assumed capacity for grades K-6
is 25 pupils while the capacity for grades 7-12 is 27
pupils. For special day class students, the assumed
capacity is 13 for students with non-severe disabilities
and 9 for students with severe disabilities.
This bill requires an increase made to the
per-unhoused-pupil grant amounts also to be made to the
per-unhoused-pupil who is a qualifying individual with
exceptional needs grant amounts and requires the Office of
Public School Construction to recommend to SAB the amount
of those adjustments so that they reflect increase made
pursuant to specified provisions of law.
Prior legislation
AB 100 (Mullin), of 2008, among other things, would have
required specified increases to the grant amount for all
new construction grants, including special day class
construction grants, and would have authorized districts
and county offices to apply for a supplemental grant to
retroactively provide the six percent increase to new
construction grants authorized by the SAB in 2008 for
special day class students. AB 100 was ultimately vetoed
by the Governor whose veto message read, in pertinent part:
Provisions in this bill would set an undesirable
precedent by providing a retroactive increase to school
SB 334
Page
3
district per-pupil construction grants. This provision
conflicts with the full and final apportionment
provision of the School Facilities Program, which
requires districts to certify that the funding received
is sufficient to complete the project for which the
grants are intended. Furthermore, with California's
current fiscal climate, it is imprudent to increase
construction grants at this time, particularly
considering it is uncertain when the next school bond
measure may be approved by the voters.
SB 704 (Ducheny), of 2007, was essentially identical to
this bill. SB 704 was ultimately held under submission in
the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11
2011-12 Fund
Special day class $3,000 $3,000$3,000Bond*
construction
*Proposition 1D
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/1/09)
County Schools Facilities Consortium (source)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees
Association of California Construction Managers
California School Boards Association
Coalition for Adequate School Housing
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Riverside County Schools Advocacy Association (RCSAA)
Riverside County Superintendent of Schools
Small School Districts' Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The County School Facilities
SB 334
Page
4
Consortium writes, "Special needs students, including those
who are learning disabled, blind, deaf and autistic, are
being left out when the state approves adjustments for
other K-12 classrooms based on increased construction
costs. We all know that the cost for concrete, steel and
labor should be the same for classroom construction no
matter who occupies that space. Yet there has been a
failure to similarly realign Special Education new
construction grants up to this point. This is because
Special Education facilities grants are in a separate
Education Code Section and must be referenced specifically
in order to be adjusted equitably. This bill presents no
added cost to the state. This is an equity issue that may
cause minimal school bond pressure, but must be addressed
or the state may be at risk for costly litigation." This
bill ensures that, going forward, special needs students
will receive the same increase for new facilities as their
counterparts in K-12 classrooms. The bill allows county
offices of education and school districts to continue to
meet their obligations to adequately serve and house the
special needs students that they have responsibility for.
DLW:do 6/1/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****