BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Carol Liu, Chair
2013-14 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 1067
AUTHOR: Beall
AMENDED: April 22, 2014
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 30, 2014
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Lenin Del Castillo
SUBJECT : School sites: selection.
SUMMARY
This bill would require that all new school sites acquired by
the governing board of a school district or charter school have
at least two points of entry and exit onto the school site and
also require all school districts and charter schools,
regardless of whether they are seeking school facilities
financing through the State Allocation Board, to go through the
State Department of Education's school site selection process.
BACKGROUND
Upon request of a school district, the State Department of
Education (SDE) is required to advise the school district on
the acquisition of new school sites and, after a review of
available plots, give the school district, in writing, a list
of the recommended locations in the order of their merit,
considering matters of educational merit, safety, reduction of
traffic hazards, and conformity to the land use element in the
general plan of the city, county, or city and county having
jurisdiction. Current law requires SDE to develop standards
for use by a school district in the selection of school sites
and establish standards to ensure that the design and
construction of school facilities are educationally appropriate
and promote school safety. The SDE is also required to provide
information relating to the impact or potential impact upon any
school site of hazardous substances, solid waste, safety,
hazardous air emissions, and other information as it may deem
appropriate. (EC � 17251)
ANALYSIS
This bill:
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1) Requires all new school sites acquired by the governing
board of a school district or charter school to have at
least two points of entry and exit onto the school site.
2) Requires the SDE to advise all school districts and
charter schools, regardless of whether they are seeking
school facilities financing through the State Allocation
Board, on the acquisition of new school sites, as
specified. Under current law, SDE only performs a school
site acquisition review for a school district upon
request.
3) Requires the State Department of Education (SDE), as
part of the school site acquisition review process, to
consider proximity to residential areas, access for pupils
walking and bicycling to the school site, efficient use of
public resources through joint use of existing and new
facilities, and conformity to mobility elements when
making a list of the recommended locations in the order of
their merit.
4) Requires the SDE to review and update the standards
developed for use by a school district or charter school
in the selection of school sites at least every 10 years.
5) Requires the SDE to establish standards for use by
school districts and charter schools to ensure that the
design and construction of school facilities promote
walking or bicycling access to the school site to reduce
traffic risks to pupils and joint use of public
facilities.
6) Requires the SDE, upon request of a charter school, to
review plans and specifications for school buildings of
the charter school, and allows the SDE to charge a
reasonable fee not to exceed the actual administrative
costs incurred for that purpose.
7) Requires the SDE, upon request of a charter school, to
make a survey of the building needs of the charter school,
advise the charter school concerning the building needs,
and suggest plans for financing a building program to meet
the needs and allows the SDE to charge a reasonable fee
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not to exceed the actual administrative costs incurred for
that purpose.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . According to the author's office, the
SDE has an important role in the initial school site and
evaluation process that California public school can
choose to participate in. The SDE is able to assist
school districts and their communities in creating K-12
learning environments that are safe, clean, and
up-to-date. However, schools that choose not to receive
state funding are not required to go through this process.
The author's office indicates there should not be any
lingering concerns of the safety of a new school site and
that the health and safety of students should be a top
priority, therefore the SDE's school site evaluation
process should be applied to all public schools.
2) State School Facilities Program . Current law prohibits the
State Allocation Board from apportioning funds for new
construction under the State School Facilities Program to
any school district unless the district has obtained
written approval from the SDE that the site selection and
building plans and specifications comply with site
selection and design and construction standards for school
facilities. Current law is permissive in that the SDE is
only required to advise the school district and perform a
new school site review upon request of the school
district. Education Code � 17251 and Title 5 of the
California Code of Regulations outline the duties of SDE
regarding school site review and approval for which school
districts seeking state funds must also comply. Safety is
the first consideration in the selection of school sites
and as part of the State Department of Education's (SDE)
review, many factors are considered including proximity to
airports and high-voltage power lines, presence of toxic
and hazardous substances and air emissions, condition of
traffic and school safety, safe routes to school,
condition of school bus safety, and many other safety
factors. These factors overlap with most, if not all, of
the additional criteria that the bill is seeking to add,
such as proximity to residential areas and access for
pupils walking and bicycling to the school site.
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Regardless, one could argue that adding this criteria to
the Title 5 regulations and incorporating it into SDE's
site selection process can already be handled through the
State Allocation Board's Implementation Committee process.
3) School site acquisition review . This bill would require
the SDE to advise all school districts and charter schools
on the acquisition of school sites, regardless of whether
they are seeking state financing. Currently, charter
schools and school districts that construct facilities
that are 100 percent locally funded are exempt from this
requirement. However, these school districts and charter
schools have the discretion to request the SDE's review of
their school sites and are encouraged to do so for the
benefits that an objective and prescriptive review would
provide. Opponents of the bill have indicated the
existing approach under current law works well because it
allows for local discretion for locally funded projects on
whether to utilize this process. Further, by requiring
the SDE to review all new school sites for both school
districts and charter schools, regardless of fund source,
the bill would expand the universe of projects that would
require a review. It is unclear what impact this would
have on the SDE's workload and whether it could possibly
lead to delays in site reviews or an increase in the fees
levied on school districts and charter schools. For
charter schools, imposing this requirement could be
contrary to the autonomy and discretion they are afforded
under current law to encourage innovation. For these
reasons, staff recommends an amendment to provide that the
SDE's requirement to advise school districts and charter
schools on the acquisition of new school sites is
permissive and shall be made upon the request of a school
district or charter school. This amendment in Section 1,
line 11 on page 3 would read as follows:
"Upon the request of the governing board of a school
district or the governing board of a charter school,
advise on the acquisition?"
4) Charter schools . Under existing law, the Charter Schools
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Act of 1992 provides for the establishment of charter
schools in California for the purpose, among other things,
to improve student learning and expand learning
experiences for pupils who are identified as academically
low achieving. A charter school may be authorized by a
school district, a county board of education, or the State
Board of Education, as specified. Some charter schools
are new while others are conversions from existing
schools. A charter school is typically created or
organized by a group of teachers, parents and community
leaders, community-based organizations, or an education
management organization. Current law also specifies that
a charter school shall comply with charter school laws but
is otherwise exempt from the laws governing school
districts, except for all of the following:
a) Teacher participation in the state teacher's
retirement plan.
b) Access to loans from the Charter School
Revolving Loan Fund.
c) All laws establishing minimum age for public
school attendance.
d) The California Building Standards Code. (EC �
47601 et seq.)
5) Charter petitions . Parents, teachers, or community
members may initiate a charter petition, which is
typically presented to and approved by a local school
district governing board. The law also allows, under
certain circumstances, for county boards of education and
the State Board of Education to authorize charter schools.
The specific goals for a charter school are detailed in
the agreement (charter) between the authorizing entity and
the charter developer. The charter petition is also
required to include a description of the educational
program of the school and several other policies and
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procedures relating to employees, pupils, and finances.
Additionally, the charter petition must include a
description of the procedures that the school will follow
to ensure the health and safety of pupils and staff.
SUPPORT
California Labor Federation
Safe Routes to School National Partnership
OPPOSITION
Coalition for Adequate School Housing
San Diego Unified School District