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AB-1642 School facilities: master plan for green schoolyards: greening programs.(2023-2024)

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Date Published: 07/12/2023 09:00 PM
AB1642:v97#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Senate  July 12, 2023
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 20, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1642

Introduced by Assembly Member Gipson

February 17, 2023

An act to add Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 17607) to Chapter 5 of Part 10.5 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, relating to school facilities.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1642, as amended, Gipson. School facilities: master plan for green schoolyards: recommendations. greening programs.
The Field Act requires the Department of General Services under the police power of the state to supervise the design and construction of any school building or the reconstruction or alteration of or addition to any school building, if not exempted, to ensure that plans and specifications comply with adopted rules and regulations and building standards published in regulations, and to ensure that the work of construction is performed in accordance with the approved plans and specifications for the protection of life and property.
This bill would require the State Department of Education and the Natural Resources Agency, in consultation with the Office of Planning and Research, the Division of the State Architect, the Office of Public School Construction, and any other appropriate state entities, as determined by the department and the agency, to facilitate an interagency and stakeholder engagement process to develop, prepare, on or before December 1, 2024, recommendations for a master plan for green schoolyards. schoolyards that, among other things, recommends a statewide goal for the number of schools with green schoolyards to be achieved by a specified date, recommends strategies to overcome identified barriers to green schoolyards, and identifies recommendations and best practices to prevent or mitigate the impacts of extreme heat in schools. The bill would require the Natural Resources Agency, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the Department of Parks and Recreation to incorporate the recommendations and best practices from the master plan into the guidelines for specified state programs. The bill would provide that the master plan is advisory for local educational agencies, defined as school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools. The bill would require the department and the agency to report the recommendations for a submit the master plan for green schoolyards to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature on or before December 1, 2024.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The impacts from climate change are real and affecting every facet of life in California. We have seen and felt its impacts on our natural resources, water supply, and public health, in damage to property and infrastructure, and in life-threatening events, including extreme heat.
(b) We must act decisively, create a safer environment for our K–12 pupils, and lessen the burden on them.
(c) More frequent wildfires and extreme heat waves will increase the likelihood that schools and childcare providers will need to respond to climate-driven emergencies and public health issues.
(d) To meet the demands of warmer average temperatures and more frequent heat waves, schools must rethink and remodel their playgrounds to be more heat resistant.
(e) Extreme heat is an increasingly worsening problem across California and is much worse in low-income and disadvantaged communities where the tree canopy is significantly less than in wealthier, majority white neighborhoods.
(f) Small children are especially vulnerable to the impacts of extreme heat.
(g) Addressing extreme heat is particularly important in schools, as it has a direct, negative impact on children’s learning.

SEC. 2.

 Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 17607) is added to Chapter 5 of Part 10.5 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, to read:
Article  3.5. Master Plan for Green Schoolyards

17607.
 (a) The department and the Natural Resources Agency, in consultation with the Office of Planning and Research, the Division of the State Architect, the Office of Public School Construction, and any other appropriate state entities, as determined by the department and the Natural Resources Agency, shall facilitate an interagency and stakeholder engagement process to develop, prepare, on or before December 1, 2024, recommendations for a master plan for green schoolyards. The master plan shall do all of the following:
(1) Recommend a definition for green schoolyard.
(2) Inventory and map in-need education facilities in the state, categorized according to the level vulnerability of those facilities to extreme heat.
(3) Recommend a statewide goal for the number of schools with green schoolyards to be achieved by a specified date. This goal shall prioritize green schoolyards for in-need education facilities that are the most vulnerable to extreme heat, as identified in paragraph (2).
(4) Identify barriers to planning, designing, constructing, implementing, and maintaining green schoolyards.
(5) Recommend strategies to overcome the barriers identified in paragraph (4).
(6) Identify recommendations and best practices to prevent or mitigate the impacts of extreme heat in schools, including through nature-based solutions, such as increasing tree canopy cover, vegetation, and green space, and by modifying, removing, or replacing surfaces and materials to increase solar reflectance, promote evaporative cooling, increase permeability, or reduce the amount of heat absorbed.
(7) Identify recommendations and best practices to maximize cobenefits, including greenhouse gas reductions, biodiversity, air and water quality, flood and stormwater management, recreation, and public health.
(8) Identify recommendations and best practices to support the long-term success and sustainability of school greening projects, including through the use of native vegetation, drought-tolerant vegetation, and storm-tolerant vegetation, and recommendations and best practices for the long-term care and maintenance of the trees, vegetation, and green space.
(9) Recommend how to support equitable implementation of and outcomes from school greening funding, programs, projects, and practices.
(10) Promote school greening projects that occur within school areas used by pupils, including, but not limited to, areas used for recreation, recess, lunch, or instruction outdoors.
(b) (1) The department and the Natural Resources Agency shall, on or before December 1, 2024, report submit the master plan for green schoolyards to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature on the recommendations for a master plan for green schoolyards developed pursuant to subdivision (a). Legislature.
(2) The requirement for submitting a report the master plan imposed pursuant to paragraph (1) is inoperative on December 1, 2028, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.
(c) (1) The Natural Resources Agency shall incorporate the recommendations and best practices from the master plan for green schoolyards into the guidelines for the Urban Greening Program established pursuant to Section 12802.10 of the Government Code.
(2) The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection shall incorporate the recommendations and best practices from the master plan for green schoolyards into the guidelines for the school greening component of the Urban and Community Forestry Grant Program established in Section 4799.12 of the Public Resources Code.
(3) The Department of Parks and Recreation shall incorporate the recommendations and best practices from the master plan for green schoolyards into the guidelines for the Statewide Park Development and Community Revitalization Program established pursuant to Section 5643 of the Public Resources Code.
(d) The master plan for green schoolyards shall be advisory for local educational agencies.
(e) The Natural Resources Agency may designate a department under its jurisdiction to fulfill its responsibility to prepare the master plan for green schoolyards.
(f) For the purpose of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “In-need education facility” means a schoolsite of a local educational agency in which either of the following apply:
(A) A schoolsite located in a disadvantaged community, as identified in Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code, or a low-income community, as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 39713 of the Health and Safety Code.
(B) A schoolsite in which 70 percent or more of the pupils are eligible for free or reduced-price meals, as defined in Section 42238.01.
(2) “Local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school that maintains a kindergarten or any of the grades 1 to 12, inclusive.