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AB-1841 School facilities: small schools.(2007-2008)

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AB1841:v97#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  April 23, 2008
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 28, 2008

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2007–2008 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1841

Introduced  by  Assembly Member Coto
 (Coauthor(s): Assembly Member Brownley, Hancock)

January 24, 2008

An act to to amend Section 17070.15 of, to amend, add, and repeal Sections 17072.10, 17072.30, 17072.32 of, and to add Section 17074.32 to, the Education Code, relating to school facilities. amend Sections 17070.15, 17072.10, 17072.30, and 17072.32 of, to add Section 17074.32 to, and to add Chapter 3.2 (commencing with Section 58530) to Part 31 of Division 4 of Title 2 of, the Education Code, relating to schools school facilities.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1841, as amended, Coto. School facilities: small schools.
Existing law, the Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998, requires the State Allocation Board (SAB) 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. Existing law requires the board to determine an applicant’s maximum total new construction grant eligibility under a specified calculation and requires the board to annually adjust the per-unhoused-pupil apportionment to reflect construction cost changes. Existing law precludes reduction of enrollment projections for a 3-year period, and requires the board to approve a supplemental apportionment, for an applicant school district having an enrollment of 2,500 or less.
Prior law, repealed January 1, 2008, required the maximum total new construction grant for a small high school, as defined, that meets certain criteria be adjusted to reflect 120% of the amounts determined pursuant to the above calculations, except as provided.
This bill, until January 1, 2011, would reenact and revise that provision and instead make it applicable to small schools, as defined. The bill would authorize a school district to establish a small school, subject to specified conditions, including a requirement that a school district electing to establish a small school to develop, with collaboration from representatives of community groups, bargaining units representing the employees of the school district, and parents, a school plan that includes, among other things, goals for pupil achievement, teaching and learning philosophy, curricular focus of the school, goals for school culture and practices, leadership goals, and the decisionmaking process, including the role of the governing board of the small school.
(2) Existing law prohibits the board from apportioning funds for new construction unless certain conditions are met, including, but not limited to, the requirement that the school district, prior to the release of state funds, certify that the required 50% local matching funds will be deposited or expended.
Prior law, repealed January 1, 2008, for a project to construct a small high school, instead authorized apportionment to a school district if the school district certified that the required 40% local matching funds would be deposited or expended.
This bill, until January 1, 2011, would reenact that provision and instead make it applicable to a project to construct a small school. The bill would declare that that the apportionment of funds for approved projects to construct small schools is subject to the availability of prescribed funds make available up to $200,000,000 from the Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2006 for purposes of constructing new small schools and reconfiguring existing schools into multiple small schools.
(3) Existing law authorizes the release of funds equal to the local match upon certification by the school district that it has entered into a binding contract for completion of the project.
Prior law, repealed January 1, 2008, for a project to construct a small high school, authorized the release of funds equal to 60% of the total approved project costs.
This bill, until January 1, 2011, would reenact that provision and instead make it applicable to a project to construct a small school.
(4) Existing law requires the board to determine an applicant’s total modernization funding eligibility under a specified calculation and requires the board to annually adjust the calculation factors to reflect inflation, as provided.
Prior law, repealed January 1, 2008, authorized additional modernization funding for a high school with an enrollment of 1,000 or more pupils that was seeking to reconfigure into 2 or more small high schools, to assist with costs generated by the reconfiguration. Prior law also limited the amount of funding for a single project.
This bill, until January 1, 2011, would reenact that provision and instead make it applicable to an existing elementary school with an enrollment of 500 or more pupils or a middle or high school with an enrollment of 800 or more pupils that is seeking to reconfigure into multiple small schools.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) Research has shown that school size is an important predictor of pupil success, second only to socioeconomic status. The research literature clearly states the superiority of small schools as learning environments. In small schools all of the following occur:
(A) Dropout and truancy rates dramatically decrease and graduation rates and postsecondary education enrollment rates increase.
(B) Parents are much more likely to be involved in the school and to have greater participation in decisionmaking.
(C) Pupils experience a greater sense of belonging and are more satisfied with their schools.
(D) Fewer discipline problems occur.
(E) Crime, violence, and gang participation decrease.
(F) Incidences of alcohol and tobacco abuse decrease.
(G) Pupil attendance increases.
(H) Ample evidence exists that well-planned and well-implemented small schools can result in astonishing growth in pupil achievement and a significant narrowing of the achievement gap.
(2) A recent study of large and small schools in four states has shown that smaller schools reduce the damaging effects of poverty and help pupils narrow the achievement gap between them and pupils from more affluent communities.
(3) Reducing school size has also been shown to significantly increase the likelihood of success of school reform efforts. Small schools are more effective at staff development and in implementing new curriculum.
(4) Based upon the research on the benefits of small schools, the United States Department of Education has created the Smaller Learning Communities Program and is currently providing a small number of planning and implementation grants to school districts across the country to support the development of small schools and small learning communities.
(5) Other states have recognized the value of small schools and have developed state policy to encourage small schools development. In Florida, for example, all schools built after 2003 will be small schools.
(6) Many parent groups and school districts in the state, including Oakland, Sacramento, San Jose, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, have initiated efforts to create small schools. These efforts include the creation of new small schools on new sites as well as the reconfiguration of existing schools into small schools and small learning communities.
(7) The trend in California, over the last few decades, has been to build larger and larger schools. For example, in 2000, more than 73 percent of California high schools had more than 1,000 pupils and more than 57 percent of middle schools had more than 800 pupils.
(8) The trend to build large schools has been driven by California’s rapidly growing population and by the assumption that large schools are more cost effective.
(9) Research, however, has also shown that small schools, due to lower dropout rates and factors such as reduced school violence, can be more cost effective in total per pupil spending than large schools.
(b) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to reenact and revise provisions in state law that have been repealed to create an incentive for school districts to establish small schools with the assistance of funding for new construction, modernization, and reconfiguration of existing schoolsites to support small schools.

