After a one-time initial report of existing school building capacity has been completed, the ongoing eligibility of a school district for new construction funding shall be determined by making all of the following calculations:

(a) A school district that applies to receive funding for new construction shall use the following methods to determine projected enrollment:

(1) A school district that has two or more schoolsites each with a pupil population density that is greater than 115 pupils per acre in kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, or a schoolsite pupil population density that is greater than 90 pupils per acre in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, as determined by the Superintendent using enrollment data from the California Basic Educational Data System for the 2004–05 school year, may submit an application for funding for projects that will relieve overcrowded conditions. That school district may also submit an alternative enrollment projection for the fifth year beyond the fiscal year in which the application is made using a methodology other than the cohort survival enrollment projection method as defined by the board pursuant to paragraph (2), to be reviewed by the Demographic Research Unit of the Department of Finance, in consultation with the department and the Office of Public School Construction. If the Office of Public School Construction and the Demographic Research Unit of the Department of Finance jointly determine that the alternative enrollment projection provides a reasonable estimate of expected enrollment demand, a recommendation shall be forwarded to the board to approve or disapprove the application, in accordance with all of the following:

(A) Total funding for new construction projects using this method shall be limited to five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000), from the Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2004.

(B) The eligibility amount for proposed projects that relieve overcrowding is the difference between the alternative enrollment projection method for the year the application is submitted and the cohort survival enrollment projection method, as defined by paragraph (2), for the same year, adjusted by the existing pupil capacity in excess of the projected enrollment according to the cohort survival enrollment projection method.

(C) The Office of Public School Construction shall determine whether each proposed project will relieve overcrowding, including, but not limited to, the elimination of the use of Concept 6 calendars, four track year-round calendars, or busing in excess of 40 minutes, and recommend approval to the board. The number of unhoused pupil grants requested in the application for funding from the eligibility determined pursuant to this paragraph shall be limited to the number of seats necessary to relieve overcrowding, including, but not limited to, the elimination of the use of Concept 6 calendars, four track year-round calendars, or busing in excess of 40 minutes, less the number of unhoused pupil grants attributed to that school as a source school in an approved application pursuant to Section 17078.24.

(D) A school district shall use the same alternative enrollment projection methodology for all applications submitted pursuant to this paragraph and shall calculate those projections in accordance with the same districtwide or high school attendance area used for the enrollment projection made pursuant to paragraph (2).

(2) A school district shall calculate enrollment projections for the fifth year beyond the fiscal year in which the application is made. Projected enrollment shall be determined by utilizing the cohort survival enrollment projection system, as defined and approved by the board. The board may supplement the cohort survival enrollment projection with any of the following:

(A) The number of unhoused pupils that are anticipated as a result of dwelling units proposed pursuant to approved and valid tentative subdivision maps.

(B) Modified weighting mechanisms, if the board determines that they best represent the enrollment trends of the district. Mechanisms pursuant to this subparagraph shall be developed and applied in consultation with the Demographic Research Unit of the Department of Finance.

(C) An adjustment to reflect the effects on kindergarten and first grade enrollment of changes in birth rates within the school district or high school attendance area boundaries.

(3) (A) A school district may submit an enrollment projection for either a 5th year or a 10th year beyond the fiscal year in which the application is made. A school district that bases its enrollment projection calculation on a high school attendance area may use pupil residence in that attendance area to calculate enrollment. A school district that utilizes pupil residence shall do so for all high school attendance areas within the district. A pupil shall not be included in a high school attendance area enrollment projection based on pupil residence unless that pupil was included in the California Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS) report of the district for the same enrollment year. The board may require a district to provide a reconciliation of the districtwide CBEDS and residency data. The board also may adopt regulations to specify the format and certification requirements for a school district that submits residency data.

(b) (1) Add the number of pupils that may be adequately housed in the existing school building capacity of the applicant school district as determined pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 17071.10) to the number of pupils for whom facilities were provided from any state or local funding source after the existing school building capacity was determined pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 17071.10). For this purpose, the total number of pupils for whom facilities were provided shall be determined using the pupil loading formula set forth in Section 17071.25.

(2) Subtract from the number of pupils calculated in paragraph (1) the number of pupils that were housed in facilities to which the school district or county office of education relinquished title as the result of a transfer of a special education program between a school district and a county office of education or special education local plan area, if applicable. For this purpose, the total number of pupils that were housed in the facilities to which title was relinquished shall be determined using the pupil loading formula adopted by the board pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 17071.25. For purposes of this paragraph, title also includes any lease interest with a duration of greater than five years.

(c) Subtract the number of pupils pursuant to subdivision (b) from the number of pupils determined pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).

(d) The calculations required to establish eligibility under this article shall result in a distinction between the number of existing unhoused pupils and the number of projected unhoused pupils.

(e) Apply the increase or decrease resulting from the difference between the most recent report made pursuant to Section 42268, and the report used in determining the baseline capacity of the school district pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 17071.25.

(f) For purposes of calculating projected enrollment pursuant to subdivision (a), the board may adopt regulations to ensure that the enrollment calculation of individuals with exceptional needs receiving special education services is adjusted in the enrollment reporting period in which the transfer occurs and three previous school years as a result of a transfer of a special education program between a school district and a county office of education or a special education local plan area. However, the projected enrollment calculation of a county office of education shall only be adjusted if a transfer of title for the special education program facilities has occurred. The regulations, if adopted, shall ensure that if a transfer of title to special education program facilities constructed with state funds occurs within 10 years after initial occupancy of the facility, the receiving school district or school districts shall remit to the state a proportionate share of any financial hardship assistance provided for the project pursuant to Section 17075.10, if applicable.

(g) For a school district with an enrollment of 2,500 or less, an adjustment in enrollment projections shall not result in a loss of ongoing eligibility to that school district for a period of three years from the date of the approval of eligibility by the board.

(Amended by Stats. 2007, Ch. 691, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2008.)