CALIFORNIA STATUTES AND CODES
SECTIONS 17085-17096
EDUCATION CODE
SECTION 17085-17096
17085. This chapter may be cited as the State Relocatable Classroom
Law of 1979.
17086. In adopting this chapter, the Legislature recognizes that
the ad valorem tax is no longer available as a source of revenue for
the construction of necessary school facilities. The Legislature
considers that the greatest need in school construction is for
classrooms for the education of public school pupils. It is the
intent of the Legislature to satisfy this primary need to the
greatest extent possible before providing any additional educational
facilities, regardless of how desirable such additional facilities
may be.
17087. As used in this chapter:
(a) "Board" means the State Allocation Board.
(b) "Good repair" has the same meaning as specified in subdivision
(d) of Section 17002.
(c) "Lessee" means a school district or county superintendent of
schools to whom the board has leased a portable classroom pursuant to
this chapter.
(d) "State School Building Aid Fund" means that fund established
pursuant to Section 16096.
17088. In addition to any other powers and duties as are granted
the board by this chapter, other statutes, or the State Constitution,
the board has the power to do each of the following:
(a) Establish any qualifications not in conflict with other
provisions of this chapter, as it deems will best serve the purposes
of this chapter, for determining the eligibility of school districts
and county superintendents of schools to lease portable classrooms
under this chapter.
(b) Establish any procedures and policies in connection with the
administration of this chapter as it deems necessary.
(c) Adopt any rules and regulations for the administration of this
chapter requiring such procedure, forms, and information, as it may
deem necessary.
(d) Have constructed, furnished, equipped, or otherwise require
whatever work is necessary to place, portable classrooms on
schoolsites where needed.
(e) Own, have maintained, and lease portable classrooms to
qualifying school districts and county superintendents of schools.
(f) From any moneys in the State School Building Aid Fund
available for purposes of this chapter, the board shall make
available to the Director of General Services such amounts as it
determines necessary to provide the assistance, pursuant to this
chapter, required by Section 15504 of the Government Code.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, from any funds
available to the board, the board may, no later than January 15 of
any year, make available to the Director of General Services up to
thirty-five million dollars ($35,000,000) for expenditure in the
subsequent school year. It is the intent of the Legislature that this
allocation be annually funded from an appropriation made for this
purpose by the Legislature in the Budget Act for the fiscal year in
which the board is to act to make that funding available. These funds
shall be utilized to purchase portable classrooms for the purposes
of this section.
17088.2. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary,
including, but not limited to, Section 17587, the board may transfer
any funds within the State School Building Aid Fund that are in
excess of the amounts needed by the board for the maintenance of
portable buildings or for the purchase of new portable buildings, for
that fiscal year, to any of the following, as appropriate:
(a) The 1998 State School Facilities Fund for allocation by the
board for any purpose authorized pursuant to that fund.
(b) The 2002 State School Facilities Fund for allocation by the
board for any purpose authorized pursuant to that fund.
(c) The 2004 State School Facilities Fund for allocation by the
board for any purpose authorized pursuant to that fund.
(d) The State School Deferred Maintenance Fund for allocation by
the board for any purpose authorized pursuant to that fund. The board
may utilize up to 100 percent of the funds transferred by the board
to the State School Deferred Maintenance Fund pursuant to this
section for funding extreme hardship critical projects.
17088.3. (a) No school district shall qualify for the lease under
this chapter, after January 1, 1990, of one or more portable
classrooms except upon submitting a study examining the feasibility
of implementing in the district a year-round multitrack educational
program that is designed to increase pupil capacity in the district
by at least 20 percent.
(b) Emergency or urgency conditions within a school district shall
constitute grounds for approval by the board, pending submission of
the report.
(c) Subdivision (a) does not apply to facilities that are
designated as uninhabitable after July 1, 1989, due to fire or other
health or safety conditions.
(d) Subdivision (a) does not apply to a school district for leases
or subleases under this chapter for the purpose of providing
facilities, pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 17091, for
licensed child day care programs or recreation or enrichment
activities or programs for schoolage children.
17088.5. (a) The board may empower any lessee to act as its agent
in the performance of acts authorized under this chapter with regard
to portable classrooms to be made available to that lessee,
including, but not necessarily limited to, contracting for
architectural and construction services and purchasing furniture and
equipment.
