The Senate today passed SB 1054, a bill by Senator Nell Soto (D – Pomona) to increase  charter school compliance with seismic safety standards. The vote was 22-13.

Regular public schools in California must comply with the Field Act, which stresses seismic safety. With few exceptions, charter schools do not have to comply with the Field Act. Those that do include schools whose charters require it, those which are "conversion" charters (converted from regular public school buildings), and those that are built with funds from state bond measures approved in 2002 and 2004.

SB 1054 would require all charter schools that are not otherwise covered by the Field Act to comply with the California Building Code by January 1, 2007. Soto’s bill also offers exemptions for charter schools that are exclusively owned or controlled by the federal government.       

Soto said that her bill “is intended to ensure the safety of charter school students, faculty and staff by making sure they are in seismically-safe facilities. Current law is silent on whether charter schools must comply with the state building code or with the more stringent requirements of the Field Act like public schools.

“My bill does not require charter schools to do anything unless they are operating unsafe buildings,” Soto added. “Parents have the right to know that their children are in safe buildings regardless of the type of school they attend.”