New California Laws 2026
SB 848: California expands child abuse prevention and hiring duties for private schools
By Julie L. Strom and Michael Blacher O n Oct. 7, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the School Employee Misconduct: Child Abuse Prevention Act (SB 848). The law imposes new child safety and compliance obligations on Cali- fornia private schools. These requirements align pri- vate schools more closely with expectations already placed on public school districts. The statute takes effect in three stages, beginning in 2026. Jan. 1, 2026 The definition of mandated reporter expands to in- clude governing board members, certain contractors and any volunteer who is at least 18 years old and su- pervises children outside a teacher’s presence. Pri- vate schools must update policies and notify newly designated reporters of their duties. Employers must also require applicants to disclose every prior school position held and must contact each listed school to determine whether the appli- cant was the subject of credible complaints, sub- stantiated investigations or discipline for egregious misconduct. Egregious misconduct under Education Code section 44932(a)(1) includes sexual offenses and other serious acts that would justify dismissal of a public school employee. Schools should expect more verification requests and should prepare con- sistent response protocols. Employers must disclose whether they reported an employee to the Commission on Teacher Cre- dentialing and must provide all relevant information in their possession that supported a substantiated investigation. The statute does not clearly limit the disclosure duty to CTC-reportable conduct, which increases confidentiality and defamation-related risk for employers responding to inquiries. Clear docu- mentation practices and legal review of responses will be important. July 1, 2026 Private schools must begin providing annual mandated reporter training and annual training on abuse prevention and boundaries. Schools may offer boundaries training to students if participation is vol- untary, and parents may opt out. Schools must also adopt written boundaries poli-
cies, including limits on electronic communication between employees and students. Many schools will need to update codes of conduct, technology policies and volunteer and contractor agreements to meet these standards. July 1, 2027 SB 848 anticipates a statewide database operated by the CTC to which schools must report credible allegations and substantiated findings of egregious misconduct. The database will be created only if funded by the Legislature. Once operational, schools must check it before hiring new employees. Al- though earlier drafts tied applicant screening duties to the database, amendments now require employers to conduct history checks, beginning in 2026, even if the database is not yet established. Outstanding issues The law provides no definition of what makes an allegation “credible,” though factors such as corrob- oration or consistency will likely guide that assess- ment. SB 848 also adds record disclosure duties without adding new immunity protections. These two areas present the most significant risk for cov- ered employers. Private schools should work with counsel as they revise hiring processes, boundaries policies and in- vestigation protocols to comply with this new frame- work. Julie L. Strom and Michael Blacher are attorneys at Liebert Cassidy Whitmore. They represent California private schools and can be reached at jstrom@ lcwlegal.com and mblacher@lcwlegal.com.
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