(a)
A grant for new construction may be used for any and all costs necessary to adequately house new pupils in any approved project, and those costs may only include the cost of design, engineering, testing, inspection, plan checking, construction management, site acquisition and development, evaluation and response action costs relating to hazardous substances at a new or existing schoolsite, demolition, construction, acquisition and installation of portable classrooms, landscaping, necessary utility costs, utility connections and other fees, equipment including telecommunication equipment to increase school security, furnishings, and the upgrading of electrical systems or the wiring or cabling of
classrooms in order to accommodate educational technology, including schoolsite-based infrastructure necessary to provide access to broadband internet within the schoolsite. A grant for new construction may also be used to acquire an existing government or privately owned building, or a privately financed school building, and for the necessary costs of converting the government or privately owned building for public school use. A grant for new construction may also be used for the costs of designs and materials that promote the efficient use of energy and water, the maximum use of natural lighting and indoor air quality, the use of recycled materials and materials that emit a minimum of toxic substances, the use of acoustics conducive to teaching and learning, and other characteristics of high performance schools. A grant for new
construction may be used for the costs of design, materials, and construction to advance state energy goals pursuant to state law, support outdoor learning environments, or to directly shade and protect pupils from higher average temperatures, which may include incorporating nature and natural materials. A grant for new construction may be used for seismic mitigation purposes and for related design, study, and testing costs.
(b)
This section does not preclude a school district from using a grant for new construction to support the construction of a school kitchen, a transitional kindergarten classroom, a facility to support a local educational agency-administered preschool program, including, but not limited to, a California state preschool program set forth in Article 2 (commencing with Section 8207) of Chapter 2 of Part 6, that is operated by a
school district and located on a schoolsite operated by the district, or a facility to support school nurses and counselors to increase access to health care and mental health services.
(c)
In developing guidelines and regulations for consideration by the board, the State Department of Education shall provide a school district with maximum flexibility in the design and new construction of school facilities.
