Starting July 1, 2026, SB 848, authored by State Senator Sasha Pérez (D-Pasadena), will go into effect and was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom.
The new so-called “Safe Learning Environments Act” on preventing child abuse in classrooms and inappropriate conduct by teachers and school employees will require a comprehensive school plan that includes procedures for reporting child abuse or neglect.
Such a plan must include statewide procedures specifically designed to address the supervision and protection of children from child abuse or neglect and sexual crimes.
By imposing additional obligations on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a mandatory local program at the state level.
According to Senator Pérez, SB 848 strengthens student safety in California schools by requiring updates to Comprehensive School Safety Plans with clear procedures to prevent, detect and address sexual misconduct by school employees.
This new law also expands mandatory reporting requirements, improves training for employees and students, and revises relevant legal provisions to ensure greater protection.
“This law will protect children from sexual misconduct by school employees. It’s that simple,” said Senator Pérez.
“We all recognize that most teachers and classified staff are dedicated professionals, but even a small fraction of school employees who commit child abuse can cause catastrophic harm. SB 848 will create a system to protect our students.”
Specifically, the Safe Learning Environments Act will ensure that serious misconduct is reported and tracked by establishing an electronic misconduct database for non-certified employees. This law will expand employment history verification to cover all school employees.
The state senator also thanked a group of survivors who raised their voices and publicly shared their stories of trauma to protect students.
“The system failed me”
One of them, Cassandra, explained that during her childhood she was a victim in one of the largest child sexual abuse scandals in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).
“This new law [SB 848] “The law can protect students who trust their teachers who love learning and who would never imagine their trust being manipulated,” he explained.
Cassandra recounted that she personally experienced what is now known as patterns of bullying and boundary violations by educators at the time.
“There is no name to describe it, there is no safety protocol, there is no designated person to report such things when you are in that position.” [de víctima] at that moment,” he said. “I didn’t know who to tell.”
Cassandra explained that as a child, she was afraid of the unknown and was precise when she said: “The system failed me. Not because people didn’t care, but because they didn’t know how to recognize those patterns.” [de ataque y acoso sexual] and there were no adequate reports to understand the general picture of what could happen to the students.”
The worst LAUSD scandal
The sexual abuse scandal at Miramonte Elementary School in South Los Angeles had teacher Mark Berndt as the main perpetrator of the sexual abuse, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for having assaulted almost 15 children. Bernd was a teacher from 1979 until his dismissal in 2011.
Their misdeeds included feeding children cookies contaminated with their own semen, blindfolding them and taking lewd photographs of them. In 2014, the LAUSD was accused of destroying records dating back to 1988 against Berndt and must first pay approximately $140 million to 81 victims; another 30 million in 2013 to the families of 58 victims, and 3.5 million in 2024 to two other victims of the former pedophile teacher.
Dr. Caroline Heldman, president and CEO of Stand With Survivors, said a 2023 report documented more than 2,000 reports of child sexual assault in California classrooms.
“We can no longer fail the children”
Cindy Lamb’s first paid job came at age 15. She was hired as a pianist in the Rosemead High School choirs.
“From day one, my choir teacher intentionally treated me like an adult instead of a teenager,” she explained.
“We started by going for coffee before our private rehearsals, with greetings like ‘Hello.’ He would tap me on the forehead to greet me and squeeze my shoulders affectionately,” he recalled.
Those greetings quickly became part of their routine.
“We started spending more and more time together,” he adds. “He told me, “If you don’t sign up for the choir next year, I’ll have to find another accompanist. I can’t lead the choir without you. I need you”.
Then came the professor’s fatherly advice: “It’s vulgar to see your bra straps” and the unsolicited advances about sexuality in marriage.
That teacher became Cindy’s confidant and mentor.
“He constantly showed his affection for me, both in private and in front of other students,” emphasizes the 41-year-old woman.
“By the time he started sexual relations with me, I was an object of desire for him. And when I realized that I had been manipulated, I was completely isolated and psychologically destroyed,” Cindy said.
She says “tragically” it is the same situation of too many children seeking comfort and safety at school only to end up in the hands of sexual predators.
Therefore, she believes that a measure like SB 848 would have adequately educated her about manipulative behaviors.
“I would have known that these interactions were inappropriate and I would have reported them,” he said. “My abuser would be in jail and would never be able to work with children again.”
On the other hand, that sexual offender has been able to avoid these consequences, resigning twice from two different schools: Rosemead High School in the city of Rosemead and Gabrielino High School, in the city of San Gabriel.
“He is now free to apply for other teaching jobs without revealing what he did to me,” the sexual abuse victim explained.
Cindy emphasized that California students and children deserved the support of SB 848.
“We can no longer fail them,” he stressed. “They deserve this common sense protection and we, as a society, can no longer afford to fail them.”
An urgent change was needed
Leslie Gaytán, a former Rosemead High School student, now a mother and survivor of sexual harassment, expressed her support for SB 848 introduced by State Senator Sasha Pérez.
“I experienced sexual harassment, bullying and inappropriate behavior from three different teachers. I believed they were at school to protect and guide us.”
He noted that if there had been a law like SB 848, which Governor Gavin Newsom signed, “at least one of the teachers who assaulted me – a teacher with a known history of misconduct – would not have been able to continue teaching.”
Despite this history of sexual harassment of students, that teacher remained in the classroom and continued abusing the students.
In a second case, the teacher’s misconduct came to the attention of the school administrator, but no action was taken.
“That ruling allowed another predator to continue harming other students,” denounced Leslie Gaytán, for whom these failures were “devastating” and demonstrate why legislative change was so urgently needed.
“All California students deserve a safe, responsible and vigilant school,” he said. “No student or child has to suffer what I and so many others have suffered.”