Melissa Hurtado

Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, establishes the Office of Emergency Services (OES) within the office of the Governor, and sets forth its powers and duties, including responsibility for addressing natural, technological, or manmade disasters and emergencies, including activities necessary to prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of emergencies and disasters to people and property.

This bill would require OES, in consultation with the State Department of Education, to establish the Central Valley School Safety Coordination Pilot Program for the purpose of studying and evaluating improved communication pathways between local educational agencies, as defined, and regional fusion centers regarding credible safety threats affecting school communities. The bill would also require the pilot program to be implemented in certain counties, including, but not limited to, the Counties of Fresno, Kern, Kings, Tulare, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus, as provided. The bill would authorize the pilot program to, among other things, develop voluntary coordination protocols between participating local educational agencies and regional fusion centers regarding credible school safety threats. The bill would require the pilot program to comply with all applicable state and federal privacy laws and would prohibit the bulk monitoring of students or the collection of student information unrelated to a credible safety threat. The bill would also require the Office of Emergency Services, in consultation with the State Department of Education, to submit a report to the Legislature evaluating the pilot program on or before January 1, 2029. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2030.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Counties of Fresno, Kern, Kings, Tulare, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.