Article 1. Reorganization Of School Districts By The Electorate of California Education Code >> Division 3. >> Title 2. >> Part 21. >> Chapter 4. >> Article 1.

An action to reorganize one or more districts is initiated upon the filing, with the county superintendent of schools, of a petition to reorganize one or more school districts signed by any of the following:
  (a) At least 25 percent of the registered voters residing in the territory proposed to be reorganized if the territory is inhabited. Where the petition is to reorganize territory in two or more school districts, the petition shall be signed by at least 25 percent of the registered voters in that territory in each of those districts.
  (b) A number of registered voters residing in the territory proposed to be reorganized, equal to at least 8 percent of the votes cast for all candidates for Governor at the last gubernatorial election in the territory proposed to be reorganized, where the affected territory consists of a single school district with over 200,000 pupils in average daily attendance and the petition is to reorganize the district into two or more districts.
  (c) The owner of the property, provided that territory is uninhabited and the owner thereof has filed either a tentative subdivision map with the appropriate county or city agency or an application for any project, as defined in Section 21065 of the Public Resources Code, with one or more local agencies.
  (d) A majority of the members of the governing boards of each of the districts that would be affected by the proposed reorganization.

(a) A county superintendent of schools may do any of the following, as necessary, with respect to the reorganization of school districts within the jurisdiction of a county superintendent of schools:
  (1) Prior to the initiation of an action to reorganize, a county superintendent of schools may do any of the following:
  (A) Provide information, coordination, and guidance to potential petitioners for reorganization and to other parties inquiring about the petition process.
  (B) Provide procedural advice and counseling.
  (C) Provide information and assistance for community meetings, information sessions, and briefing sessions.
  (D) Provide for coordination of media and community relations.
  (2) A county superintendent of schools may perform the following duties for the processing and evaluation of multiple petitions to reorganize one or more school districts:
  (A) Ensure compliance with all requirements pertaining to the petitions.
  (B) Ensure compliance with all required timelines or deadlines for petitions.
  (C) Apply new and preexisting evaluation criteria to the petition.
  (3) A county superintendent of schools may provide assistance to newly reorganized school districts during the interim period, as follows:
  (A) To ensure smooth transitions with minimum disruption to pupils and staff.
  (B) To provide advisory and consulting expertise on any of the following:
  (i) Board and administrative policies and regulations.
  (ii) Personnel policies.
  (iii) Curriculum.
  (iv) Instructional programs and services.
  (v) Financial and budgeting functions.
  (vi) Distribution of assets and liabilities.
  (b) No funds allocated to the Los Angeles County Office of Education pursuant to the Budget Act shall be used to instigate, solicit, or promote the development of plans to reorganize a school district or school districts within the jurisdiction of the county office of education; provided, however, that the funds may be used to support the research necessary to review and make recommendations regarding reorganization plans that are submitted to the county office of education.

A petition filed under Section 35700 shall be required to reasonably identify the territory to be reorganized, which identification may include references to streets or prominent geographic features. The inclusion of legal descriptions or plat maps, or both, however, shall not be a prerequisite for the filing of a valid petition.

Before initiating proceedings to consider any reorganization plan, the county committee on school district organization shall provide written notice of the proposed action to the local agency formation commission for the affected area.

In any petition to reorganize school districts there shall be designated no more than three of the petitioners as chief petitioners for the purpose of receiving notice of any public hearings to be held on the petition.

The persons securing the signatures to a petition of electors to reorganize school districts shall attach thereto an affidavit that all persons who signed the petition did so in the presence of the affiant and that each signature is a genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be.

Any petition filed under this article may include any of the appropriate provisions specified in Article 3 (commencing with Section 35730).

The county superintendent of schools, within 30 days after any petition for reorganization is filed, shall examine the petition and, if he or she finds it to be sufficient and signed as required by law, transmit the petition simultaneously to the county committee and to the State Board of Education.

Within 60 days after receipt of the petition, the county committee shall hold one or more public hearings thereon at a regular or special meeting in each of the districts affected by the petition. Notice of the public hearing shall be given at least 10 days in advance thereof to not more than three persons designated in the petition as the chief petitioners, to the governing board of all districts affected by the proposed reorganization, and to all other persons requesting notice of the hearing.

