Existing law provides that school districts and county offices of education are responsible for the overall development of a comprehensive school safety plan for each of their schools, as provided. Existing law requires a schoolsite council to write and develop a comprehensive school safety plan relevant to the needs and resources of that particular school, in consultation with a representative from a law enforcement agency, a fire department, and other first responder entities, as specified, while providing an alternate mechanism for compliance with this requirement for small school districts, as defined. Existing law requires the comprehensive school safety plan to include appropriate strategies and programs relating to school safety and school safety law compliance, including the development of specified disaster procedures. Existing law authorizes a chartering authority to deny a petition for the establishment of a charter school for specified reasons, including the absence in the charter petition of a reasonably comprehensive description of the development of a school safety plan that includes these same topics.
Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to identify, according to specified procedures, high and very high fire hazard severity zones within state responsibility areas and lands that are not within state responsibility areas. Existing law, for purposes of the California Emergency Services Act, defines an "operational area" as an intermediate level of the state emergency services organization, consisting of a county and all political subdivisions within the county area, as provided.
This bill would, commencing with the 2026–27 fiscal year, require the disaster procedures in the comprehensive school safety plans to include the establishment of a procedure to identify appropriate refuge shelter for all pupils and staff for use in the event of an evacuation order, and to notify the operational area having jurisdiction of the refuge. The bill would require, as applied to public schools serving more than 50 pupils in a high or very high fire hazard severity zone, the procedure to be coordinated with the operational area, and would also require, commencing with the 2026–27 fiscal year and as a part of the comprehensive school safety plans for these schools, the development of a communication and evacuation plan, to be used in the event of an early notice evacuation warning, as provided. By imposing new duties on local educational agencies and the political subdivisions that make up the operational areas, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 32282 of the Education Code proposed by AB 1858, AB 2887, AB 176, and SB 176 to be operative only if this bill and any or all of those bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
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.

Statutes affected:
AB2968: 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC
04/15/24 - Amended Assembly: 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC
04/24/24 - Amended Assembly: 32282 EDC
06/10/24 - Amended Senate: 32282 EDC
06/27/24 - Amended Senate: 32282 EDC
08/15/24 - Amended Senate: 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC
08/23/24 - Amended Senate: 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC
08/31/24 - Enrolled: 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC
09/25/24 - Chaptered: 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC, 32282 EDC