The State Department of Education shall provide the following services to school districts making applications for apportionments under this article:

(a) It shall assist school districts in organizing a comprehensive planning effort. It shall guide a planning process through its appropriate steps and, when requested by a school district, it shall provide the school district with sources of expertise, either public or private, which may be able to contribute to the development of plans to find solutions for specific problems a school district may have.

(b) It shall provide continuing research in relation to all phases of educational programs and the school facilities that are required to implement these educational programs.

(c) It shall provide a review and evaluation service to school districts to assure the effectiveness of the facilities that have been provided in accommodating educational programs.

(d) It shall provide communication media through publications and seminars, and prepare planning guides and procedures containing recommendations, which guides shall be used to disseminate educational planning information to all school districts.

Unless specifically exempted by the State Allocation Board, each school district which files an application for an apportionment of funds under this article after July 1, 1973, shall prepare and submit to the board either, (1) a long-range comprehensive master plan justifying the application, prepared in accordance with acceptable planning procedures, or (2) a certification to the effect that replacement school buildings for which application has been made will all be located on existing schoolsites containing a school building or buildings, or (3) a certification that the applicant school maintains only one school. Specific information relating to the following factors must be included in the master plan:

(a) A statement of the educational programs and goals of the district in relation to its programs, both current and future.

(b) A comprehensive evaluation and report of the utilization of the school facilities now existing in the district together with preliminary plans of the facilities to be reconstructed or replaced under this article, prepared in accordance with the requirements of Section 17302 or 81138.

(c) A comprehensive demographic study of the district, as it currently exists and as projected into the future.

(d) A policy statement regarding actual or potential human problems.

(e) A policy statement as to the priority in which the district proposes to solve its school housing problems.

(f) A policy statement regarding cooperation with other local public agencies to achieve total community development.

(g) A policy to insure continuous review so that plans will be kept up to date and changing conditions will be reviewed and accommodated by appropriate revision of plans.

The director shall review the long-range master plan and project development plan and shall report his findings and recommendations thereon to the board. The board shall in no instance approve an application or make an apportionment therefor until it has determined to its satisfaction that the facility for which the apportionment is sought is justified by an appropriate estimate of average daily attendance and location within the district.

(Repealed and added by Stats. 1996, Ch. 277, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 1997. Operative January 1, 1998.)