(a) There is hereby established the School Facilities Needs Assessment Grant Program with the purpose to provide for a one-time comprehensive assessment of school facilities needs. The grant program shall be administered by the State Allocation Board.
(b) (1) The grants shall be awarded to school districts on behalf of schoolsites ranked in deciles 1 to 3, inclusive, on the Academic Performance Index (API), pursuant to Section 52056, based on the 2003 base API score for each school newly constructed prior to January 1, 2000.
(2) For purposes of this section, schools ranked in deciles 1 to 3, inclusive, on the 2003 base API shall include any schools determined by the department to meet either of the following:
(A) The school meets all of the following criteria:
(i) Does not have a valid base API score for 2003.
(ii) Is operating in fiscal year 2004-05 and was operating in fiscal year 2003-04 during the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program testing period.
(iii) Has a valid base API score for 2002 that was ranked in deciles 1 to 3, inclusive, in that year.
(B) The school has an estimated base API score for 2003 that would be in deciles 1 to 3, inclusive.
(3) The department shall estimate an API score for any school meeting the criteria of clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) and not meeting the criteria of clause (iii) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2), using available testing scores and any weighting or corrective factors it deems appropriate. The department shall provide those API scores to the Office of Public School Construction and post them on its Web site within 30 days of the enactment of this section.
(4) For purposes of this section, schools ranked in deciles 1 to 3, inclusive, on the 2003 base API shall exclude any schools determined by the department to be operated by county offices of education pursuant to Section 56140.
(c) The board shall allocate funds pursuant to subdivision (b) to school districts with jurisdiction over eligible schoolsites, based on ten dollars ($10) per pupil enrolled in the eligible school as of October 2003, with a minimum allocation of seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500) for each schoolsite.
(d) As a condition of receiving funds pursuant to this section, school districts shall do all of the following:
(1) Use the funds to develop a comprehensive needs assessment of all schoolsites eligible for grants pursuant to subdivision (b). The assessment shall contain, at a minimum, all of the following information for each schoolsite:
(A) The year each building that is currently used for instructional purposes was constructed.
(B) The year, if any, each building that is currently used for instructional purposes was last modernized.
(C) The pupil capacity of the school.
(D) The number of pupils enrolled in the school.
(E) The density of the school campus measured in pupils per acre.
(F) The total number of classrooms at the school.
(G) The age and number of portable classrooms at the school.
(H) Whether the school is operating on a multitrack, year-round calendar, and, if so, what type.
(I) Whether the school has a cafeteria, or an auditorium or other space used for pupil eating and not for class instruction.
(J) The useful life remaining of all major building systems for each structure housing instructional space, including, but not limited to, sewer, water, gas, electrical, roofing, and fire and life safety protection.
(K) The estimated costs for five years necessary to maintain functionality of each instructional space to maintain health, safety, and suitable learning environment, as applicable, including classroom, counseling areas, administrative space, libraries, gymnasiums, multipurpose and dining space, and the accessibility to those spaces.
(L) A list of necessary repairs.
(2) Use the data currently filed with the state as part of the process of applying for and obtaining modernization or construction funds for school facilities, or information that is available in the California Basic Education Data System for the element required in subparagraphs (D), (E), (F), and (G) of paragraph (1).
(3) Use the assessment as the baseline for the facilities inspection system required pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 17070.75.
(4) Provide the results of the assessment to the Office of Public School Construction, including a report on the expenditures made in performing the assessment. It is the intent of the Legislature that the assessments be completed as soon as possible, but not later than January 1, 2006.
(5) If a school district does not need the full amount of the allocation it receives pursuant to this section, the school district shall expend the remaining funds for making facilities repairs identified in its needs assessment. The school district shall report to the Office of Public School Construction on the repairs completed pursuant to this paragraph and the cost of the repairs.
(6) Submit to the Office of Public School Construction an interim report regarding the progress made by the school district in completing the assessments of all eligible schools.
(Amended by Stats. 2005, Ch. 677, Sec. 8.5. Effective October 7, 2005.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018