The agreement, announced Thursday, caps a two-year legislative struggle to balance the interests of abuse survivors against the mounting costs faced by school districts, cities and counties across California, including many in the Inland Empire, that have been hit with a wave of lawsuits and rising insurance premiums since state law dramatically expanded who can sue over childhood sexual abuse.

Under the new deal, lawmakers rejected proposals that would have placed a dollar limit on how much survivors could recover from public entities found responsible for abuse committed by employees or occurring on their properties. Advocates for survivors had strongly opposed any cap, arguing it would effectively put a price on the trauma of abuse. Local governments and school officials, meanwhile, had pushed hard for limits, saying they were necessary to keep agencies financially solvent.

While survivors avoided a cap on damages, the compromise does impose new evidentiary hurdles for some plaintiffs. Survivors older than 40, along with those whose cases predate 2024 — when the state eliminated the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse claims — will now need to provide stronger proof of their claims, particularly in cases where records have since been destroyed.

Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limón, a Santa Barbara Democrat, said the negotiations were guided by a dual focus on “protection and prevention,” adding that she was pleased lawmakers found common ground that both preserves survivors’ access to justice and addresses the financial strain on public institutions.

Chantel Johnson, a spokesperson for the Youth Law Center, which advocates on behalf of abuse survivors, praised lawmakers for turning back what she called some of the more damaging proposals floated during negotiations, while welcoming the bill’s new prevention requirements.

“The fiscal pressures facing counties and other public entities are real, but the harm that created those costs is even more consequential,” Johnson said in a statement.

Representatives for cities, counties and school districts had countered that public dollars should go toward serving today’s students and residents rather than funding large settlements and enriching plaintiffs’ law firms. Beyond the direct cost of settlements and jury awards, many public agencies have seen liability insurance premiums skyrocket, forcing budget cuts to staffing, programs and facility upgrades — a trend felt acutely by school districts throughout San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

The legislation amends Senate Bill 577, originally authored last year by Sen. John Laird, which collapsed in the final days of the 2025 session amid disagreements over how to handle claims tied to Los Angeles County’s juvenile detention system. That system was at the center of a $4 billion settlement reached last year with survivors of abuse at the now-closed MacLaren Children’s Center. The new version of the bill removes a contested provision that would have set a cutoff date for filing claims related to county-run juvenile facilities.

Beyond addressing existing claims, the bill lays out new prevention measures aimed at reducing future abuse in public institutions. Counties, cities and school districts will be required to submit codes of conduct and sexual abuse prevention plans to the California Attorney General’s Office by Jan. 1, 2028. That office would then report to the Legislature on which agencies fail to comply. The bill also broadens the list of professionals legally required to report suspected abuse or grooming, adding peace officers, probation officers and social workers to the list of mandatory reporters.

To address concerns about fraudulent claims, the agreement includes a provision fining attorneys $25,000 if they are found to have filed a child sexual abuse lawsuit in bad faith.

The Legislature has until Monday to vote on the measure in both chambers. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office declined to comment Thursday, though people familiar with the discussions said the governor has signaled he would sign whatever compromise reaches his desk.

Original source: CalMatters

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The debate pits the interests of abuse survivors against the fiscal realities facing local governments and schools, which have paid out billions of dollars in settlements and rising insurance costs since California loosened the statute of limitations for these claims in 2019. Legislative leaders are trying to find a middle ground before the session ends, but talks remain unresolved as the clock winds down.

At issue is how to fairly compensate survivors of abuse that occurred years or even decades ago while preventing local agencies — many already operating with thin budgets — from being pushed into financial collapse. A similar effort to reach consensus fell apart in the final hours of last year’s session.

Groups representing survivors are firmly opposed to any changes that would make it harder for victims to pursue claims, and they have mobilized to protect the current law. Meanwhile, associations representing schools and counties argue that without reform, the ripple effects will hurt the very children the education and social service systems are meant to protect.

“It’s impossible to choose between the future education of California students and meeting the needs of survivors,” said Dr. Debra Schade, president of the California School Boards Association, one of the organizations pushing for a resolution. “But if we don’t do something soon, the future of our public school system in California is at risk.”

A balancing act

Local governments and school districts are asking lawmakers to consider capping the amount of money survivors can be awarded in damages and to require stronger evidence from those who come forward more than two decades after the alleged abuse occurred. Both ideas have drawn sharp opposition from survivor advocates, who say placing a dollar limit on trauma is offensive and unrealistic, especially since children and their families rarely keep detailed records of abuse.

