California Law Prohibits Schools Within 500 Feet of a Freeway

Section 17213 of the California Education Code requires, "The governing board of a school district may not approve a project involving the acquisition of a schoolsite by a school district" under a series of conditions. One forbidden condition is "a schoolsite with a boundary that is within 500 feet of the edge of the closest traffic lane of a freeway or other busy traffic corridor."

By way of exception, the board may determine "based on appropriate air dispersion modeling, and after considering any potential mitigation measures, that the air quality at the proposed site is such that neither short-term nor long-term exposure poses significant health risks to pupils." In making this determination, the board must follow the procedures for environmental analysis laid down in section 44360 of the Health and Safety Code.