Article 1. State Department Of Education: Powers And Duties of California Education Code >> Division 1. >> Title 1. >> Part 10.5. >> Chapter 3. >> Article 1.

The State Department of Education shall:
  (a) Upon the request of the governing board of any school district, advise the governing board on the acquisition of new schoolsites and, after a review of available plots, give the governing board in writing a list of the recommended locations in the order of their merit, considering especially the matters of educational merit, safety, reduction of traffic hazards, and conformity to the land use element in the general plan of the city, county, or city and county having jurisdiction. The governing board may purchase a site deemed unsuitable for school purposes by the State Department of Education only after reviewing the department's report on proposed sites at a public hearing. The department shall charge the school district a reasonable fee for each schoolsite reviewed not to exceed the actual administrative costs incurred for that purpose.
  (b) Develop standards for use by a school district in the selection of schoolsites, in accordance with the objectives set forth in subdivision (a). The department shall investigate complaints of noncompliance with site selection standards and shall notify the governing board of the results of the investigation. If that notification is received prior to the acquisition of the site, the governing board shall discuss the findings of the investigation in a public hearing.
  (c) Establish standards for use by school districts to ensure that the design and construction of school facilities are educationally appropriate and promote school safety.
  (d) Upon the request of the governing board of any school district, review plans and specifications for school buildings in the district. The department shall charge governing boards of school districts, for the review of plans and specifications, a reasonable fee not to exceed the actual administrative costs incurred for that purpose.
  (e) Upon the request of the governing board of any school district, make a survey of the building needs of the district, advise the governing board concerning the building needs, suggest plans for financing a building program to meet the needs. The department shall charge the district, for the cost of the survey, a reasonable fee not to exceed the actual administrative costs incurred for that purpose.
  (f) Provide information relating to the impact or potential impact upon any schoolsite of hazardous substances, solid waste, safety, hazardous air emissions, and other information as the department may deem appropriate.

Notwithstanding any law, when using exclusively local funds for acquisition of a potential schoolsite, a school district is not required to receive final approval of a site by the State Department of Education prior to adopting a resolution of necessity in an eminent domain proceeding or prior to closing escrow on a site purchase through voluntary sale.

All money collected by the State Department of Education under the provisions of this article shall be available for the use of the department pursuant to appropriations for any use that may from time to time be made by the Legislature.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares the following:
  (1) The Department of Water Resources, pursuant to Division 3 (commencing with Section 6000) of the Water Code, exercises regulatory control over dam safety in the State of California.
  (2) The department approves all plans and specifications, certifies that any dam is safe to impound water, periodically inspects all dams for the continuing safety of all impounding structures, and may revoke any certification allowing impoundment of water if it is determined that the dam is a danger to life and property.
  (b) If the Department of Water Resources has asserted and continues to exercise its regulatory control over the Domenigoni Valley Reservoir Project, the State Department of Education, when evaluating schoolsites, shall not require mitigation related to potential dam breach inundation of the Domenigoni Valley Reservoir Project.

The Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission shall, in consultation with the State Department of Education and the Division of the State Architect and the Office of Public School Construction within the Department of General Services, recommend best design practices that include energy efficiency measures for all new public schools. The practices and measures shall have as a goal incorporating energy efficiency design and technologies that would provide the greatest amount of energy efficiency savings within a cost recapture period of seven years. The commission may additionally recommend best design practices and measures that would be cost-effective taking into consideration life-cycle costs. The recommendations shall be reported to the Governor and the Legislature by October 1, 2003.