School facilities: interior locks.

Existing law requires all new construction projects submitted to the Division of the State Architect pursuant to the Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998 to include locks that allow doors to classrooms and rooms with an occupancy of 5 or more persons to be locked from the inside, except as specified. Existing law requires the governing board of a school district, if the governing board of the school district elects to seek state funding pursuant to the act for a school modernization project for a school facility constructed before January 1, 2012, to include, as part of the modernization project, locks that allow doors to classrooms and any room with an occupancy of 5 or more persons to be locked from the inside of the room, except as provided. Existing law requires the governing board of any school district to furnish, repair, insure against fire, and in its discretion rent, the school property of its school district. This bill would, contingent upon an appropriation, require a charter school, school district, or county office of education serving pupils in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, that undertakes an addition, alteration, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or retrofit of a school building, to install interior locks on each door of any room with an occupancy of 5 or more persons in that school building, except as provided. By placing a new requirement on local educational agencies, the bill would constitute a state-mandated local program. Existing law, the Gun Violence Prevention and School Safety Act, commencing July 1, 2024, imposes an excise tax in the amount of 11% of the gross receipts from the retail sale in this state of a firearm, firearm precursor part, and ammunition, as specified. The act requires that the revenues collected be deposited in the Gun Violence Prevention and School Safety Fund in the State Treasury, and requires the moneys received in the fund to be used to fund various gun violence prevention, education, research, response, and investigation programs, as specified, including, among others, up to $50,000,000 to the State Department of Education, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enhance school safety by addressing risk factors for gun violence affecting pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, through the funding of related measures, including, without limitation, physical security improvements, among other measures. This bill would specifically include the installation of interior locks, as required by this bill described above, as an authorized physical security improvement for purposes of the act. The bill also would make a nonsubstantive change. 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.