(b) In addition, where any qualifying school district or county
superintendent of schools is deemed by the board to be eligible under
this chapter for the lease of portable classrooms, but adequate
funds are not at that time available to the board for the purchase of
those classrooms, the board may authorize the school district or
county superintendent of schools to purchase portable classrooms, to
the extent of that eligibility, pursuant to the following conditions:
(1) The portable classrooms are purchased under a procedure
determined by the board, pursuant to either a bidding process
implemented by the school district or county superintendent of
schools or by the State Office of Procurement.
(2) To the extent that funding for purposes of this chapter is
subsequently made available to the board, the board shall purchase
the portable classroom or classrooms from the school district or
county superintendent of schools, for lease to that entity under this
chapter, for an amount, not to exceed the purchase price the board
determines it would have paid for the classroom or classrooms at the
time they were acquired pursuant to paragraph (1), as necessary to
reimburse the school district or county superintendent of schools for
the purchase price, less the amount that would have been charged to
the school district or county superintendent of schools for the lease
of the classroom or classrooms under Section 17089 from the date of
purchase. The sale of the portable classroom or classrooms under this
paragraph shall be at the discretion of the school district or
county superintendent of schools.
17088.7. (a) Any school district, or, under a joint powers
agreement pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 6500) of
Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, any combination of one
or more school districts or county superintendents of schools, may,
to the extent of the eligibility of the school district or of the
parties to the joint powers agreement to lease portable classrooms
under this chapter, purchase portable classrooms as provided in this
section.
(b) The number of portable classrooms which may be purchased
pursuant to this section, on a statewide basis, shall not exceed 200
in any given year, and shall not exceed 600 in total. Portable
classrooms purchased prior to September 22, 1989, are exempt from the
yearly limit of 200, but shall be counted towards the total limit of
600.
(c) The purchase costs of the portable classrooms, which include
costs of site preparation, furniture and equipment, toilet facilities
as described in Section 65980 of the Government Code, and the
transportation of classrooms, may be funded from revenues received by
the school district or districts pursuant to Section 17620. The
purchase shall comply with any procedures and policies established by
the board under this chapter for the purchase of portable
classrooms. All portable classrooms purchased pursuant to this
section are the property of the state.
(d) The board shall lease the portable classrooms purchased
pursuant to the authority granted in this section to the purchaser,
as described in subdivision (a), in accordance with this chapter,
including applicable eligibility standards, and the purchase costs
paid shall be credited toward the rent the purchaser would otherwise
be required to pay under this chapter as a lessee.
(e) In the event that the purchase of portable classrooms under
this section occurs pursuant to a joint powers agreement, as
described in subdivision (a), the agreement shall identify the school
district or districts and county superintendent or superintendents
of schools that are party to the agreement, identify the district or
districts providing the revenues, specify the manner in which the
revenues are to be expended, and specify the distribution of portable
classrooms subsequent to purchase, which distribution shall be in
accordance with the eligibility requirements of this chapter. The
agreement shall be subject to approval of the board, pursuant to
subdivision (b) and any applicable procedures and policies
established by the board under this chapter.
17089. (a) The board shall lease portable classrooms to qualifying
school districts and county superintendents of schools for not less
than one dollar ($1) per year, nor more than four thousand dollars
($4,000) per year, for each portable classroom. This amount shall be
annually increased according to the adjustment for inflation set
forth in the statewide cost index for classroom construction, as
determined by the board at its January meeting.
(b) The board shall require each lessee to undertake all necessary
maintenance, repairs, renewal, and replacement to ensure that a
project is at all times kept in good repair, working order, and
condition. All costs incurred for this purpose shall be borne by the
lessee.
(c) For purposes of this section, "good repair" has the same
meaning as specified in subdivision (d) of Section 17002.
17089.2. Any portable classroom that is leased from the board by a
school district or county superintendent of schools under this
chapter on or prior to December 1, 1991, may be purchased by that
district or county superintendent of schools for an amount equal to
the purchase price paid by the board, including the purchase costs
specified in subdivision (c) of Section 17088.7, less the amount of
any rent already paid to the board by the district or county
superintendent of schools for that classroom. Payment for purchases
made pursuant to this section shall be in equal annual installments
for an agreed upon term not to exceed nine years.