A June proposal drafted by the office of Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, reviewed by CalMatters, indicated Assembly leaders were weighing both ideas — a cap on payouts and a higher evidentiary bar for older claims.

Supporters of that approach argue that decades-old cases often involve witnesses or perpetrators who have died and records that have been lost or destroyed, putting public agencies at an unfair disadvantage when defending themselves in court.

Faith Borges, a lobbyist representing local government insurance pools known as joint powers authorities, said counties and schools recognize survivors deserve justice but must also protect public resources meant to serve current students and vulnerable residents.

“It’s been a difficult needle to thread,” Borges said.

Advocates for survivors counter that government agencies have significant legal resources — including in-house attorneys and access to institutional records — while most victims rely on private attorneys to pursue their cases.

“It is a towering immorality to make the traumatized survivors of child rape, beatings, and sex abuse pay the bills for our negligence,” said Ed Howard, senior attorney with the Children’s Advocacy Institute, during a Sacramento news conference. Advocacy groups have been working alongside the influential Consumer Attorneys of California, which has donated more than $350,000 to state lawmakers this session.

“It is our fault what happened to them. Not theirs,” Howard said. “That is grotesque — that a child would have to have a higher burden of proof to get compensation for crimes committed against them by people we selected to care for them.”

One survivor, a 25-year-old woman who asked to be identified only by her first name, Suzie, said she hopes financial accountability will push schools to make lasting changes. She said pursuing justice meant confronting her former fourth grade teacher and facing a team of attorneys hired by the Mountainview School District who challenged her account of being groomed and molested.

“I just became super suicidal, like, when I was only eight or nine,” Suzie said. “I couldn’t tell my parents that I was scared of going to school, so I was like, at such a young age, the bad guy.”

She and five other former students sued the district, and a jury awarded them $48 million in damages last April — with the district responsible for more than $36 million and the former teacher held liable for the rest.

“I wish a lot of things wouldn’t have happened to me,” Suzie said. “But also, with the financial compensation, there’s going to be, maybe, room for growth for [the district]. And a definite change. Because it cannot happen again.”

A deal that didn’t hold

Last year, state Sen. John Laird, a Santa Cruz Democrat, tried to negotiate a compromise, but the effort collapsed after schools and counties objected that Senate Bill 577 didn’t include caps on damages. Survivor advocates, meanwhile, were angered that the bill would have blocked future claims tied to abuse at Los Angeles County’s now-closed MacLaren Children’s Center. The county has already agreed to pay $4 billion to settle roughly 6,800 abuse claims connected to that facility, some dating back to 1959.

Rivas ultimately set the bill aside, hoping for a broader agreement this year. But the same disagreements persist: the speaker’s office remains open to discussing damage caps to protect public agencies financially, while Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limón and her staff have pushed back against any limits that could weaken survivors’ legal options, according to people familiar with the negotiations.

In a statement, Limón said the Senate “remains committed to maintaining access to justice for all survivors” while also acknowledging the financial pressures facing public entities. Though the two chambers have been negotiating for weeks and are reportedly close to an agreement, no deal had been finalized as of this week.

Mounting costs strain local budgets

A 2024 report commissioned by the Legislature found that thousands of lawsuits have been filed since Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 218 in 2019, which extended the age limit for survivors to file claims from 26 to 40 and gave adults who later realize they were abused as children five years — up from three — to take legal action. The law also created a temporary three-year window allowing survivors to revive previously expired claims.

The resulting wave of litigation is projected to cost California school districts up to $3 billion, while counties face even steeper liabilities, according to the report. Los Angeles County alone anticipates paying roughly $3 billion to resolve about 3,000 claims tied to abuse in its foster care system, youth shelters and juvenile detention facilities dating back to the 1950s.

Because California’s insurance market largely collapsed for public agencies in the 1970s, most counties and school districts now rely on self-funded joint powers authorities rather than private insurers. Unlike private insurance companies, these pools are funded directly by taxpayer dollars, meaning a surge in claims can quickly strain already tight budgets — particularly for smaller or rural districts with few or no abuse claims of their own.

Several districts report having to cut staff, delay campus repairs and put off basic maintenance, such as replacing outdated air conditioning systems, in order to keep up with rising insurance premiums and legal settlements.

