(a) All school facilities purchased or newly constructed pursuant to this chapter for use, in whole or in part, by pupils who are individuals with exceptional needs, as defined in Section 56026, shall be designed and located on the schoolsite so as to maximize interaction between those individuals with exceptional needs and other pupils as appropriate to the needs of both.

(b) The governing board of each applicant school district and the county office of education shall ensure that school facilities for pupils who are individuals with exceptional needs are integrated with other school facilities.

(c) The State Allocation Board, after consultation with the State Department of Education and representatives from county offices of education, special education services regions, and school districts, shall develop and adopt any regulations necessary to implement this section.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the requirement set forth in subdivision (a) may be waived, by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, only upon compliance with the following procedure:

(1) The applicant school district or county superintendent of schools shall file a written request for waiver that documents the reasons for its inability to comply with the requirement.

(2) The State Department of Education shall verify the reasons set forth pursuant to paragraph (1), including the documentation submitted, which verification shall be completed no later than 30 days after the filing of the request for waiver with the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

(3) The Advisory Commission on Special Education, as established under Section 33590, at its first scheduled meeting following the verification conducted pursuant to paragraph (2), shall review the request for waiver, accompanying documentation, and the verification findings of the State Department of Education. No later than 15 days following the date of that meeting, the commission shall submit its written comments and recommendations regarding the request for waiver to the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

(4) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall review the comments and recommendations submitted by the Advisory Commission on Special Education prior to approving or rejecting the request for waiver.

(5) Any request for waiver, submitted in accordance with this section, that is not rejected within 60 days of its receipt by the State Department of Education, shall be deemed approved.

(Added by Stats. 1998, Ch. 407, Sec. 4. Effective August 27, 1998.)