BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gloria Romero, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 1432
AUTHOR: Hancock
AMENDED: April 7, 2010
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 14, 2010
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Kathleen Chavira
SUBJECT : Special Education School Facilities
KEY POLICY ISSUE
Should approval of a local educational agency's new
construction project by the California Department of
Education be conditioned upon the inclusion of
certifications regarding the provision of facilities and
infrastructure for special education students?
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the inclusion of specified
certifications regarding the provision of facilities and
infrastructure for students who are individuals with
exceptional need, as a condition for approval of a school
district or county office of education new construction
project by the California Department of Education.
BACKGROUND
Current law establishes the School Facility Program (SFP)
under which the state provides general obligation bond
funding for various school construction projects.
(Education Code 17070.10- 17070.99)
Current law requires that all school facilities purchased
or newly constructed under the SFP for the use of students
with exceptional needs to be designed and located to
maximize interaction between these and other students as
appropriate to the needs of both. Current law also requires
that the governing board of each applicant school district
and the county office of education ensure that school
facilities for pupils who are individuals with exceptional
needs are integrated with other school facilities. Current
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law authorizes this requirement to be waived by the
Superintendent of Public Instruction, as specified. (EC
17070.80)
Current law also requires (in accordance with federal law
that requires the least restrictive environment for
individuals with exceptional needs) that every public
agency ensure, to the maximum extent appropriate, that
these children are educated with children who are
non-disabled and that special classes, separate schooling,
or other removal of individuals with exceptional needs from
the regular educational environment occur only if the
nature or severity of the disability is such that education
in the regular classes with the use of supplementary aids
and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily. (EC
56040.1)
Current law requires the California Department of Education
(CDE) to, among other things, develop standards for site
selection and establish standards to ensure that design and
construction of school facilities are educationally
appropriate and promote school safety. (EC 17251)
Current law also prohibits the apportionment of funds to
school districts for school construction projects unless,
among other things, the school district has obtained
written approval of the CDE that site selection and
building plans and specifications comply with the adopted
standards. (EC 17070.50)
ANALYSIS
This bill :
1) Requires an applicant school district or county office
of education to certify, as a condition of approval of
a new construction project by the California
Department of Education, that either:
a) The project includes the necessary
classrooms, toilet rooms and medical therapy
facilities, with due consideration for
identifying and planning for the least
restrictive environment for students who are
individuals with exceptional needs.
b) The project site has dedicated
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acreage of sufficient size and in an appropriate
location to support future construction of
classrooms, toilet rooms and medical therapy
units by the district or the county office of
education.
2) Requires an applicant school district that submits a
new construction project that does not include
facilities, supporting infrastructure, or dedicated
acreage for individuals with exceptional needs to
certify that the district and the county office of
education or special education local planning agency
(SELPA) have no special education facilities needs for
the project.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . Although local educational agencies
are required to integrate school facilities for
special needs students with general education school
facilities, the CDE has recently observed an increase
in the number of LEA school facility applications that
appear to not meet the least restrictive environment
and age appropriate setting required by federal and
state law. This bill would additionally require an LEA
to certify that its new construction project meets, or
can meet special education student facility needs in
the future. For a project that does not provide any
facility, infrastructure or acreage for special
education students, a district is required to certify
that the district, county office, or SELPA have no
special education facilities needs.
2) What's currently required by the CDE ? The California
Code of Regulations (CCR), Title 5, Article 4 14030
establishes the standards for development of plans for
the design and construction of school facilities.
These regulations include standards for special
education classrooms and areas and specifically
require that special day classrooms be distributed
throughout the campus with age appropriate regular
education classrooms. Section 14036, among other
things, specifically requires that school districts
constructing classrooms for special education purposes
ensure that those classrooms are no more physically
separated from classrooms constructed for their
nonhandicapped peers than those classrooms are from
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each other, with the preference being that all the
classrooms are under the same roof and adjacent to the
classrooms of their nonhandicapped peers. In addition,
under these regulations, a new school facility must
have special education classrooms located in proximity
to regular education classrooms in such a way as to
encourage age-appropriate interaction among all
students. These regulations do not recognize
side-by-side school sites as integrated.
Current law authorizes the SPI to grant a waiver to
acquire or newly construct a non-integrated facility
if the following conditions are met:
There is a plan to transition the
individuals with exceptional needs to a regular
campus setting.
There is a capacity study of the existing
special education classrooms in the special
education local plan area (SELPA) to verify that
no classrooms are available to house the
population targeted in the waiver.
There is justification as to why the
non-integrated facility is the only option
available on a long-term basis and discusses the
feasibility of a short-term lease as an option to
new construction or acquisition.
In addition to these regulatory requirements, a school
district must obtain written CDE approval that it has
complied with the adopted standards in order to be
apportioned funds for a school construction project.
This bill would additionally require the district,
county offices of education and SELPA to engage in a
discussion of the need for special education
facilities at the local level prior to submission of
an application to the CDE.
1) Need for further clarification . This bill is intended
to initiate a dialog at the local level among those
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entities responsible for ensuring that special
education facilities needs are considered during the
facility planning process. Subdivision (c)(2) is
intended to acknowledge that a project may not be
integral to, or consistent with, a county office of
education/SELPA facility master plan, and that the
applicant district has taken steps to ensure that the
COE/SELPA was contacted to make this determination.
Staff recommends the bill be amended on page 3 to
delete lines 11 and 12 and insert "planning agency
have conferred and determined that, consistent with
the county office of education or special education
local planning agency facility plans, there are no
special education facilities needs for the project."
to clarify that the district's certification must be
based upon this dialog, and not its own interpretation
of the COE/SELPA's facilities needs.
2) Other certifications required . Current law
establishes various certifications and conditions
which must be met by school districts participating in
the State School Facility Program. These include:
As a part of its application, a school
district is required to certify that it has
considered the feasibility of the joint use of
land and facilities with other governmental
entities in order to minimize school facilities
costs. (EC 17070.90)
As a part of its application for large
construction and modernization projects, a school
district is required to certify, in consultation
with the career technical education advisory
committee established pursuant to Section 8070,
that it has considered the need for vocational
and career technical facilities to adequately
meet its program needs consistent with specified
state law. (EC 17070.95)
As a condition of the district receiving
funds for a project, the career technical
education advisory committee for the district is
required to provide written confirmation that the
need for vocational and career technical
facilities is being adequately met within the
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district consistent with specified state law. (EC
17070.955)
As part of its application for School
Facility Program funding a school district is
required to certify that it has considered the
feasibility of using designs and materials for
the construction or modernization project that
promote the efficient use of energy and water,
the maximum use of natural lighting and indoor
air quality, the use of recycled materials and
materials that emit a minimum of toxic
substances, the use of acoustics conducive to
teaching and learning, and other characteristics
of high performance schools. (EC 17070.96)
SUPPORT
None received on this version.
OPPOSITION
None received.