Governor to Decide on Sweeping New Child Safety, Hiring, and Compliance Rules for California Private Schools

Introduction
On September 13, 2025, the California Legislature passed Senate Bill (SB) 848, the School Employee Misconduct: Child Abuse Prevention Act. The measure now heads to the Governor, who has 30 days to sign or veto it.

If signed into law, SB 848 will significantly broaden child-safety and compliance obligations for California private schools. For the first time, all private schools would be integrated into California’s public-school child abuse prevention framework.

Key requirements would include:

• Broader mandated reporter obligations
• State-mandated employee, board member, and volunteer training
• Detailed hiring and background-check procedures
• A statewide misconduct reporting database
• Adoption of child-protection policies and student safety instruction

The result is that private schools will operate under nearly the same oversight as public schools when it comes to child safety, with added responsibility for professional boundaries and cross-school information sharing.

This Q&A highlights what school leaders need to know if SB 848 becomes law.

Q: Does SB 848 apply to all private schools, including religious schools?
A: Yes. For the first time, California would extend public-school safety and misconduct rules to all private schools, including religious schools.

Q: How does this change mandated reporter obligations?
A: Beginning July 2026, all private school employees, board members, contractors with student contact, and most volunteers would be legally required to report suspected child abuse. Failure to do so could result in criminal penalties. Noncompliance could also increase civil liability exposure.

Q: What child-safety policies must schools adopt?
A: By July 2026, private schools must adopt policies covering:

• Professional boundaries
• Safe electronic communications
• Abuse prevention and response procedures

These policies should be formally adopted by the school’s governing board.

Q: How will hiring and vetting practices change?
A: Schools must:

• Conduct extensive background checks
• Contact prior school employers and disclose substantiated misconduct
• Prohibit settlements that conceal misconduct

Q: What is the new statewide misconduct database?
A: By July 2027, private schools will be required to report substantiated cases of “egregious misconduct” (as defined in the Education Code) into a statewide database. This ensures records follow employees across schools, preventing concealment of prior misconduct.

Q: What about training requirements?
A: Starting in July 2026, schools must provide and track annual training for employees, contractors, and volunteers on:

• Mandated reporting
• Abuse prevention
• Professional boundaries

Q: Will students also receive instruction?
A: Yes. Beginning in 2026, the state will offer age-appropriate abuse prevention curriculum for private schools. Parents may opt their children out.

Conclusion
If enacted, SB 848 will require private schools to:

• Expand mandated reporter coverage to nearly all adults on campus
• Adopt child-safety and professional-boundaries policies by July 2026
• Prepare for new vetting, hiring, and misconduct reporting systems by July 2027

These changes will require advance planning and policy development well before 2026. If the bill becomes law, schools should begin assessing existing policies, hiring practices, and training programs to identify gaps.

LCW is closely monitoring developments and will issue a comprehensive compliance guide with timelines, steps, and best practices once the bill becomes final. In the meantime, LCW can assist private schools with policy audits, training updates, and board briefings to ensure readiness.