Bill Text: CA AB1572 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
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 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 5, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Campos
JANUARY 4, 2016
An act to amend Section 39800 of, and to add
Section 39800.1 to 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 Title 1 federal funding
to free transportation to and from school provided by the
local educational agency, school if certain
conditions are met. The bill would require the local
educational agency to designate a liaison a school
district not currently providing transportation to all pupils
attending schools that are eligible for Title 1 federal funding
to implement a plan developed, in consultation with specified
stakeholders, to ensure that all entitled pupils
receive entitled to free transportation
in a timely manner. 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 new
duties on a local educational agency, the bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
By requiring new duties on a local educational agency, the bill
would impose 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. 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) The 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
whenever, in the judgment of the board
governing board, the transportation is advisable
and good reasons exist therefor. exist.
The governing board o f a school district
may purchase or rent and provide for the upkeep, care, and operation
of vehicles, or may contract and pay for the transportation of
middle school and high school pupils to and from school by
common carrier or a vehicle driven by a
public employee of a municipally owned transit system, or
may contract with and pay responsible private parties for
the transportation. These contracts may be made
contract with the parent or guardian of the
pupil being transported. A 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, city
or by a district created under Part 1 (commencing with Section
24501) of Division 10 of the Public Utilities Code.
SEC. 2. 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 Title 1
federal funding shall be entitled to free transportation,
from the local educational agency, 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 due to 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, no 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 local educational agency school
district not currently providing transportation to all pupils
attending schools that are eligible for Title 1 federal funding
shall designate a liaison that shall be responsible for
implementing implement a plan to ensure that all
pupils entitled to free transportation pursuant to subdivision (a)
receive the transportation.
(2) The liaison shall be trained to 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, the Air Resources Board,
local air districts, the Department of
Transportation, parents, pupils, and other stakeholders.
(d) If free, dependable, and timely transportation is not
already available for to pupils
entitled to transportation services pursuant to this section, the
local educational agency school district
shall ensure that the pupils entitled to the transportation are
provided free transportation using its existing funds,
unless the local educational agency determines that lack of
transportation does not reduce pupil school attendance.
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 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 as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 39800.
(2) The transit agency 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. 3. 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.