SEC. 2.

 Section 17070.15 of the Education Code is amended to read:

17070.15.
 The following terms, wherever used or referred to in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, respectively, unless a different meaning appears from the context:
(a) “Apportionment” means a reservation of funds for the purpose of eligible new construction, modernization, or hardship approved by the board for an applicant school district.
(b) “Attendance area” means the geographical area serving an existing high school and those junior high schools and elementary schools included therein.
(c) “Board” means the State Allocation Board as established by Section 15490 of the Government Code.
(d) “Committee” means the State School Building Finance Committee established pursuant to Section 15909.
(e) “County fund” means a county school facilities fund established pursuant to Section 17070.43.
(f) “Department” means the Department of General Services.
(g) “Fund” means the applicable 1998 State School Facilities Fund, the 2002 State School Facilities Fund, or the 2004 State School Facilities Fund, established pursuant to Section 17070.40.
(h) “Good repair” has the same meaning as specified in subdivision (d) of Section 17002.
(i) “Modernization” means any modification of a permanent structure that is at least 25 years old, or in the case of a portable classroom, that is at least 20 years old, that will enhance the ability of the structure to achieve educational purposes.
(j) “Portable classroom” means a classroom building of one or more stories that is designed and constructed to be relocatable and transportable over public streets, and with respect to a single story portable classroom, is designed and constructed for relocation without the separation of the roof or floor from the building and when measured at the most exterior walls, has a floor area not in excess of 2,000 square feet.
(k) “Property” includes all property, real, personal or mixed, tangible or intangible, or any interest therein necessary or desirable for carrying out the purposes of this chapter.
(l) “School building capacity” means the capacity of a school building to house pupils.
(m) “School district” means a school district or a county office of education. For purposes of determining eligibility under this chapter, “school district” may also mean a high school attendance area.
(n) “Small school” means a separately defined, individualized learning unit within or separate from a larger school setting. school that meets the requirements of Section 58530.

SEC. 3.

