School Facility Master Plans

The Kindergarten through Grade 12 Schools and Local Community College Public Education Facilities Modernization, Repair, and Safety Bond Act of 2024 (Proposition 2) requires that, as a condition of participating in the School Facility Program (SFP), school districts must submit to the Office of Public School Construction (OPSC) a five-year school facilities master plan, or an updated five-year school facilities master plan, approved by the governing board of the school district.

Proposition 2 requires:

• School districts to include specified minimum elements as part of the required five-year school facilities master plan, including an inventory of existing facilities, sites, and property.
• OPSC to develop guidelines, in consultation with the California Department of Education (CDE), that school districts may use to guide the development of the school facilities master plan.
• OPSC to develop guidelines or standards, in consultation with CDE, that school districts must use to develop and submit the inventory of existing facilities, sites, and property, which must include specified elements.
• The State Controller’s Office (SCO) to include instructions in the K-12 audit guide to verify that all required components are reflected in participating school districts’ school facilities master plans.
• School districts to update their school facilities master plans to reflect any changes in enrollment, capacity, or other areas, as appropriate for purposes of participating in the SFP.

At the December 3, 2024 State Allocation Board (Board) meeting the Board adopted policies for initial implementation of Proposition 2 that relate to the timing of the submittal of the master plan to OPSC, dependent on the submittal date and project type, as follows:

1. Facility Hardship Program and Seismic Mitigation Program Applications
   • Under existing SFP regulations, applications for Facility Hardship and the Seismic Mitigation Program receive first priority for processing and presentation to the Board for funding consideration. Facility Hardship and Seismic Mitigation Program applications submitted on or after October 31, 2024 are subject to the Proposition 2 requirement to submit a five-year school facilities master plan.
   • Accordingly, to allow submittal, processing, and approval of these applications without delay, submittal of the master plan will be required by the time the school district’s substantial progress certification for construction of the project is due (18 months after fund release), or by the time of submittal of the 100 percent complete Expenditure Report (Form SAB 50-06), whichever occurs first.
   • OPSC will contact all school districts that submitted applications between October 31, 2024 and December 3, 2024 to request a governing board resolution acknowledging the requirement to submit the master plan by the previously mentioned deadline. The governing board resolution must also acknowledge the project may be rescinded for failure to submit a master plan with the required components. These school districts will be provided 60 days to submit the resolution to OPSC or the application will be returned to the applicant.
   • Applications submitted on or after December 4, 2024 will be required to include a governing board resolution acknowledging the requirement to submit the master plan by the previously mentioned deadline. The governing board resolution must also acknowledge the project may be rescinded for failure to submit a master plan with the required components. OPSC will provide applicants who submit an application without the resolution a corrective “24-hour letter” to request submittal of the resolution to OPSC within 24 hours or the application will be returned to the applicant.

    

2. New Construction and Modernization applications submitted on October 31, 2024 through 12 months following Office Of Administrative Law's (OAL) approval of regulations implementing these policies
   • To allow continuous submittal of applications, submittal of the master plan will be required at the time the application is processed by OPSC, prior to presentation to the Board for approval. Consistent with current practice, OPSC will notify school districts 90 days in advance of commencing application processing.
   • OPSC will contact all school districts that submitted applications between October 31, 2024 and December 3, 2024 to request a governing board resolution acknowledging the requirement to submit the master plan at the time the application is processed by OPSC. The governing board resolution must also acknowledge the project may be rescinded for failure to submit a master plan with the required components. These school districts will be provided 60 days to submit the resolution to OPSC or the application will be returned to the applicant.
   • Applications received on December 4, 2024 through 12 months following OAL’s approval of regulations implementing these policies will be required to submit a governing board resolution acknowledging the requirement to submit the master plan by the time the application is processed by OPSC. The governing board resolution must also acknowledge the project may be rescinded for failure to submit a master plan with the required components. OPSC will provide applicants who submit an application without the resolution a corrective “24-hour letter” to request submittal of the resolution to OPSC within 24 hours or the application will be returned to the applicant.

    

3. New Construction and Modernization applications submitted more than 12 months following OAL’s approval of regulations implementing these policies
   • Applications received more than 12 months following OAL’s approval of regulations implementing these policies will be required to submit the master plan at the time the application is submitted to OPSC. Applications submitted without the master plan will be provided a corrective “24-hour letter” to request submittal of the master plan to OPSC within 24 hours or the application will be returned to the applicant.

OPSC and CDE plan to begin a series of stakeholder meetings in early 2025 to clearly identify the five-year master plan components required by Proposition 2, develop additional guidance for the five-year master plans, and to discuss formal regulatory changes to make the previously mentioned timeline policies permanent. OPSC intends to present regulatory changes on this topic to the Board no later than June 30, 2025.

Following OAL approval of the regulations implementing these policies, OPSC will work with SCO to amend the K-12 audit guide instructions.

If you have any questions, please contact your OPSC Project Manager for assistance.