Section 41329 - [Operative until 7/1/2028] Closure and consolidation requirements(a) A school district under financial distress, as defined in subdivision (b), shall do all of the following before approving the closure or consolidation of a school of the school district: (1) In deciding what schools to close or consolidate, the governing board of the school district shall conduct an equity impact analysis in its consideration of school closures or consolidations. The governing board of the school district shall develop a set of metrics for the development of the equity impact analysis and make those metrics public at a regularly scheduled meeting of the governing board of the school district so that the public can provide input regarding the metrics being used to conduct the analysis. The metrics shall include, but are not limited to, all of the following: (A) The condition of a school facility.(B) The operating cost of a school and the associated savings resulting from a closure or consolidation.(C) The capacity of a school to accommodate excess pupils.(D) Special programs available at the schools being considered for closure or consolidation and whether those programs will be provided at the same current level at the schools to which pupils will be diverted.(E) Environmental factors, including, but not limited to, traffic and proximity to freeway access.(F) Balance of pupil demographics, including race or ethnicity, pupils with disabilities, English learners, foster youth, and homeless youth, in the schools being considered for closure or consolidation, and the resulting demographic balance of pupils after placement in other schools, in order to determine if the decision to close or consolidate will have a disproportionate impact on any particular demographic group.(G) Transportation needs of pupils.(H) Aesthetics and the opportunity for blight and negative impact on the surrounding community. (I) Impact on feeder school attendance patterns with the closure of any particular school and whether the closure will attenuate attendance at other schools or specialized programs as a result.(2)(A) The governing board of the school district shall provide its recommendations regarding school closures and consolidations to the public at a regularly scheduled meeting and share how it prepared its list and include, at a minimum, all of the following information: (i) Factors used to identify the list of school closures or consolidations.(ii) Equity impact analysis findings for each school closure or consolidation.(iii) Plan for the use of the schools proposed for closure or consolidation once it becomes a vacated facility.(iv) Criteria used to assign displaced pupils to other schoolsites, or a description of the process of reassignment that will be used by the school district.(v) Options and timeline for transitioning pupils to their new schools, including improving safe routes to schools and home-to-school transportation needs.(B) The governing board of the school district shall review and consider the feedback presented at the public meeting and make its decision on any school closures or consolidations at a subsequently scheduled regular meeting.(C) At the subsequent regularly scheduled meeting, the governing board of the school district shall present its final recommendation for school closures or consolidations, which shall include a review of how public input was incorporated into the final recommendation. Any affirmative action by the governing board of the school district to implement a school closure or consolidation shall be made only after it adopts a resolution concluding that the community engagement process required pursuant to this section has been completed.(D)(i) Upon an affirmative action by the governing board of the school district to implement a school closure or consolidation, the school district shall provide information to parents and pupils in multiple formats, including, but not limited to, email and paper notifications.(ii) Notifications to parents shall be translated into their primary language pursuant to Section 48985.(iii) The information shall include all of the following: (I) The date of the approved closure or consolidation.(II) The pupil's new school assignment, as applicable.(III) School district resources for pupils and parents to support the pupil's transition.(IV) School district contacts for additional information.(b) For purposes of this section, "financial distress" means a school district with an emergency apportionment pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 41320) or this article, a trustee appointed pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 41320), or an administrator appointed pursuant to this article.(c) For purposes of this section, "governing board of a school district" includes a trustee appointed pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 41320), or an administrator appointed pursuant to this article.(d) This section does not apply to a school district's closure of a school due solely to the unsafe condition of the school's facilities.(e) The process outlined pursuant to this section shall not take more than 12 months from the initiation of the equity impact analysis pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) to the notification to parents of the final determination of the governing board of the school district pursuant to subparagraph (D) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).(f) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2028, and, as of January 1, 2029, is repealed.Amended by Stats 2023 ch 131 (AB 1754),s 28, eff. 1/1/2024.Added by Stats 2022 ch 253 (AB 1912),s 1, eff. 9/6/2022.Added and repealed by Stats 2000 ch 578 (AB 2265), s 2, eff. 1/1/2001.