2023 California Code › Education Code - EDC › TITLE 1 - GENERAL EDUCATION CODE PROVISIONS › DIVISION 1 - GENERAL EDUCATION CODE PROVISIONS › PART 19 - MISCELLANEOUS › CHAPTER 1 - School Safety Public and Private Institutions › ARTICLE 9 - COVID-1 Testing in Schools › Section 32096.

32096. (a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Framework” means the document issued on May 27, 2022, titled “Preliminary Testing Framework for K–12 Schools for the 2022–2023 School Year” by the State Department of Public Health, as it is updated based on current scientific knowledge and anticipated trends.
(2) “Local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school serving pupils in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
(3) “Local health department” means either a city or county health department.
(b) The State Department of Public Health shall coordinate COVID-19 testing programs in local educational agencies funded by federal resources or organized under the California COVID-19 Testing Task Force, to the extent required by testing plans described in subdivision (e). In coordinating these COVID-19 testing programs, the State Department of Public Health may provide supportive services related to the local educational agency testing plans described in subdivision (e) and testing programs for teachers, staff, pupils, and surrounding communities that help local educational agencies reopen and keep local educational agencies operating safely for in-person learning. These supportive services may include, but are not limited to, any of the following:
(1) Technical assistance.
(2) Vendor support.
(3) Guidance.
(4) Monitoring.
(5) Testing education.
(c) The State Department of Public Health is encouraged to expand its contagious, infectious, or communicable disease testing guidance and other public health mitigation efforts to include prekindergarten and childcare centers as needed according to the framework.
(d) If the state secures additional federal funds through the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases Program for the purposes of COVID-19 testing in local educational agencies, any federal funds shall be expended before allocating state funds for the purposes described in subdivisions (b) and (c).
(e) (1) Each local educational agency, after consulting with its local health department regarding any local guidance or best practices from the Safe Schools for All Hub, shall create a COVID-19 testing plan, or adopt the framework, that is consistent with guidance from the State Department of Public Health. Each local educational agency shall publish the testing plan on its internet website.
(2) (A) Each local educational agency may designate one staff member to report information on its COVID-19 testing program to the State Department of Public Health.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, publishing a testing plan on its internet website, as required pursuant to paragraph (1), shall satisfy the reporting provision described in subparagraph (A).
(3) All COVID-19 testing data shall be in a format that facilitates a simple process by which parents and local educational agencies may report data to the State Department of Public Health, or to a local health department, consistent with the framework.
(4) Testing plans shall not be required to include the provision of onsite testing or programs.
(5) Nothing in this section requires the State Department of Public Health to review or approve testing plans that are consistent with the framework before the testing plan is published or implemented.
(f) The State Department of Public Health shall determine which COVID-19 tests are appropriate for use for the testing programs described in this section.
(g) Implementation of the provisions of this section are contingent upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act or another statute for this purpose.
(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 850, Sec. 1. (SB 1479) Effective January 1, 2023. Repealed as of January 1, 2026, pursuant to Sec. 32096.1.)