PRESENTED BY: �Emaleigh Valdez, Senior Associate

​

​

​

HR Breakfast Briefing

A Deep Dive on SB 848

​

February 26, 2026

Cerritos • Fresno • Irvine • Marin • Pasadena • Pleasanton • Riverside • Sacramento • San Diego

Agenda – Senate Bill 848 �Effective January 1, 2026

• Safe School Environments
• Egregious Misconduct Background Checks
• Mandated Reporter Training Requirements

​

​

Cerritos • Fresno • Irvine • Marin • Pasadena • Pleasanton • Riverside • Sacramento • San Diego

2

SAFE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENTS

3

Safe School Environments

• Adds Education Code § 32100 to require LEAs to adopt written policies that promote safe environments for pupil learning and engagement
• Policies must (Educ. Code § 32100(b)(1)):
• Explicitly address professional boundaries between:
• Pupils and school employees, volunteers, and contractors
• Among and between pupils
• Among and between adult employees, volunteers, and contractors
• Establish appropriate limits on contact during or outside of the school day between pupils and employees, volunteers, and contractors via social media platforms, text message, and other forms of communication.***
• Must adopt written policies on facilities to address classroom and nonclassroom environments (including regarding furnishings to make sure environments are easily supervised)
• Policies must be updated by July 1, 2026

4

Safe School Environments

• Amended Education Code § 32281 and 32282 regarding school safety plans
• Incorporates Penal Code definitions & Educ. Code 44010 definitions (sex offenses)
• School safety plans updated after July 1, 2026 must include procedures specifically designed to address the supervision and protection of children from child abuse, neglect, or sex offenses as defined under the Penal Code.
• By March 1, 2026, the plans must also include notifications to parents about the presence of immigration enforcement at the schoolsite

​

​

5

Immigration�Assembly Bill 49 / Senate Bill 98

• AB 49 (effective immediately):
• Amends Education Code § 234.7 to prohibit LEAs from allowing immigration enforcement officers to enter nonpublic areas of school sites for any purpose without providing:
• Valid identification; and
• A valid judicial warrant, judicial subpoena, or a court order
• Prohibits LEAs and their personnel from disclosing any personal information about a pupil or pupil’s family to an officer or employee of an agency conducting immigration enforcement, without the pupil’s guardians’ written consent
• SB 98 (effective immediately)
• Requires LEAs to immediately notify all pupils, parents, faculty, staff, and other school community members of the confirmed presence of immigration officers on the school site.

6

EGREGIOUS MISCONDUCT REPORTING

7

Egregious Misconduct Reporting�Expanded Definition of “Egregious Misconduct”

• Education Code § 44932(a)(1) defines “egregious misconduct” exclusively as immoral conduct that is the basis for an offense described in: Education Code sections 44010 (sex offenses) or 44011 (controlled substance offenses), or in Penal Code sections 11165.2 through 11165.6 (child abuse and neglect).
• Expanded the definition of “sex offenses” under Education Code section 44010 to include:
• Penal Code § 288.3: Contact with a minor with intent to commit felony sexual offense
• Penal Code § 288.4: Arranging to meet with a minor for lewd purposes
• Penal Code § 311.2: Child pornography offense
• Penal Code § 313.1: Distributing harmful matter

​

8

Egregious Misconduct Background Checks�Senate Bill 848 (Effective Jan. 1, 2026)

• Amends Education Code § 44939.5 to expand “egregious misconduct” disclosure requirements (per AB 2534 (2024)) to include private schools and diagnostic centers operated by the State Department of Education.
• Adds Education Code § 44051 to require a similar process for noncertificated (classified, non-classified) applicants seeking employment with a school district, county office of education, charter school, state special school or diagnostic center operated by the department, or private school.
• Adds Education Code § 44052 intended to have the CTC develop a statewide data system that includes information relating to reports of noncertificated employee egregious misconduct.***

9

Are LEAs required to report “egregious misconduct” by noncertificated employees to the CTC?

• At this time, likely no. California Code of Regulation section 80303 requires the CTC be notified of employment status changes for certificated employees when there are allegations of misconduct pending. Failure to make this required report to the CTC jeopardizes the superintendent’s credential. However, noncertificated employees are not covered by the reporting requirements of 5 C.C.R. § 80303.
• BUT, added Education Code § 44052 would impose a reporting requirement for noncertificated employees effective July 1, 2027 if there is an appropriation for a statewide data system.

​

10

Does the applicant inquiry process under Education Code § 44051 apply to temporary and substitute noncertificated positions?

• YES!
• The broad language of subsection (a) and (b) referring to “[a] person applying for a noncertificated position” encompasses all positions, including substitutes.
• Education Code 44051(b) provides: “For purposes of this section, noncertificated employees include noncertificated temporary employees regardless of the length of their employment.”

11

Must an LEA disclose an ongoing investigation into a report of “egregious misconduct” by a noncertificated applicant?

• At this time, most likely no. For inquiring LEAs for noncertificated applicants under Education Code § 44051, the disclosure requirements only apply when an applicant was “the subject of any credible complaints of, substantiated investigations into, or discipline for, egregious misconduct…were used to support a substantiated investigation.” Thus, the wording of section 44051 supports that such disclosure requirement is only triggered when the investigation has been completed and the complaint was substantiated.

​

12

Egregious Misconduct ToolKit™

13

ToolKit™ for Public Educational Entities

(AB 2534/SB 848)

ToolKit™ for Private Schools

(SB 848)

Senate Bill 848 (Effective Jan. 1, 2026)

• Amended Education Code § 44830.1 to extend non-hirable offenses for certificated employees to include both a serious felony or a sex offense as defined in the Penal Code.
• “Sex offense” is defined under the expanded definitions in Education Code § 44010

14

MANDATED REPORTER TRAINING

15

Mandated Reporter�Senate Bill 848 (Effective Jan. 1, 2026)

• Amends Penal Code § 11165.7 to expand definition of “mandated reporter”
• A significant change is a requirement that school volunteers and board members must complete mandated reporter training within six weeks of commencing volunteer services (and are now defined as mandated reporters).
• Now includes:
• An employee, volunteer, or governing board or body member of an LEA
• “Volunteer” = “a person who is over the age of 18 and who interacts with pupils outside of the immediate supervision and control of the pupil’s parent or guardian or a school employee.”
• Contractors of LEAs whose duties require contact with or supervision of pupils at the LEA
• There is a carve out for private schools (only) and school volunteers to complete this training by July 1, 2026
• No similar carve out for board members or contractors

16

EdTalk TechTalk SPEDTalk

17

every 3^rd �Monday �of the month

every 2^nd �Friday �of the month

Timely Insights for Today’s School Leaders

every 3^rd Wednesday �of the month

Complimentary webinar series offered monthly during the school year

18

Stay Connected

Join our community of informed educators. Subscribe to stay up to date on firm news, upcoming trainings, and legal developments impacting educational institutions.

19

For questions or comments, please contact:

Thank You

Disclaimer

This AALRR presentation is intended for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon in reaching a conclusion in a particular area of law. Applicability of the legal principles discussed may differ substantially in individual situations. Receipt of this or any other AALRR presentation/publication does not create an attorney-client relationship. The Firm is not responsible for inadvertent errors that may occur in the publishing process.

​

©2026 Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo

​

20