School Pavement to Parks Grant Program.

Existing law requires the governing board of any school district to meet with appropriate local government recreation and park authorities to review all possible methods of coordinating planning, design, and construction of new school facilities and schoolsites or major additions to existing school facilities and recreation and park facilities in the community. Existing law establishes in state government the Natural Resources Agency, consisting of various departments, including the Department of Parks and Recreation, the California Coastal Commission, and the State Coastal Conservancy. The bill would establish the School Pavement to Parks Grant Program under the administration of the Natural Resources Agency for purposes of providing grants to applicant school districts, county offices of education, or charter schools maintaining schools in disadvantaged communities, as defined, or low-income communities, as defined, to convert portions of existing pavement at those schools to green space. The bill would require the agency to establish processes and procedures for administering the grant program, as specified. The bill would require a school district or county office of education that receives a request from a school in the school district or county office of education to participate in the grant program to inform the school that it has received the request in a timely manner. By requiring school districts or county offices of education to provide a response to a school requesting to participate in the grant program, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. The bill would make grants provided by the agency under the grant program contingent upon the appropriation of funds in the annual Budget Act or another statute for that purpose. 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.