Eric Dill, associate superintendent for the Poway Unified School District, said his district has trimmed $10 million annually from its budget over the past three years — cuts that have primarily affected staffing, programs and maintenance — in order to set aside funds for underinsured or uninsured claims. Over four years, the district has spent $7.5 million on insurance premiums and self-insurance contributions, the equivalent of about 75 teacher salaries and benefits.

“It is very real that today’s students are suffering from a lack of services that could otherwise be provided if we could use those general fund dollars to put back into the classroom,” Dill said.

While the current negotiations center on child sexual abuse claims, representatives for schools and counties are pushing to expand any new rules to cover other types of civil liability lawsuits as well.

Survivors say process shuts them out

Advocates for abuse survivors argue that negotiating a deal behind closed doors, without going through the normal legislative process, denies victims a chance to be heard. Under standard procedure, survivors could testify before legislative committees about their experiences.

“We’re having to ask survivors to speak into a microphone and hope that the folks who are making the decisions in the building hear our voices,” said Jennifer Rodriguez, executive director of the Youth Law Center, during the Sacramento press conference. “That’s not a democratic process.”

Howard, of the Children’s Advocacy Institute, acknowledged the sensitivity of the issue, saying that any proposal altering existing protections for survivors likely wouldn’t hold up under the full scrutiny of the standard legislative process.

Lawmakers have until midnight on Aug. 31 to finalize legislation before the session ends for the year.

Original source: CalMatters

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Two teachers – Jessica Sotelo from West Valley High School in Hemet, and Heather Goka from Lisa Mails Elementary School in Murrieta – each received a $100 check from the California Retired Teachers Association State Teacher Grant program.  Then each teacher was pleasantly surprised when CalRTA Division 33 matched their $100 check with a crisp $100 bill, for a total of $200.   

Jessica Sotelo, who teaches AVID 11, and IB Psychology at West Valley, said, “I am so grateful to have received the STATE teacher grant. I wasn’t expecting our local division to match the state grant with another $100, so that was an amazing surprise! I plan to use the funds to restock my student supply/resource station with such items as lint rollers, Kleenex, band-aids, hygiene products, mints, and granola bars to provide to students if they need a snack during the school day.”

Heather Goka, a third grade teacher at Lisa Mails Elementary School said, “I plan to use the $200 for basic supplies like paper and markers as well as some new classroom decorations to make the room feel warmer and create a more positive learning environment for my students.  Thank you!”

Another four $100 teacher grant winners were randomly selected at the April 9^th luncheon meeting of CalRTA Division 33.  Nicole Hernandez, third grade teacher at Megan Cope Elementary School in San Jacinto, plans to put the funds toward improving her students’ math skills.  “Thank you for the $100 grant!” Hernandez said.  “I plan on using the money on math manipulatives for my classroom, specifically fraction cubes. Many of my students can struggle with the concept of equal piece and how a larger denominator means a smaller piece. These manipulatives will benefit them greatly. “ 

Teri Perez, who teaches Moderate and Severe Special Education classes at DeAnza Elementary School in San Jacinto, says, “Thank you so much for this $100 grant. I plan to use the money to buy some laminating materials, some incentives for my classroom, and Play Doh!  Laminating things allows reuse, incentives help my students remain motivated to work hard on their goals and Play Doh is one of their favorite items to decompress with. Thank you again from me and the De Anza Tigers!”

Tahquitz High School teacher Anne Rizzacasa, who teaches a wide variety of science classes at her school site in Hemet, says, “Thank you so much for the support. I will be using the funds to purchase an electric vehicle kit from Forward Education. The kit guides students to build computer science skills while addressing energy solutions to address climate change.”

Holly Baird, a Nuview Elementary School Kindergarten teacher, received the exciting news of her $100 grant on her birthday.  “I was super excited to receive this classroom money on my birthday!” Baird says.  “I plan to buy more ELA and math games and activities because I only have a few.  I also want to buy batteries for my voice amplifier. The kids are going to love this! Thank you!”

One of CalRTA’s missions is to support public education and awarding 16 $100 teacher grants to local teachers each year is just a part of that mission.  Division 33 also offers 11 $1000 scholarships to local high school seniors who plan to become public school teachers.  For more information about CalRTA, go to www.calrta.org or www.div33.calrta.org.

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