School employment: Sexual Abuse-Free Education (SAFE) Act.

(1) Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and secondary schools in this state and authorizes local educational agencies throughout the state to operate schools and provide instruction to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive. Existing law prohibits a person who has been convicted of a violent or serious felony from being hired by a school district in a position requiring certification qualifications or supervising positions requiring certification qualifications. Existing law also prohibits a school district from employing or retaining in employment a person who has been convicted, or who has been convicted following a plea of nolo contendere, of any sex offense, as defined. This bill, the Sexual Abuse-Free Education (SAFE) Act, would prohibit a school entity, defined as a school district, county office of education, charter school, or private or parochial school, from knowingly hiring a person as an employee or independent contractor in a position involving direct contact with children, as defined, if the person was determined by a current or former employer, as the result of an investigation, to be responsible for an act of child abuse or sexual misconduct with a child, as defined, unless the allgations of child abuse or sexual misconduct with a child were subsequently determined to be false. The bill would require an applicant to provide, on a standard form developed by the State Department of Education, specified information about the applicant's employment history and allegations, investigations, or findings of child abuse or sexual misconduct with a child by the applicant to the school entity before the school entity makes an offer of employment with direct contact with children. The bill would require a school entity to obtain from the current and former employers of the applicant specified information, including, among other things, whether the applicant was the subject of a substantiated investigation, as defined, concerning child abuse or sexual misconduct with a child by an employer, state licensing agency, law enforcement agency, or child protective services agency. The bill would immunize a school entity, school entity official, or other employer from civil or criminal liability for the disclosure of information pursuant to these provisions, unless the information was disclosed with the knowledge that it was false or misleading. The bill would make a school entity, school entity official, or other employer civilly liable upon a determination by the trier of fact of a failure to disclose information, or disclosing misleading information that concealed, or was a substantial factor in causing, child abuse or sexual misconduct with a child. The bill would prohibit a collective bargaining agreement, termination agreement, severance agreement, or other contract entered into after January 1, 2020, from preventing the disclosure of any information related to child abuse or sexual misconduct with a child, affecting the ability of the school entity to report child abuse or sexual misconduct with a child, or requiring the school entity to expunge information relating to child abuse or sexual misconduct with a child from any document, unless the allegations of child abuse or sexual misconduct with a child are determined to be false. Because the bill would require school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to comply with additional requirements before hiring new employees, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.