"The law stems from a previous California law that made it easier for victims to sue school districts and counties. Under Assembly Bill 218, which went into effect in 2020, victims can file suit until age 40 or even older if they didn't remember being abused until later in life. That has led to an avalanche of lawsuits and much greater public awareness of the scope of the problem."
"So far, victims have filed more than a thousand lawsuits against school districts and counties, with some resulting in enormous payouts. A jury in Riverside County in 2023 handed Moreno Valley Unified a $135-million verdict over abuse allegations, and Los Angeles Unified faces more than $500 million in claims. Overall, California schools face nearly $3 billion in sex abuse claims from former students, according to the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, a state agency that helps school districts with financial matters."
Senate Bill 848 establishes measures to educate school staff, strengthen reporting requirements and bar teachers credibly accused of sexual abuse from obtaining jobs at other districts. The law takes effect Jan. 1 and requires schools to have protocols in place by July. The law applies to all schools, including private schools. The measures respond to an expansion of legal liability under Assembly Bill 218, which extended victims' time to sue and produced a surge of lawsuits. More than a thousand lawsuits have been filed, with verdicts and claims totaling nearly $3 billion and causing financial strain for some districts.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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