 Section 17072.10 of the Education Code is amended to read:

17072.10.
 (a) The board shall determine the applicant’s maximum total new construction grant eligibility of the applicant by multiplying the number of unhoused pupils calculated pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 17071.75) in each school district with an approved application for new construction, by the per-unhoused-pupil grant as follows:
(1) Five thousand two hundred dollars ($5,200) for elementary school pupils.
(2) Five thousand five hundred dollars ($5,500) for middle school pupils.
(3) Seven thousand two hundred dollars ($7,200) for high school pupils.
(b) The board shall annually adjust the per-unhoused-pupil apportionment to reflect construction cost changes, as set forth in the statewide cost index for class B construction as determined by the board.
(c) (1) Commencing January 1, 2009, notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), the maximum total new construction grant for a small school shall be adjusted to reflect 120 percent of the amounts determined pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b). The board shall adopt regulations, in consultation with the Superintendent, to establish criteria to ensure that this adjustment is available to multiple small schools and only for those applicant school districts that propose to build a small school as part of an academic reform strategy that focuses on the positive outcomes that small schools encourage. The positive outcomes resulting from an academic reform strategy shall include, but are not limited to, any of the following:
(A) A clearly defined mission and clearly defined goals.
(B) High standards and expectations for pupils and staff.
(C) Personalization.
(D) Individual respect.
(E) Universal involvement in decisionmaking.
(F) Integrated learning.
(G) Multiple measures of pupil achievement.
(H) Antiracist and relevant curriculum.
(I) Differentiated instruction.
(J) Project oriented learning.
(K) Heterogeneous pupil grouping.
(L) Pupil centered classrooms.
(M) Connectedness with stakeholders.
(N) Diversity.
(O) A safe environment.
(P) High quality learning environments.
(Q) Alignment of resources with goals.
(R) Maximizing of community resources and partnerships.
(S) Lifelong professional development.
(2) The board also shall adopt regulations, in consultation with the Superintendent, to implement the program described in this subdivision, including, but not limited to, allowing a sufficient filing period for applications in order to ensure that the program encompasses school districts from the northern, southern, and central regions of the state and from urban, suburban, and rural areas so that the program participants are broadly representative of the state.
(3) Paragraph (1) does not apply in those circumstances where a small school would otherwise have been built because of sparse population in the geographical area.

(c)Any regulations

(d) Regulations adopted by the board prior to July 1, 2000, that adjust the amounts identified in this section for qualifying individuals with exceptional needs, as defined in Section 56026, as amended after July 1, 2000, in consideration of the recommendations provided pursuant to Section 17072.15, shall continue in effect.

(d)

(e) The board may establish a single supplemental per-unhoused-pupil grant in addition to the amounts specified in subdivision (a) based on the statewide average marginal difference in costs in instances where a project requires multilevel school facilities due to limited acreage. The district’s application application of a district shall demonstrate that a practical alternative site is not available.

(e)

(f) For a school district having an enrollment of 2,500 or less for the prior fiscal year, the board may approve a supplemental apportionment of up to seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500) for any new construction project assistance. The amount of the supplemental apportionment authorized pursuant to this subdivision shall be adjusted in 2008 and every year thereafter by an amount equal to the percentage adjustment for class B construction.

(f)This section is operative January 1, 2011.

SEC. 4.Section 17072.10 is added to the Education Code, to read:
17072.10.

(a)The board shall determine the applicant’s maximum total new construction grant eligibility by multiplying the number of unhoused pupils calculated pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 17071.75) in each school district with an approved application for new construction, by the per-unhoused-pupil grant as follows:

(1)Five thousand two hundred dollars ($5,200) for elementary school pupils.

(2)Five thousand five hundred dollars ($5,500) for middle school pupils.

(3)Seven thousand two hundred dollars ($7,200) for high school pupils.

(b)The board shall annually adjust the per-unhoused-pupil apportionment to reflect construction cost changes, as set forth in the statewide cost index for class B construction as determined by the board.

(c)(1)Commencing January 1, 2009, notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), for a small school, the maximum total new construction grant shall be adjusted to reflect 120 percent of the amounts determined pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b). The board shall adopt regulations, in consultation with the Superintendent, to establish criteria to ensure that this adjustment is available to multiple small schools on a pilot program basis and only for those applicant school districts that propose to build a small school as part of an academic reform strategy that focuses on the positive outcomes that small high schools encourage. The positive outcomes resulting from an academic reform strategy may include, but are not limited to, any of the following:

(A)A clearly defined mission and clearly defined goals.

(B)High standards and expectations for pupils and staff.

(C)Personalization.

(D)Individual respect.

(E)Universal involvement in decisionmaking.

(F)Integrated learning.

