What's New

Safe Routes to School

Federal Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program Cycle 2 (Outside Source) - call for projects. Applications due July 18, 2008.

Established in 1998, the State-legislated Safe Routes to School (Outside Source) (SR2S) program came into effect with the passage of Assembly Bill (AB) 1475. In 2001, Senate Bill (SB) 10 was enacted which extended the program for three additional years. In 2004, SB 1087 was enacted to extend the program three more years. Finally, in 2007 AB 57 was enacted to extend the program indefinitely. Seven cycles of the SR2S program have been completed. The following link is a list of all approved projects in Cycle 7 (Outside Source).

New Proposition 39 Regulations

The Office of Administrative Law has approved new Proposition 39 regulations (Outside Source) (Title 5, Division 1, Chapter 11, Subchapter 19, Article 3). The regulations took effect on March 29. The new rules are contained in amendments to the State Board of Education's Proposition 39, Title 5 Regulations. Proposition 39 requires school districts to provide local charter schools with facilities that are sufficient and reasonably equivalent to other buildings, classrooms, or facilities in the district.

Taking Center Stage - Act II

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell unveiled an innovative Web portal that enables the sharing of best practices in the middle school classroom through the use of technology.

Taking Center Stage - Act II (TCSII) is an innovative project developed by the Middle and High School Improvement Office of the California Department of Education. The project is dedicated to excellence in middle grades education and is:

• Developed to help educators close the achievement gap and ensure the success of all students.
• Designed to provide easy access to hyperlinked, research-based content; vignettes of school practices; connections to middle grades organizations; and helpful resources.
• Delivered through a dynamic Web portal.

The purpose of TCSII is to share what middle grades experts, researchers, advocates, and practitioners know about the best ways to address the critical academic and developmental needs of middle grades students. TCSII shares current information about best practices to address those needs in a dynamic format and encourages educators to collaborate and find solutions to ensure success and close the achievement gap for all of California's middle grades students.

In order to be successful in closing the achievement gap all students must be housed in safe, healthy, and uncrowded school facilities. All public schools need to provide students with equal access to instructional materials, safe and decent school facilities, and qualified teachers. School districts must assess the adequacy of school facilities, including any needed maintenance to ensure good repair. In order to accomplish these goals there must be overall support by local governing boards and superintendents.

Modern Public School Facilities: Investing in the Future

On Wednesday, February 13, Kathleen Moore, the Director of the School Facilities Planning Division, California Department of Education, testified before the House Education and Labor Committee on the need and importance of quality school facilities [full testimony (Outside Source)]. The testimony centered on the impact of school facilities on student performance, California's school facilities needs, the impact of school construction projects on the economy, and the role of the federal government in school facilities. The hearing also explored legislative proposals to build, modernize, and create energy-efficient school facilities.

Following is a list of all participants:

• U.S. Representative Ben Chandler (D-KY), sponsor of the 21st Century High-Performing Public School Facilities Act (H.R. 3021)
• U.S. Representative Bob Etheridge (D-NC), co-sponsor of the America's Better Classrooms Act of 2007 (H.R. 2470)
• U.S. Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ), member, House Education and Labor Committee and sponsor of the School Building Enhancement Act (H.R. 3197)
• U.S. Representative Darlene Hooley (D-OR), co-chair of the House Green Schools Caucus
• U.S. Representative Dave Loebsack (D-IA), member, House Education and Labor Committee, sponsor of the Public School Repair and Renovation Act of 2007 (H.R. 3902)
• Judi Caddick, Teacher, Illinois Education Association, Lansing, IL
• Mary Cullinane, Director, Innovation and Business Development Team, Microsoft Corporation, New York, NY
• Kathleen Moore, Director of the School Facilities Planning Division, California Department of Education, Sacramento, CA
• Paul Vallas, Superintendent, Recovery School District, New Orleans, LA
• Dr. Paula Vincent, Superintendent, Clear Creek Amana School District, Oxford, IA

Advanced Certificate Program: Educational Facility Planning

San Diego State University's National Center for the 21st Century Schoolhouse and the Council of Educational Facility Planners International have partnered to develop a fully accredited Advanced Certificate Program in Educational Facility Planning. This advanced certificate program is one of the most comprehensive programs for understanding the key concepts of planning, designing, building, and maintaining schools. This high quality program positively impacts students, teachers, and communities world-wide as educators and educational facilities professionals prepare themselves to design and construct school facilities that are healthy, sustainable, and high-performing. For further information on this course go to the National Center for the Twenty-first Century Schoolhouse Web page (Outside Source).

Department of Toxic Substances Control Office Address and Phone Number Changes

Effective January 28, 2008, the Department of Toxic Substances Control's (DTSC) Glendale office will relocated to:

School Program and Engineering/Geology Support Division
Department of Toxic Substances Control
9211 Oakdale Avenue
Chatsworth, CA 91311
818-717-6500
Fax 818-717-6527

Key contact new phone numbers are:

Hamid Saebfar, Division Chief - 818-717-6528
Sharon Fair, Branch Chief - 818-717-6530
Javier Hinojosa, Unit Chief - 818-717-6612

All Phase I's should be sent to the above address, attention:

Michael Foster, Phase I Coordinator
818-717-6611

The $1,500 Phase I review fee should still be sent to:

DTSC Accounting/Cashier Office
1001 I Street, 21st Floor
PO Box 806
Sacramento, CA 95812-0806

Career Technical Education Facilities Program - Second Round

Proposition 1D provides $500 million for the construction of new career technical education (CTE) facilities and the modernization of existing career technical education facilities.

Local educational agencies interested in obtaining second round CTE funding must submit a Revised Career Technical Education Application (DOC; 839KB; 20pp.) to the California Department of Education (CDE) by February 1, 2008. The applications will be reviewed and scored based on the requirements contained in the application guidelines. Applications meeting the minimum score requirement, as outlined in the Career Technical Education Rubrics, will be forwarded to the Office of Public School Construction (OPSC) for priority and ranking.

Districts may download the Career Technical Educational Model Curriculum Standards (PDF; 1.5MB; 441pp.) and the recently adopted Career Technical Education Framework (PDF; 1.6MB; 484pp.). The Standards, which are written fro grades seven through twelve, specify learning goals in 58 career pathways organized around 15 industry sectors. The Framework is designed to guide curriculum discussions at the local level and the development of a rigorous and relevant career technical education curriculum that increases student achievement.

Application Scoring Guide, Second Round (DOC; 102KB; 8pp.)

Frequently Asked Questions

Career Technical Education

Career Technical Education Application Scoring Results

Career Technical Education Application Second Round Scoring Results

Proposed Emergency Regulations to Implement and Administer the Career Technical Education Facilities Program (PDF; Outside Source)

The Impact of School Facilities on Student Performance and Retention of Teachers

Power Point Presentation: The Impact of School Facilities on Student Performance and Retention of Teachers (PPT; 54.8MB; 80pp.)
This Power Point Presentation was presented by Victoria Bergagel, Mary Filardo, and Kathleen J. Moore on November 14, 2007 at the Achievement Gap Summit.
Accessible version to the Power Point Presentation The Impact of School Facilities on Student Performance and Retention of Teachers.

Complete Schools

A Complete Schools Report was submitted by the California Department of Education to the State Allocation Board on May 23, 2007. The purpose of the report is to provide information requested by the State Allocation Board on the components of a complete school consistent with the California Code of Regulations, Title 5 and a representative sample of such schools.

Complete School Report (DOC; 188KB; 24pp.)
Sixty Recently Approved Projects (XLS; 49KB; 4pp.)