BILL ANALYSIS
AB 211
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 1, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
AB 211 (Mendoza) - As Introduced: February 2, 2009
SUBJECT : School facilities: classroom function locks
SUMMARY : Requires doors to classrooms, offices, and other rooms
where pupils and school staff gather to have classroom function
locks that allow doors to be locked from the inside.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes the following declarations and findings:
a) Violent incidents on school campuses are increasing at
an alarming rate. Lockdowns are an effective tool that can
be used on school campuses to facilitate the safety of
pupils and staff during violent incidents;
b) The locks in most school classrooms, offices, and other
rooms where pupils and staff gather can be locked only from
the outside, and the safety of school staff and pupils
could be placed in jeopardy if school staff is required to
go out into a hallway to lock doors during a violent
incident; and
c) Locking mechanisms that lock a door from the inside,
commonly referred to as classroom function locks, have been
developed to quickly lock doors to classrooms, offices, and
other rooms from the inside.
2)Requires, on and after January 1, 2010, all new construction
and modernization projects submitted to the Division of the
State Architect (DSA) to include classroom function locks that
allow doors to classrooms, offices, and other rooms where
pupils and school staff gather to be locked from the inside.
3)Requires the classroom function locks to consist of locking
mechanisms that allow doors to be locked from the inside, or
the best technology that accomplishes the same result.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires, under the Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of
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1998, the State Allocation Board (SAB) to allocate to
applicant school districts, prescribed per-unhoused-pupil
state funding for construction and modernization of school
facilities, including hardship funding, and supplemental
funding for site development and acquisition.
2)Prohibits the SAB from apportioning funds to any school
district unless the applicant school district has certified to
the SAB that it has obtained the written approval of the
California Department of Education (CDE) that the site
selection, and the building plans and specifications, comply
with the standards adopted by the CDE.
3)Prohibits the SAB from apportioning funds to any school
district that has not received approval from the DSA that the
project meets Field Act requirements.
4)Requires the DSA, under the police power of the state, to
supervise the design and construction of any school building
or the reconstruction or alteration of or addition to any
school building to ensure that plans and specifications comply
with existing law and Title 24 regulations (the California
Building Standards Code).
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : According to the author, violent or potentially
violent incidents on school campuses and in the immediate
neighborhoods surrounding school campuses are increasing at an
alarming rate. The sponsor of the bill, the California
Federation of Teachers, considers existing door locks in
classrooms to pose a safety threat to teachers and their
students.
Since 1999, when two high school students killed 12 students and
a teacher and wounded 23 others before committing suicide at
Columbine High School in Colorado, school safety has been a
major concern in schools across the country. In such
situations, schools will employ lock downs to keep students in
and perpetrators out. However, if teachers and other school
staff do not have the capability to lock the outside from the
inside, there could be a delay in time which could increase risk
to harmful situations to pupils and staff.
This bill requires, as a condition for state education bond
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funds, all new construction and modernization projects submitted
to the DSA on and after January 1, 2010 to include classroom
function locks that allow a door to be locked on the inside of a
classroom, office, or other rooms where pupils and school staff
gather.
Background . All proposed public school construction and
modernization projects must receive approval from the DSA, which
reviews architectural plans for compliance with the Field Act
(seismic safety); fire, life and safety requirements; and access
requirements under the Americans with Disability Act. DSA
grants approvals based on the requirements specified by the
California Building Standards Code (Title 24 under the
California Code of Regulations).
Section 1008.1.8.4 of the California Building Standards Code
prohibits manually operated flush bolts or surface bolts on all
egress doors except doors in residential dwellings and doors for
storage or equipment rooms. In addition, section 1207.3 of the
California Fire Code specifies that "exit doors shall be
openable from the inside without the use of a key or any special
knowledge or effort. Exit doors shall not be locked, chained,
bolted, barred, latched or otherwise rendered unusable. All
locking devices shall be of an approved type." These provisions
ensure that occupants are easily able to exit a building or
classroom in a panic situation, such as a fire or earthquake.
Types of locks . Title 24 regulations do authorize the use of
locks that are connected to the latching mechanism of the door
so that the lock is automatically disengaged without the use of
a key or requirement of special knowledge or effort. For
example, a thumbturn lock (slide bolt) above a door lever that
unlocks when the lever is turned in one motion is an authorized
lock. According to a lock expert, "classroom function lock" is
a manufacturer term used for locks that are always egressable
from the inside but locks or unlocks with a key from the
outside. This may not be the appropriate term to use for this
bill. "Classroom security locks" have the ability to lock the
outside from the inside of a room with a key and is a more
accurate term for what this bill is intended to do. The author
and sponsor, however, are concerned that teachers do not always
carry their keys and would prefer to leave it up to the district
whether the lock should be one that requires a key to lock from
the inside or simply a thumbturn or pushbutton lock. The
potential problem with thumbturn or pushbutton locks is that
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students can lock themselves in if a teacher steps out of the
classroom. Staff recommends striking the term "classroom
function locks" and simply require an inside lock that meets
Title 24 regulations. Staff also recommends exempting rooms
that are always locked (e.g., janitor's room, storage room,
electrical or computer equipment rooms, elevator freight room)
and pupil bathrooms from the requirements of this bill. Schools
where classrooms are always locked from the outside will meet
the intent of this bill.
Rooms required to have inside locks . The bill's requirement
that "other rooms where pupils and school staff gather" may be
too broad. DSA would have to make judgments regarding size of
room and occupancy capacity that would be better if specified in
the bill. Other rooms may include the library, gymnasium,
cafeteria/multipurpose room, computer room, and locker rooms.
Staff recommends specifying that the requirement applies to any
room with occupancy of more than 5 rather than listing the type
of rooms required to have inside locks. As education plans
change and with new technology, the types of rooms in schools
may change over time. Listing the rooms may not capture all
rooms where pupils and staff gather.
There is no data available to indicate the extent existing
schools already have inside locks. School architects note that
classroom security locks are already commonly included in school
design plans. One architect estimates that about 70% of the
plans include inside locks. This bill will make it a
requirement for all proposed new construction or modernization
project submitted to the DSA for approval beginning January 1,
2010.
Should this bill include modernization projects ? Should all
modernization projects be required to install classroom function
locks even if the rehabilitation does not affect doors (e.g.,
replacing a roof, installing an air conditioning unit)? The
author is accepting an amendment to apply the requirement only
if rehabilitation work is done in the room required to have an
inside lock.
Arguments in Support . The American Federation of State, County
and Municipal Employees supports the bill "because its goal is
to increase safety on school campuses. Over the past ten years,
incidences of school violence have become more prominent. As
school violence increases, legislation must be passed to battle
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against violence in a place that should be one of the safest
places for a child."
The Coalition for Adequate School Housing has a "support if
amended" position on the bill and requests amendments to require
the State Allocation Board to provide supplemental funding for
this purpose, and exempt modernization projects from the
requirement of the bill. The California School Boards
Association also has a "support if amended" position and
requests excluding modernization projects.
San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) has a "Disapprove"
position on the bill and states, "Under current law, school
district have general authority over the design of school
buildings, subject to the design and architectural safety
requirements contained in the law. SFUSD believes that school
districts should continue to have this general authority and
that unnecessary mandates such as the one contained in AB 211
infringe on the unique needs and desires of individual school
communities."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Federation of Teachers (sponsor)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
California Teachers Association
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087