Bill Text: CA AB1572 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: School transportation.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From committee without further action. [AB1572 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB1572-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1572 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 21, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 5, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Campos
JANUARY 4, 2016
An act to amend Section 39800 of, and to add Sections 39800.1 and
39800.2 to, the Education Code, relating to school transportation.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1572, as amended, Campos. School transportation.
Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district
to provide for the transportation of pupils to and from school
whenever in the judgment of the board the transportation is advisable
and good reasons exist to do so.
This bill would entitle a pupil who attends a public, noncharter
school that is eligible for receives
Title 1 federal funding to free transportation to and from school if
certain conditions are met. The bill would require a school district
not currently providing transportation to all pupils attending
schools that are eligible for receive
Title 1 federal funding to implement a plan developed, in
consultation with specified stakeholders, to ensure that all pupils
entitled to free transportation receive the transportation. The bill
would authorize school districts to contract with a municipally owned
transit system to transport pupils if certain conditions are met. By
requiring imposing new duties on a
local educational agency, the bill would impose
constitute a state-mandated local program.
This bill would create the Transportation and Access to Public
School Fund and require the Superintendent of Public Instruction,
upon appropriation to this fund by the Legislature, to allocate
moneys from this fund to school districts, county offices of
education, entities providing services under a school transportation
joint powers agreement, or regional occupational centers or programs
that provide pupil transportation an amount equal to the actual costs
of the entitled transportation pursuant to this bill. The bill would
provide that these provisions shall become operative only to the
extent that funding is provided in the annual Budget Act or another
statute.
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 these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) According to data released by the U.S.
United States Census Bureau, without a high school diploma,
Americans are almost twice as likely to live in poverty.
(2) Several independent academic studies indicate a marked
increase in school participation and graduation rates among children
who were guaranteed transportation to and from school.
(3) According to a recent report by California
Attorney General Kamala Harris, poverty and financial instability is
the number one cause of truancy in the state.
(4) Research shows a strong relationship between access to
transportation and improved school attendance.
(b) Based on the findings and declarations in subdivision (a), it
is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would
support school participation and high school attainment among
low-income youth.
SEC. 2. Section 39800 of the Education Code is amended to read:
39800. (a) In addition to the requirement to provide
transportation pursuant to Section 39800.1, the governing board of
any school district may provide for the transportation of pupils to
and from school whenever, in the judgment of the governing board, the
transportation is advisable and good reasons exist. The governing
board of a school district may purchase or rent and provide for the
upkeep, care, and operation of vehicles, or
vehicles. The governing board of a school district may
also contract and pay for the transportation of middle school
and high school pupils to and from school by a vehicle driven by a
public employee of a municipally owned transit system, or may
contract with the parent or guardian of the pupil being transported.
The governing board of a school district may allow the transportation
of preschool or nursery school pupils in schoolbuses owned or
operated by the school district. A state reimbursement may not be
received by a school district for the transportation of preschool or
nursery school pupils.
(b) As used in this article, "municipally owned transit system"
means a transit system owned by a city or by a district created under
Part 1 (commencing with Section 24501) of Division 10 of the Public
Utilities Code.
SEC. 3. Section 39800.1 is added to the Education Code, to read:
39800.1. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, a pupil attending a
public, noncharter school that is eligible for
receives Title 1 federal funding shall be entitled to free
transportation to and from school, if either of the following
conditions are met:
(1) The pupil resides more than one-half mile from the school.
(2) The neighborhood through which the pupil must travel to get to
school is unsafe, as defined by the plan established pursuant to
paragraph (1) of subdivision (b), which may include factors,
including, but not limited to, stray dogs, lack of sidewalks, known
gang activity, presence of environmental problems and hazards,
required crossings of freeways or busy intersections, or other
reasons documented by stakeholders in the plan developed pursuant to
subdivision (c).
(b) (1) A school district not currently providing transportation
to all pupils attending schools that are eligible for
receive Title 1 federal funding shall implement
a plan to ensure that all pupils entitled to free transportation
pursuant to subdivision (a) receive the transportation.
(2) The plan shall identify and accommodate the special rights of
homeless youth, as defined pursuant to the federal McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11301 et seq.).
(c) The plan required by paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) shall be
developed with the consultation of teachers, school administrators,
regional local transit authorities, local air districts, the
Department of Transportation, parents, pupils, and other
stakeholders.
(d) If free, dependable, and timely transportation is not already
available to pupils entitled to transportation services pursuant to
this section, the school district shall ensure that the pupils
entitled to the transportation are provided free transportation.
(e) Notwithstanding subdivision (f), transportation provided
pursuant to this section shall be provided by a public employee.
(f) A school district may partner with a transit
authority municipality owned transit system to
provide the transportation provided pursuant to this section to
middle school and high school pupils if all of the following
conditions are met:
(1) All drivers are public employees of a municipality owned
transit agency system as defined in
subdivision (b) of Section 39800.
(2) The municipality owned transit agency
system can certify that the public
transit system can ensure consistent, adequate routes and
schedules to enable pupils to get home, to school and back, and does
not charge the school district more than marginal cost for each
transit pass.
(3) Nothing in this section would prevent a local transportation
agency from providing no-cost transit passes to pupils attending
Title 1 schools.
(g) All transportation provided pursuant to this section shall be
reimbursed by the Transportation and Access to Public School Fund
created pursuant to Section 39800.2.
SEC. 4. Section 39800.2 is added to the Education Code, to read:
39800.2. (a) The Transportation and Access to Public School Fund
is hereby created in the State Treasury to be administered by the
department.
(b) Funds in the Transportation and Access to Public School Fund
shall, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be allocated to the
department for allocation to local educational agencies pursuant to
the process established by the Superintendent.
(c) Commencing with the 2017-18 fiscal year, the Superintendent
shall allocate from the Transportation and Access to Public School
Fund to each school district, county office of education, entity
providing services under a school transportation joint powers
agreement, or regional occupational center or program that provides
pupil transportation an amount equal to the actual costs of the
entitled transportation established pursuant to Section 39800.1. The
allocation shall be in addition to any amount apportioned for
home-to-school transportation pursuant to Article 10 (commencing with
Section 41850) of Chapter 5 of Part 24.
(d) This section shall become operative only to the extent that
funding is provided in the annual Budget Act or another statute for
the purposes of this section.
SEC. 5. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.
