An act to add Section 46148 to the Education Code, relating to pupil attendance.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 328, as amended, Portantino. Pupil attendance: school start time.

Existing law requires the governing board of each school district to fix the length of the schoolday for the several grades and classes of the schools maintained by the school district in accordance with specified provisions of law.

This bill would require the schoolday for middle schools and high schools, including those operated as charter schools, to begin no earlier than 8:30 a.m. by July 1, 2020, or the date on which a school district’s collective bargaining agreement that is operative on January 1, 2018, expires, whichever is later, except for rural school districts that obtain a waiver from the State Board of Education to delay implementation, as specified. To the extent the bill imposes new duties on school districts and charter schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would encourage the State Department of Education to post specified information on its Internet Web site, including research on the impact of sleep deprivation on adolescents and the benefits of a later school start time, and to advise school districts of this posting.

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 the statutory provisions noted above.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

Bill Text

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

SECTION 1.

 Section 46148 is added to the Education Code, to read:

46148.

a)     The schoolday for middle schools and high schools, including middle schools and high schools operated as charter schools, shall begin no earlier than 8:30 a.m.

b)    For purposes of this section, “schoolday” does not include a “zero period,” or an extra period offered before the start of the regular schoolday.

c)     This section shall be implemented by middle schools and high schools no later than July 1, 2020, or the date on which a school district’s collective bargaining agreement that is operative on January 1, 2018, expires, whichever is later.

d)    The governing board of a rural school district may request, and the state board may authorize, a waiver to delay implementation of this section for two years pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 33050) of Chapter 1 of Part 20 of Division 2 if the governing board of the rural school district demonstrates a verifiable, significant economic hardship that would result from implementation of this section. The waiver may be granted for two years, and, upon approval by the state board, may be extended for up to an additional two years.

e)     The governing board of a school district may request, and the state board may authorize, a waiver to delay implementation of this section for two years pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 33050) of Chapter 1 of Part 20 of Division 2) if the governing board of the school district demonstrates:

1. A verifiable, significant traffic safety hazard for children walking or biking to school;
2. Documentation that shows that the traffic safety hazard will be significantly exacerbated by the new start times; and
3. Documentation of financial or infrastructure impediments preventing them from making safety improvements before the implementation deadline.

The waiver may be granted for two years, and, upon approval by the state board, may be extended every two years if the safety hazard persists.

f)     The department is encouraged to post on its Internet Web site available research on the impact of sleep deprivation on adolescents and the benefits of a later school start time and examples of successful strategies for managing the change to a later school start time, and to advise school districts of this posting.

g)    The Legislature encourages school districts and community organizations to inform their communities, including parents, teenagers, educators, athletic coaches, and other stakeholders, about the health, safety, and academic impact of sleep deprivation on middle and high school pupils and the benefits of a later school start time, and to discuss local strategies to successfully implement the later school start time.

h)     The department shall conduct an evaluation of the health, traffic safety, and personal safety impacts of the changes on students in middle and high school, plus on students in any elementary schools where start times are moved earlier to accommodate the later start time for middle and high schools.  

SEC. 2.

 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.