(a) The county committee may add to the petition any of the appropriate provisions specified in Article 3 (commencing with Section 35730) which were not included in the petition as filed and may amend any such provision which was so included.
  (b) At least 10 days before the public hearing, or hearings, on the petition, the county committee shall make available to the public and to the governing boards affected by the petition a description of the petition, including all of the following:
  (1) The rights of the employees in the affected districts to continued employment.
  (2) The revenue limit per unit of average daily attendance for each affected district and the effect of the petition, if approved, on such revenue limit.
  (3) Whether the districts involved will be governed, in part, by provisions of a city charter and, if so, in what way.
  (4) Whether the governing boards of any proposed new district will have five or seven members.
  (5) A description of the territory or districts in which the election, if any, will be held.
  (6) Where the proposal is to create two or more districts, whether the proposal will be voted on as a single proposition.
  (7) Whether the governing board of any new district will have trustee areas and, if so, whether the trustees will be elected by only the voters of that trustee area or by the voters of the entire district.
  (8) A description of how the property, obligations, and bonded indebtedness of existing districts will be divided.
  (9) A description of when the first governing board of any new district will be elected and how the terms of office for each new trustee will be determined.

(a) Within 120 days of the commencement of the first public hearing on the petition, the county committee shall recommend approval or disapproval of a petition for unification of school districts or for the division of the territory of an existing school district into two or more separate school districts, as the petition may be augmented, or shall approve or disapprove a petition for the transfer of territory, as the petition may be augmented.
  (b) The 120-day period for approving or disapproving a petition pursuant to Section 35709 or 35710 shall commence after certification of an environmental impact report, approval of a negative declaration, or a determination that the project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).

(a) No action to reorganize the boundaries of a school district shall be initiated or completed without the consent of a majority of all of the members of the governing board of the school district if both of the following conditions apply to the school district:
  (1) It has obtained an emergency apportionment loan from the State of California, but the Superintendent of Public Instruction has determined that a state administrator is no longer necessary, and has restored, prior to the effective date of this section, the legal rights, duties, and powers of the governing board of the district pursuant to Section 41326.
  (2) It has a student population 70 percent of which is from either a "lower income household" or "very low income household" as those terms are defined in Sections 50079.5 and 50105, respectively, of the Health and Safety Code.
  (b) For purposes of this section, for any school district that meets the description specified in paragraph (1), consent to an action to reorganize the boundaries of the school district shall no longer be required when 10 years have elapsed from the date of final payment by the school district of the emergency loan to the State of California.

(a) Except for petitions for the transfer of territory, the county committee shall expeditiously transmit the petition to the State Board of Education together with its recommendations thereon. It shall also report whether any of the following, in the opinion of the committee, would be true regarding the proposed reorganization as described in the petition:
  (1) It would adversely affect the school district organization of the county.
  (2) It would comply with the provisions of Section 35753.
  (b) Petitions for transfers of territory shall be transmitted pursuant to Section 35704.

Except for a petition to form one or more school districts approved pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 35710, a petition transmitted pursuant to Section 35707, including the plans and recommendations included therein, if any, together with the recommended approval or disapproval and the plans and recommendations, if any, of the county committee shall be heard by the state board as provided in Article 4 (commencing with Section 35750).

If the following conditions are met, the county committee may approve the petition and order that the petition be granted, and shall so notify the county board of supervisors:
  (a) The county committee finds that the conditions enumerated in paragraphs (1) to (10), inclusive, of subdivision (a) of Section 35753 are substantially met, and:
  (b) Either:
  (1) The petition is to transfer uninhabited territory from one district to another and the owner of the territory, or a majority of the owners of the territory, and the governing boards of all school districts involved in the transfer consent to the transfer; or
  (2) The petition is to transfer inhabited territory of less than 10 percent of the assessed valuation of the district from which the territory is being transferred, and the governing board of each school district involved in the transfer consent to the transfer.

(a) For all other petitions to transfer territory, if the county committee finds that the conditions enumerated in paragraphs (1) to (10), inclusive, of subdivision (a) of Section 35753 substantially are met, the county committee may approve the petition and, if approved, shall notify the county superintendent of schools who shall call an election in the territory of the districts as determined by the county committee, to be conducted at the next election of any kind in accordance with either of the following:
  (1) Section 1002 of the Elections Code and Part 4 (commencing with Section 5000) of Division 1 of Title 1.
  (2) Division 4 (commencing with Section 4000) of the Elections Code.
  (b) A county committee also may approve a petition to form one or more school districts if the requirements of subdivision (a), and the following conditions, are met:
  (1) Each county superintendent of schools with jurisdiction over an affected school district elects to grant approval authority to the county committee on school district organization for which he or she is secretary pursuant to Section 4012, and that county committee chooses to accept that authority.
  (2) The governing board of each of the affected school districts consents to the petition.
  (3) The secretary of the county committee designated as the lead agency pursuant to Section 35710.3 or subdivision (a) of Section 35520.5 enters into an agreement on behalf of the county committee for any or all affected school districts to share among those districts the costs of complying with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).
  (c) A petition to form one or more school districts that meets the conditions described in subdivision (b), but is not approved by the county committee, shall be transmitted to the state board pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 35707 and heard by the state board pursuant to Section 35708. The state board, rather than the county committee, shall be the lead agency, as defined in Section 21067 of the Public Resources Code, for purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code) for each petition transmitted pursuant to this subdivision, including a petition disapproved by the county committee after determining the project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section 21080 of the Public Resources Code.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an election may not be called to vote on a petition to transfer territory if the election area for that petition, as determined pursuant to Section 35732, is uninhabited territory as described in Section 35517. The county committee, if it approves that petition, shall order that the petition be granted and shall notify the county board of supervisors.