(G)Multiple measures of pupil achievement.

(H)Antiracist and relevant curriculum.

(I)Differentiated instruction.

(J)Project oriented learning.

(K)Heterogeneous pupil grouping.

(L)Pupil centered classrooms.

(M)Connectedness with stakeholders.

(N)Diversity.

(O)A safe environment.

(P)High quality learning environments.

(Q)Alignment of resources with goals.

(R)Maximizing of community resources and partnerships.

(S)Lifelong professional development.

(2)The board shall also adopt regulations, in consultation with the Superintendent, to implement the program described in this subdivision, including, but not limited to, allowing a sufficient filing period for applications in order to ensure that the program encompasses school districts from the northern, southern, and central regions of the state and from urban, suburban, and rural areas so that the program participants are broadly representative of the state.

(3)Paragraph (1) does not apply in those circumstances where a small school would otherwise have been built because of sparse population in the geographical area.

(d)Any regulations adopted by the board prior to July 1, 2000, that adjust the amounts identified in this section for qualifying individuals with exceptional needs, as defined in Section 56026, as amended after July 1, 2000, in consideration of the recommendations provided pursuant to Section 17072.15, shall continue in effect.

(e)The board may establish a single supplemental per-unhoused-pupil grant in addition to the amounts specified in subdivision (a) based on the statewide average marginal difference in costs in instances where a project requires multilevel school facilities due to limited acreage. The district’s application shall demonstrate that a practical alternative site is not available.

(f)For a school district having an enrollment of 2,500 or less for the prior fiscal year, the board may approve a supplemental apportionment of up to seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500) for any new construction project assistance. The amount of the supplemental apportionment authorized pursuant to this subdivision shall be adjusted in 2001 and every year thereafter by an amount equal to the percentage adjustment for class B construction.

(g)This section shall become operative January 1, 2009, and shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2011, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that is enacted before January 1, 2011, deletes or extends that date.

SEC. 5.SEC. 4.

 Section 17072.30 of the Education Code is amended to read:

17072.30.
 (a) Subject to the availability of funds, and to the determination of priority pursuant to Section 17072.25, if applicable, the board shall apportion funds to an eligible school district only upon the approval of the project by the Department of General Services department pursuant to the Field Act, as defined in Section 17281, and certification by the school district prior to the release of state funds that the required 50 percent matching funds from local sources have been expended by the district for the project, or have been deposited in the county fund, or will be expended by the district by the time the project is completed, in an amount at least equal to the proposed apportionment pursuant to this chapter, prior to release of the state funds.

(b)This section is operative January 1, 2011.

(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), subject to the availability of funds, the board shall apportion funds to an eligible school district for a project to construct a small school pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 17072.10 only upon approval of the project by the department pursuant to the Field Act, as defined in Section 17281, and certification by the school district prior to release of the state funds that the required 40 percent matching funds from local sources have been expended by the district for the project, or have been deposited in the county fund, or will be expended by the district by the time the project is completed, in an amount at least equal to 40 percent of the total project costs pursuant to this chapter.
(c) Up to two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) that are made available for new construction and modernization pursuant to the Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2006 (Part 69 (commencing with Section 101000) of Division 14 of Title 3) shall be available for purposes of constructing new small schools or reconfiguring existing schools into multiple small schools.

SEC. 6.Section 17072.30 is added to the Education Code, to read:
17072.30.

(a)Subject to the availability of funds, and to the determination of priority pursuant to Section 17072.25, if applicable, the board shall apportion funds to an eligible school district only upon the approval of the project by the Department of General Services pursuant to the Field Act, as defined in Section 17281, and certification by the school district that the required 50 percent matching funds from local sources have been expended by the district for the project, or have been deposited in the county fund, or will be expended by the district by the time the project is completed, in an amount at least equal to the proposed apportionment pursuant to this chapter, prior to release of the state funds.

(b)Notwithstanding subdivision (a), subject to the availability of funds, the board shall, for a project to construct a small school pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 17072.10, apportion funds to an eligible school district only upon approval of the project by the Department of General Services pursuant to the Field Act, as defined in Section 17281, and certification by the school district that the required 40 percent matching funds from local sources have been expended by the district for the project, or have been deposited in the county fund, or will be expended by the district by the time the project is completed, in an amount at least equal to 40 percent of the total project costs pursuant to this chapter, prior to release of the state funds.

