Bill aimed to address school sexual misconduct is on Newsom’s desk

The Safe Learning Environments Act, SB 848, authored by Senator Sasha Renée Pérez from Pasadena, has now passed the Legislature, and it is on its way to Governor Newsom’s desk. 

This legislation aims to enhance student safety in California by mandating that schools update their Comprehensive School Safety Plans with procedures for preventing, detecting, and addressing employee sexual misconduct.

“This legislation is very personal to me,” said Pérez, chair of the Senate Education Committee. “I experienced child grooming when I was in high school. A school staff member tried to initiate a romantic relationship with me. Fortunately, I ran away because I understood that something very inappropriate was happening. In authoring this legislation, I’ve met with a number of survivors whose powerful stories inspire me to change the laws so we can better protect all of our students.”

A recent study published last year by the Psychology Today Lab found that almost 12 percent of recent high school graduates reported at least one form of sexual misconduct by educators during K-12. The research, based on a survey of 6632 participants, found that few reports resulted in disciplinary action against the educators in question.

Justine Ly, a survivor of school sexual abuse, shared her experience as a past student at Rosemead High. “I entered a sexual relationship with a staff member at the school when I was 15 years old. I was excited to join the tennis team with my friends the summer before my freshman year. The coach encouraged extra lessons, which initially started with 2 other students at school but soon became 1-on-1 sessions. The people that were supposed to protect youth like me were complicit. Today, I am a public school teacher, yet my own experience reminds me how I was failed by an education system meant to nurture, protect, and uplift. I know we must do more to protect our youth,” she said. SB 848 seeks to protect our most vulnerable youth from grooming. It holds predators and the systems that employ them accountable. It challenges us to be better human beings. The legislature has the power to make our schools safer for children or continue to protect those that prey upon them.”

SB 848 also enhances employee training and revises relevant provisions in law to ensure stronger protections. A 2023 report from the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) identified breakdowns in oversight and accountability that have allowed abuse to persist unchecked. 

According to FCMAT, the best estimate of total claims brought to date under a 2019 law that expanded the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse is between $2 and $3 billion. “The financial toll of the claims is staggering. But behind every case of abuse is a young person whose life has been altered and is left with lasting trauma. We must do better. It is time we start building real safeguards. I urge Governor Newsom to continue his commitment to California’s children and sign SB 848,” said Pérez.