A county committee shall be the lead agency, as defined in Section 21067 of the Public Resources Code, for purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code) for each petition it considers pursuant to Sections 35709 and 35710, unless the state board is the lead agency pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 35710.

(a) An action by the county committee approving or disapproving a petition pursuant to Section 35709, 35710, or 35710.1 may be appealed to the State Board of Education by the chief petitioners or one or more affected school districts. The appeal shall be limited to issues of noncompliance with the provisions of Section 35705, 35706, 35709, or 35710. If an appeal is made as to the issue of whether the proposed transfer will adversely affect the racial or ethnic integration of the schools of the districts affected, it shall be made pursuant to Section 35711.
  (b) Within five days after the final action of the county committee, the appellant shall file with the county committee a notice of appeal and shall provide a copy to the county superintendent of schools, except that if the appellant is one of the affected school districts it shall have 30 days to file the notice of appeal with the county committee and provide a copy to the county superintendent. Upon the filing of the notice of appeal, the action of the county committee shall be stayed, pending the outcome of the appeal. Within 15 days after the filing of the notice of appeal, the appellant shall file with the county committee a statement of reasons and factual evidence. The county committee shall then, within 15 days of receipt of the statement, send to the State Board of Education the statement and the complete administrative record of the county committee proceedings, including minutes of the oral proceedings.
  (c) Upon receipt of the appeal, the State Board of Education may elect either to review the appeal, or to ratify the county committee' s decision by summarily denying review of the appeal. The board may review the appeal either solely on the administrative record or in conjunction with a public hearing. Following the review, the board shall affirm or reverse the action of the county committee, and if the petition will be sent to election, shall determine the territory in which the election is to be held. The board may reverse or modify the action of the county committee in any manner consistent with law.
  (d) The decision of the board shall be sent to the county committee which shall notify the county board of supervisors or the county superintendent of schools pursuant to Section 35709, 35710, or 35710.1, as appropriate.

(a) The county superintendent of schools, within 35 days after receiving the notification provided by Section 35710, shall call an election, in the manner prescribed in Part 4 (commencing with Section 5000), to be conducted at the next election of any kind in accordance with either of the following:
  (1) Section 1002 of the Elections Code and Part 4 (commencing with Section 5000) of Division 1 of Title 1.
  (2) Division 4 (commencing with Section 4000) of the Elections Code.
  (b) The county superintendent of schools shall call the election in the territory of districts as determined by the county committee on school district organization, or, in the case of territory transfers appealed to the state board pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 35710.5, as determined by the state board. The county superintendent of schools shall not issue an order of election until after the time for an appeal pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 35710.5 has elapsed.

  (a) A person questioning the finding of the county committee pursuant to Section 35709 or 35710 that the action to transfer territory or form one or more school districts will not adversely affect the racial or ethnic integration of the schools of the districts affected, may appeal a decision based on that finding. The appeal shall be made to the state board within 30 days. The appeal shall be based upon factual and statistical evidence.
  (b) If the state board denies the appeal, the decision of the county committee shall stand. If the state board approves the appeal, it shall review the findings of the county committee at a regular meeting of the state board.
  (c) The state board shall notify the county committee of its decision on the appeal. If the state board approves the appeal, the county committee shall transmit a copy of the proceedings to the state board within 30 days after receipt of notice. The state board shall review the transcript, considering all factors involved. The state board may reverse, or may affirm, the decision of the county committee, or if it appears that inadequate consideration was given to the effect of the transfer on integration of the schools of the districts affected, it shall direct the county committee to reconsider its decision and for this purpose to hold another hearing.

The State Board of Education may adopt rules and regulations for the implementation of this article, as it deems necessary.