This bill excludes any school district or community college building or facility that serves, or is intended to serve, as residential housing for faculty or other employees of the school from certain requirements applicable to “school buildings” under the Field Act. Specifically, the Field Act requires the State’s Department of General Services to supervise the design and construction of any school building, including both school district and community college district buildings. If the reconstruction, alteration, or addition to any “school building,” is estimated to exceed $100,000, the State is also required to ensure that plans and specifications, as well as the work itself, complies with certain state rules, regulations, and standards.
This bill excludes from these requirements any building or facility that serves, or is intended to serve, as residential housing for school district and community college district teachers and employees, and their families. AB 306 does this by excluding from the Field Act’s definition on “school building,” “any building used or intended to be used by a school district as residential housing.” Residential housing is defined as “any building used as a personal residence by a teacher or employee of a school district or community college district, with the teacher’s or employee’s family.” As a result, housing for K-12 and community college staff, will now be reviewed by local building departments rather than the State, with the hope that this will help expedite the development of school district and community college district employee housing projects.
(AB 306 adds Sections 17283.5 and 81050.5 to the Education Code and Section 4454.5 to the Government Code.)