Existing law appropriates funds to the State Department of Public Health for various programs related to the safe reopening of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic, including funds to support COVID-19 testing in schools allocated from the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and funds from the General Fund for the Safe Schools For All Team to coordinate technical assistance, community engagement, increased transparency, and enforcement by the appropriate entity for public school health and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Existing law authorizes certain school apportionments to be used for any purpose consistent with providing in-person instruction for any pupil participating in in-person instruction, including, but not limited to, COVID-19 testing, as provided. Existing law prescribes public health reporting requirements related to COVID-19 for local educational agencies, including the development of a COVID-19 safety plan, as provided.

This bill would require the State Department of Public Health to coordinate specified school district, county office of education, and charter school COVID-19 testing programs that are currently federally funded or organized under the California COVID-19 Testing Task Force, as provided. The bill would authorize the department to provide supportive services, including technical assistance, vendor support, guidance, monitoring, and testing education, related to testing programs for teachers, staff, and pupils to help schools reopen and keep schools operating safely for in-person learning. The bill would also encourage the department to expand its contagious, infectious, or communicable disease testing guidance and other public health mitigation efforts to include prekindergarten and childcare centers, as provided.

This bill would require each local educational agency, defined to mean a school district, county office of education, or charter school, after consulting with its local health department, as defined, to create a COVID-19 testing plan, or adopt the State Department of Public Health’s framework, as defined, that is consistent with guidance from the department, as provided. The bill would require each local educational agency to publish the testing plan on its internet website. The bill would authorize each local educational agency to designate one staff member to report information on its COVID-19 testing program to the department, as provided. The bill would require that all COVID-19 testing data be in a format that facilitates a simple process by which parents and local educational agencies may report data to the department or a local health department, as provided. By imposing new obligations on local educational agencies, and to the extent new duties are imposed on local health departments, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department to determine which COVID-19 tests are appropriate for the testing program.

The bill would make the implementation of these provisions contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature, and would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2026.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.