BILL NUMBER: SB 1308 INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Senator Berryhill FEBRUARY 21, 2014 An act to amend Section 42283 of the Education Code, relating to school finance. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1308, as introduced, Berryhill. School finance: necessary small schools. Existing law, for specified purposes, provides that a necessary small school is an elementary school with an average daily attendance of less than 97, exclusive of pupils attending the 7th and 8th grades of a junior high school, maintained by a school district to which any of certain conditions apply. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to that provision. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 42283 of the Education Code is amended to read: 42283. (a) For purposes of Sections 42281 and 42282, a "necessary small school" is an elementary school with an average daily attendance of less than 97,exclusive ofexcluding pupils attending the seventh and eighth grades of a junior high school, maintained by a school district to which any of the following conditions apply: (1) If as many as five pupils residing in the school district and attending kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive,exclusive ofexcluding pupils attending the seventh and eighth grades of a junior high school , in the elementary school with an average daily attendance of less than 97 would be required to travel more than 10 miles one way from a point on a well-traveled road nearest their home to the nearest other public elementary school. (2) If as many as 15 pupils residing in the school district and attending kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive,exclusive ofexcluding pupils attending the seventh and eighth grades of a junior high school , in the elementary school with an average daily attendance of less than 97 would be required to travel more than five miles one way from a point on a well-traveled road nearest their home to the nearest other public elementary school. (3) If topographical or other conditions exist in a school districtwhichthat would impose unusual hardships if the number of miles specified in paragraph (1) or (2) were required to be traveled, or if during the fiscal year the roadswhichthat would be traveled have been impassable for more than an average of two weeks per year for the preceding five years, the governing board of the school district may, on or before April 1, request the Superintendent, in writing, for an exemption from these requirements or for a reduction in the miles required. The request shall be accompanied by a statement of the conditions upon which the request is based, giving the information in a form required by the Superintendent. The Superintendent shall cause an investigation to be made, and shall either grant the request to the extent he or she deems necessary, or deny the request. (b) For purposes of this section, "other public elementary school" is a public school, including a charter school, that serves kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 8, inclusive,exclusive ofexcluding grades 7 and 8 of a junior high school.