Noncertificated public school employees: private school employees: egregious misconduct: statewide data system: Commission on Teacher Credentialing: adverse actions: contracts and background checks for educational services

The law creates a confidential statewide system to help public and private schools identify substantiated misconduct before hiring. It also expands background-check and contract safeguards for people providing student services.

What the law does ​

• Requires public-school employers and private schools to investigate credible allegations of egregious misconduct, even if the employee leaves.
• Requires local educational agencies to start investigations within 15 days and generally finish within 90 days, while giving employees a chance to respond and notice of findings.
• Requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, subject to funding, to build a secure statewide misconduct-investigation data system by July 1, 2027.
• Requires schools to check the system before hiring covered employees, report specified employment and substantiated-investigation information, and keep system information confidential.
• Requires former school employers to disclose credible complaints, investigations, discipline, relevant evidence, and specified employment history when responding to hiring inquiries.
• Allows the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to use system entries for credential reviews and request records from public and private schools.
• Requires fingerprint-based state and federal background checks for State Department of Education employees, volunteers, contractors, and subcontractors, including at state special schools and diagnostic centers.
• Requires school-service contracts to include background-check, misconduct-disclosure, data-system-check, notification, and termination-for-noncompliance terms.
• Exempts statewide system records from public-records disclosure and limits certain personal-information access and correction rights.

Who it affects ​

• Noncertificated employees of local educational agencies and all private-school employees.
• School districts, county offices of education, charter schools, private schools, merit districts, and state special schools and diagnostic centers.
• School contractors, subcontractors, and their workers who interact with or directly serve pupils.
• Credential applicants and holders whose alleged misconduct is reviewed by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

Context ​

The statewide data system must be developed only if the Legislature provides funding.

Breakdown ​

Expanded Misconduct Hiring Checks ​

The bill broadens the misconduct information that schools must seek, disclose, share, and preserve when screening job applicants. It requires schools to include credible complaints, investigations, discipline, statewide-system reports, and certain employment-history information, even if the matter did not lead to a substantiated investigation. It also allows dismissal of an employee when required misconduct or prior-employer information was not disclosed.

Key takeaways

• Schools must ask prior education employers about any credible complaint, investigation, or discipline involving egregious misconduct, rather than only matters used in a substantiated investigation.
• Prior employers must provide relevant information and evidence, including applicable reports submitted to the statewide data system and related employment history submitted to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
• Schools must also provide relevant evidence or information to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing when the commission asks for it.
• Schools must preserve evidence or information related to a substantiated report of egregious misconduct.
• An employee may be dismissed if a prior employer failed to disclose a reported misconduct matter or if the employee failed to disclose prior education employers, as specified.
• The added duties for local educational agencies create a state-mandated local program.

Egregious Misconduct Reporting System ​

SB 1083 restructures California’s statewide system for tracking investigations of egregious misconduct by noncertificated public-school employees and private-school employees. It sets new rules for system access, reporting, record preservation, investigations, employee notice, and confidentiality. It also requires schools and local educational agencies to investigate credible allegations even if the employee leaves before the investigation ends.

Key takeaways

• The bill makes the statewide data system specifically about investigations of egregious misconduct and changes its required data fields, reporting information, and update procedures.
• The Commission on Teacher Credentialing must create a secure interface for the system, and local educational agencies and private schools must request access through that interface by May 1, 2027.
• Local educational agencies and private schools must provide a designated email address for system notifications and preserve evidence related to substantiated misconduct reports entered into the system.
• Information in the statewide data system is exempt from public-records disclosure, and specified Information Practices Act rights do not apply to personal information maintained in the system.
• A local educational agency or private school must investigate any credible complaint or other reason to believe an employee committed egregious misconduct, and it must finish the investigation even if the employee leaves employment.
• Local educational agencies must follow specified investigation timelines and give employees an opportunity to provide information, while private schools must adopt written investigation policies by July 1, 2027.
• System access is limited to specified commission staff and school or local educational agency employees responsible for employment, investigations, or hiring, and those users must keep system information confidential.

Credential Reviews and Private School Records ​

The bill expands the Commission on Teacher Credentialing's ability to act on misconduct reports in the statewide data system. It allows the Committee of Credentials to begin a formal review from certain substantiated reports or investigation-related employment changes, sets a four-year deadline for initial review of certain reports, and gives the commission greater access to records from local agencies and private schools.

Key takeaways

• The Committee of Credentials may begin a formal review when the statewide data system contains a substantiated report of egregious misconduct or a record that an investigation began and the employee's status changed during it.
• A substantiated egregious-misconduct report that does not involve sexual misconduct with a minor or repeated conduct forming a pattern must be sent to the committee for initial review within four years.
• The commission may request information and records from local educational agencies and private schools while investigating substantiated egregious-misconduct reports submitted to the statewide data system.
• The commission may require private schools, as well as public agencies, to produce records and other information when evaluating the moral character or identity of credential holders and applicants after it has authority to begin an initial review.

Contractor Background Checks and Misconduct Reporting ​

The bill makes fingerprint-based state and national criminal background checks mandatory for department employees, applicants, volunteers, contractors, and subcontractors covered by the law. It expands background-check and contract requirements for entities providing pupil services to local educational agencies, state special schools and diagnostic centers, and private schools. By July 1, 2027, covered contracts must address background checks, disclosures of certain misconduct complaints or discipline, checks against the statewide data system, and required notifications of credible egregious-misconduct complaints.

Key takeaways

• The department must require fingerprint-based state and national criminal history background checks for the covered people, rather than having the option to require them.
• Entities contracting with a local educational agency or the department for state special schools or diagnostic centers must ensure that employees and subcontractors who interact with pupils or provide direct pupil services have valid criminal records summaries.
• An emergency or exceptional-situation exemption applies only when the contractor’s employee or subcontractor is under the immediate supervision and control of a school employee.
• For independent study services, the local educational agency or department must verify criminal-records clearance and may no longer rely on a parent or guardian consent form instead.
• Local educational agencies and the department must include contract termination provisions for failure to comply with these background-check requirements.
• By July 1, 2027, covered public and private school contracts for specified pupil services must require misconduct disclosures, checks against the statewide data system or approved alternatives, and specified notifications when credible egregious-misconduct complaints are made or received.

Private School Reporter Training Approval ​

This part changes who must approve a private school’s alternative child-abuse reporting training. Instead of requiring approval from the school’s liability insurance provider, it requires approval from the school’s governing authority.

Key takeaways

• Private schools may use an alternative training module for mandated reporters instead of the state-provided online module.
• The alternative training must cover child-abuse reporting requirements for covered employees, volunteers, and others working for the school.
• The private school’s governing authority, rather than its liability insurance provider, must approve the alternative training module.