BILL NUMBER: SB 1432	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Hancock

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2010

   An act to amend Section 17070.80 of the Education Code, relating
to school facilities.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1432, as introduced, Hancock. School facilities.
   Existing law, the Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998,
requires the State Allocation Board to allocate to applicant school
districts, prescribed per-unhoused-pupil state funding for
construction and modernization of school facilities, including
hardship funding, and supplemental funding for site development and
acquisition. The Greene Act requires all school facilities purchased
or newly constructed pursuant to the act for use, in whole or in
part, by pupils who are individuals with exceptional needs, as
defined, to be designed and located on the schoolsite so as to
maximize interaction between those individuals with exceptional needs
and other pupils as appropriate to the needs of both.
   This bill would require, in conjunction with an application for
Greene Act funding, and as a condition of receiving funds for the
project, the school district to certify that it consulted with the
county office of education or special education local planning agency
and that the project includes the necessary school facilities and
supporting infrastructure for pupils who are individuals with
exceptional needs or to certify and demonstrate that the project site
has dedicated acreage of sufficient size and in an appropriate
location to support the construction of classrooms, toilet rooms, and
medical therapy units in the future by the district or the county
office of education, unless the school district certifies that the
district and the county office of education or special education
local planning agency have no special education facilities needs.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 17070.80 of the Education Code is amended to
read:
   17070.80.  (a) All school facilities purchased or newly
constructed pursuant to this chapter for use, in whole or in part, by
pupils who are individuals with exceptional needs, as defined in
Section 56026, shall be designed and located on the schoolsite so as
to maximize interaction between those individuals with exceptional
needs and other pupils as appropriate to the needs of both.
   (b) The governing board of each applicant school district and the
county office of education shall ensure that school facilities for
pupils who are individuals with exceptional needs are integrated with
other school facilities. 
   (c) (1) In conjunction with an application of a school district
for a construction or modernization project, and as a condition of
the district receiving funds for the project, the school district
shall do either of the following:  
   (A) Certify that it consulted with the county office of education
or special education local planning agency and that the project
includes the necessary school facilities and supporting
infrastructure for pupils who are individuals with exceptional needs.
 
   (B) Certify and demonstrate that the project site has dedicated
acreage of sufficient size and in an appropriate location to support
the construction of classrooms, toilet rooms, and medical therapy
units in the future by the district or the county office of
education.  
   (2) If the project does not include facilities and supporting
infrastructure for individuals with exceptional needs or the
dedicated acreage, the school district shall certify that the
district and the county office of education or special education
local planning agency have no special education facilities needs.
 
   (c) 
    (d)  The  State Allocation Board  
board  , after consultation with the State Department of
Education and representatives from county offices of education,
special education services regions, and school districts, shall
develop and adopt any regulations necessary to implement this
section. 
   (d) 
    (e)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
requirement set forth in subdivision (a) may be waived, by the
Superintendent  of Public Instruction  , only upon
compliance with the following procedure:
   (1) The applicant school district or county superintendent of
schools shall file a written request for waiver that documents the
reasons for its inability to comply with the requirement.
   (2) The State Department of Education shall verify the reasons set
forth pursuant to paragraph (1), including the documentation
submitted, which verification shall be completed no later than 30
days after the filing of the request for waiver with the
Superintendent  of Public Instruction  .
   (3) The Advisory Commission on Special Education, as established
under Section 33590, at its first scheduled meeting following the
verification conducted pursuant to paragraph (2), shall review the
request for waiver, accompanying documentation, and the verification
findings of the State Department of Education. No later than 15 days
following the date of that meeting, the commission shall submit its
written comments and recommendations regarding the request for waiver
to the Superintendent  of Public Instruction  .
   (4) The Superintendent  of Public Instruction 
shall review the comments and recommendations submitted by the
Advisory Commission on Special Education prior to approving or
rejecting the request for waiver.
   (5) Any request for waiver, submitted in accordance with this
section, that is not rejected within 60 days of its receipt by the
State Department of Education, shall be deemed approved.