K-12 schools under fire: California enacts stricter sexual abuse laws amid $3 billion legal fallout
California will implement sweeping reforms to curb sexual abuse in K-12 schools, including the creation of a statewide database to track teachers under investigation for misconduct, under a new law signed by Governor Gavin Newsom this week.The measure, Senate Bill 848, sponsored by Democratic state Senator Sasha Renée Pérez of Alhambra, follows a series of high-profile lawsuits and investigative reports exposing decades of sexual abuse by educators across the state.“For survivors, this is an important step towards justice,” Pérez told CalMatters, noting that she herself experienced a teacher’s inappropriate attention in high school. “It’s been really personal for me.”
A new layer of accountability
Effective January 1, the law applies to all public and private K-12 schools. It mandates extensive training for teachers, coaches, and staff on identifying and reporting misconduct; expands the list of personnel required to report abuse; and compels districts to draft detailed conduct guidelines.The most consequential reform is a statewide database, managed by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. The database aims to prevent educators facing credible abuse allegations from quietly resigning and securing employment elsewhere — a recurring problem in districts across the country.Schools will be required to check the database during hiring, and entries will be updated if allegations are later deemed unfounded.According to the Associated Press, the law reflects growing public pressure for transparency and institutional responsibility after lawsuits filed under Assembly Bill 218, a 2020 law that temporarily lifted the statute of limitations for victims — revealed the breadth of misconduct in California schools. Those cases have already cost districts more than $3 billion, pushing some towards insolvency.
Financial fallout and legislative deadlock
The surge in payouts spurred another proposal, Senate Bill 577, introduced by Sen. John Laird, a Democrat from Santa Cruz, aimed at helping districts manage financial liabilities from decades-old claims. But the measure failed to advance in the Assembly this year.“I had hoped to protect survivors’ access to justice while finding some fiscal relief for local governments,” Laird said in an email statement, cited by AP. “Despite months of work, it was impossible to balance these interests this year.”SB 577 would not have capped settlements or attorney fees but sought to set clearer limits on older claims and allow school districts to issue bonds to pay legal judgments, which often range between $5 million and $10 million.Its failure has left many districts scrambling to fund settlements. Some have frozen salaries, laid off staff, or suspended programs to cover legal costs.The Montecito Union School District, with just 350 students, recently paid $7.5 million — nearly half its annual budget, to settle an abuse case dating back to the 1970s. Nearby Carpinteria Unified faces similar financial strain.“We are frustrated that legislators failed to assist districts forced to defend decades-old claims, spending millions that impact current students,” said Diana Rigby, superintendent of Carpinteria Unified, in a statement to AP.
A fight between fiscal survival and survivor justice
Critics argue the collapse of SB 577 was driven by powerful trial attorney interests. Law firms specializing in abuse litigation, which can claim up to 40% of settlement amounts, launched campaigns to block the bill.In the final week of the session, advertisements appeared on social media depicting Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas alongside messages such as “Stop the Predator Protection Law,” sponsored by the firm Manly, Stewart & Finaldi, known for its role in the Larry Nassar sexual abuse cases.“If I have to spend every last dime to protect a child from being abused, I will do that,” attorney John Manly told CalMatters. “I’ve spent my career doing this, and I’m not going to stop.”Manly said he supports SB 848 but believes it should go further by imposing felony penalties on mandated reporters who fail to report abuse and requiring public disclosure of staff “credibly accused” of misconduct.Advocacy groups have taken a more neutral stance. Consumer Attorneys of California said Laird’s proposal struck a “reasonable balance” between protecting survivors’ rights and addressing fiscal strain on public entities, but they ultimately did not lobby for it.
An unresolved crisis
With legal liabilities mounting and pandemic-era relief funds expiring, California schools face mounting fiscal and moral pressures.Ben Adler, public affairs director for the California State Association of Counties, said the situation demands high-level intervention.“Moving forward, there has to be a way to ensure justice for survivors without bankrupting schools and counties,” Adler told the AP. “The governor and Legislature will have to get everyone in a room to figure this thing out.”For now, SB 848 represents a decisive, if partial, attempt to rebuild trust and accountability in a system still reckoning with decades of institutional failure.