17089.5. The board may lease portable classrooms to any school
district or county superintendent of schools which serves infant or
preschool individuals with exceptional needs, as defined in Section
56026, and which operates programs pursuant to Part 30 (commencing
with Section 56000). These portable classrooms shall be adequately
equipped to meet the educational needs of these students, including,
but not limited to, sinks and restroom facilities.
17090. The board shall require lessees to insure at their own
expense for the benefit of the state, any leased portable classroom
which is the property of the state, against such risks, including
liability from the use thereof, in such amounts as the board may deem
necessary to protect the interest of the state. All payments
resulting from claims made against the insurance shall be made
payable to and retained by the board for deposit in the State School
Building Aid Fund.
17091. (a) The board shall have authority to adopt rules
establishing priorities for the acquisition and leasing of classrooms
to those school districts and county superintendents of schools
whose pupils will benefit most. The board may make exceptions from
the established priorities if it determines that the pupils affected
will benefit.
(b) If at any time the number of portable classrooms available
exceeds the number of those required by applicant districts, as
determined by basic loading standards and eligibility requirements,
the board may authorize additional portable classrooms to be placed
in any school district that agrees to hire an additional teacher for
each additional portable classroom placed in the district pursuant to
this subdivision.
(c) If at any time the number of portable classrooms available
exceeds the number of those required by applicant districts, as
determined by basic loading standards and eligibility requirements,
the board shall authorize additional portable classrooms to be placed
in any school district, upon request of the school district, for the
purpose of providing licensed child day care programs or recreation
or enrichment activities or programs for schoolage children on a
schoolsite, unless the surplus classrooms are needed for emergency
purposes.
17092. (a) No portable classrooms shall be made available to any
school district unless the district furnishes evidence, satisfactory
to the board, that the district has no available bond proceeds that
could be used for the purchase of classroom facilities.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a school district
or county superintendent of schools that has received approval for a
project that includes a justified number of new teaching stations
pursuant to Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 17000) or Chapter
12.5 (commencing with Section 17070.15) shall be eligible for at
least the same number of emergency portable classrooms as approved
new teaching stations.
(c) Subdivision (a) does not apply to leases or subleases under
this chapter for the purpose of providing facilities, pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 17091, for licensed child day care
programs or any recreation or enrichment activities or programs for
schoolage children.
17092.3. A school district may sublease any portable classroom
obtained by the district pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 17091
to a private provider that has entered into a contract with the
district to provide any child care and development program or
programs or any recreation or enrichment activities or programs for
schoolage children on a schoolsite. The terms of the sublease for
rental payments and other related costs shall not exceed the costs of
the portable classroom to the district.
17093. The board shall have prepared for its use, performance
specifications for portable classrooms complying with Sections 17280
to 17314, inclusive, which are capable of being economically moved,
and bids for the construction of which can be solicited from more
than one responsible bidder. The board may from time to time solicit
bids from, and award to, the lowest responsible competitive bidder,
contracts for the construction or purchase of the number of portable
classrooms it deems will be required by eligible school districts and
county superintendents of schools during the next 12 months.
17094. If at any time the board determines that a lessee's need for
particular portable classrooms which were made available to the
lessee pursuant to this chapter has ceased, the board may take
possession of the portable classrooms and may lease them to other
eligible districts or county superintendents of schools, or if there
is no longer a need for any portable classrooms, the board may
dispose of them to public or private parties in any manner that it
deems to be in the best interests of the state.
Any revenue which is derived from a lease or other disposition of
the portable classrooms pursuant to this section shall be deposited
in the State School Building Aid Fund.
17095. The State Board of Education may waive application of the
penalty provisions of Section 41376 for school districts which during
the school year used portable classrooms leased pursuant to this
chapter.
17096. Commencing with leases entered into on or after January 1,
2000, the plans and specifications for portable classrooms funded
pursuant to this chapter shall include a provision for a telephone in
each portable classroom. The connection from the portable classroom
to a public switched telephone network, as set forth in Section
17077.10, shall be made by the school district at the time of the
installation of the building. However, a school district may meet
this requirement by utilizing wireless technology equivalent to a
hard-wired connection to a public switched telephone network.