(c)Apportionment of funds for approved projects to construct small schools shall be subject to the availability of funds for this purpose from the Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2004 (Part 68.2 (commencing with Section 100800) of Division 14 of Title 3).

(d)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2009, and shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2011, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that is enacted before January 1, 2011, deletes or extends that date.

SEC. 7.SEC. 5.

 Section 17072.32 of the Education Code is amended to read:

17072.32.
 (a) For any a project that has received an apportionment pursuant to Section 17072.30, funding shall be released in amounts equal to the amount of the local match upon certification by the school district that the school district has entered into a binding contract for completion of the approved project.

(b)This section is operative January 1, 2011.

(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), for a project for construction of a small school, pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 17072.10, that has received an apportionment pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 17072.30, funding shall be released in amounts equal to 60 percent of the total project costs upon certification by the school district that the school district has entered into a binding contract for completion of the approved project.

SEC. 8.Section 17072.32 is added to the Education Code, to read:
17072.32.

(a)For any project that has received an apportionment pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 17072.30, funding shall be released in amounts equal to the amount of the local match upon certification by the school district that the school district has entered into a binding contract for completion of the approved project.

(b)Notwithstanding subdivision (a), for any project for construction of a small school, pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 17072.10, that has received an apportionment pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 17072.30, funding shall be released in amounts equal to 60 percent of the total project costs upon certification by the school district that the school district has entered into a binding contract for completion of the approved project.

(c)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2009, and shalll remain in effect only until January 1, 2011, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that is enacted before January 1, 2011, deletes or extends that date.

SEC. 9.SEC. 6.

 Section 17074.32 is added to the Education Code, to read:

17074.32.
 (a) An existing elementary school with an enrollment of 500 or more pupils, or a middle or high school with an enrollment of 800 or more pupils, that is seeking to reconfigure into multiple small schools, as defined in subdivision (m) of Section 17070.15, shall be eligible for additional modernization funding to assist with costs generated by the reconfiguration. Reconfiguration can specifically allow some limited new construction necessary to accommodate the reconfiguration. For purposes of this additional modernization funding, no single project shall be granted, in the aggregate, more than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000).
(b) The board shall adopt regulations to implement this section.

(c)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2009, and shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2011, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that is enacted before January 1, 2011, deletes or extends that date.

SEC. 10.SEC. 7.

 Chapter 3.2 (commencing with Section 58530) is added to Part 31 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, to read:
CHAPTER  3.2. Small Schools

58530.
 A school district may establish a small school pursuant to this chapter, subject to all of the following conditions:
(a) If the school provides instruction in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 5, inclusive, the number of pupils enrolled in the school is no less than 80 and no more than 250. If the school provides instruction in any of grades 6 to 12, the number of pupils enrolled in the school for grades 6 to 12, inclusive, shall not be less than 80 pupils and not more than 400 pupils.
(b) The school shall be staffed by school district employees who volunteer to be assigned to the school.
(c) The facilities that house the pupils enrolled in the school shall be located in proximity to one another.
(d) Enrollment in the school is open all pupils who have at least one parent who is a resident in the attendance area of the school district.
(e) Admission to the school shall not be determined by pupil achievement. The school shall have a heterogenous pupil population in terms of pupil achievement.
(f) The school shall have a governing board elected by parents of pupils enrolled in the school.
(g) The school shall have a significant and agreed upon level of autonomy within the school district.
A school district that elects to operate a small school pursuant to this chapter shall develop, with collaboration from representatives of community groups, bargaining units representing the employees of the school district, and parents of pupils of that school, a school plan that includes all of the following:
(1) Goals for pupil achievement.
(2) Teaching and learning philosophy.
(3) Curricular focus of the school.
(4) Goals for school culture and practices.
(5) Leadership goals.
(6) Decisionmaking process, including the role of the governing board of the small school.
(7) A plan for continuous improvement, including data analysis.
(h) A small school may be located within an existing elementary, middle, or comprehensive high school and may be newly constructed, located on a single site, or located with other small schools or learning communities. The total enrollment of a small school site shall not exceed the recommendation of the department.