Amended in Senate September 4, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 20, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1058

Introduced by Assembly Member Baker

(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Gatto)

February 26, 2015

An act to amend Section 44691 of the Education Code, relating to pupil safety.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1058, as amended, Baker. Pupil safety: child abuse prevention: training.

Existing law requires the State Department of Education, in consultation with the Office of Child Abuse Prevention in the State Department of Social Services, to take certain actions relating to the detection and reporting of child abuse, including, among other things, developing and disseminating information to local educational agencies, as specified, and state special schools and diagnostic centers regarding the detection and reporting of child abuse.

This bill would require the State Department of Education to establish begin delete guidelines and best practices regarding child abuse prevention, end delete begin insert best practices end insert begin insert for school personnel to prevent abuse, including sexual abuse, of children on school grounds, by school personnel, or in school-sponsored programs, end insert and to post on its Internet Web site links to existing training resources. The bill would encourage local educational agencies, as specified, and state special schools and diagnostic centers to participate in begin delete child abuse prevention end delete training begin insert on the prevention of abuse, including sexual abuse, of children on school grounds, by school personnel, or in school-sponsored programs, end insert and also encourage them to provide school employees with begin insert that end insert training begin delete in child abuse prevention end delete at least once every 3 years.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert begin insert

(a) The Legislature finds and declares both of
the following:

end insert begin insert

(1) In 2014, there were over six million pupils in California,
and existing research suggests that 600,000 of these pupils will
experience some level of abuse, including sexual misconduct, by
school personnel.

end insert begin insert

(2) The problem can be addressed only if school personnel are
made aware of the problem and receive appropriate training on
how they can better protect children.

end insert begin insert

(b) The intent of the Legislature in enacting this act is to address
training and awareness of school personnel on best practices to
prevent circumstances that allow the abuse of a child on school
grounds, by school personnel, or in school-sponsored programs.

end insert

begin delete SECTION 1. end delete
begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

Section 44691 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

44691.  

(a) The State Department of Education, in consultation
with the Office of Child Abuse Prevention in the State Department
of Social Services, shall do all of the following:

(1) Develop and disseminate information to all school districts,
county offices of education, state special schools and diagnostic
centers operated by the State Department of Education, and charter
schools, and their school personnel in California, regarding the
detection and reporting of child abuse.

(2) Provide statewide guidance on the responsibilities of
mandated reporters who are school personnel in accordance with
the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (Article 2.5
(commencing with Section 11164) of Chapter 2 of Title 1 of Part
4 of the Penal Code). This guidance shall include, but not
necessarily be limited to, both of the following:

(A) Information on the identification of child abuse and neglect.

(B) Reporting requirements for child abuse and neglect.

(3) Develop appropriate means of instructing school personnel
in the detection of child abuse and neglect and the proper action
that school personnel should take in suspected cases of child abuse
and neglect, including, but not limited to, an online training module
to be provided by the State Department of Social Services.

(4) Establish begin delete guidelines and best practices for child abuse
prevention, end delete begin insert best practices end insert begin insert for school personnel to prevent abuse,
including sexual abuse, of children on school grounds, by school
personnel, or in school-sponsored programs, end insert and post on the
department’s Internet Web site links to existing training resources.

(b) School districts, county offices of education, state special
schools and diagnostic centers operated by the State Department
of Education, and charter schools shall do both of the following:

(1) Provide annual training, using the online training module
provided by the State Department of Social Services or as provided
in subdivision (c), to their employees and persons working on their
behalf who are mandated reporters, as defined in Section 11165.7
of the Penal Code, pursuant to this section and subdivision (d) of
Section 11165.7 of the Penal Code on the mandated reporting
requirements. Mandated reporter training shall be provided to
school personnel hired during the course of the school year. This
training shall include information that failure to report an incident
of known or reasonably suspected child abuse or neglect, as
required by Section 11166 of the Penal Code, is a misdemeanor
punishable by up to six months confinement in a county jail, or
by a fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that
imprisonment and fine.

(2) Develop a process for all persons required to receive training
pursuant to this section to provide proof of completing the training
within the first six weeks of each school year or within the first
six weeks of that person’s employment. The process developed
under this paragraph may include, but not necessarily be limited
to, the use of a sign-in sheet or the submission of a certificate of
completion to the applicable governing board or body of the school
district, county office of education, state special school and
diagnostic center, or charter school.

(c) School districts, county offices of education, state special
schools and diagnostic centers operated by the State Department
of Education, and charter schools that do not use the online training
module provided by the State Department of Social Services shall
report to the State Department of Education the training being used
in its place.

(d) School districts, county offices of education, state special
schools and diagnostic centers operated by the State Department
of Education, and charter schools are encouraged to participate in
begin delete child abuse prevention end delete training begin insert on the prevention of abuse,
including sexual abuse, of children on school grounds, by school
personnel, or in school-sponsored programs, end insert and are also
encouraged to provide all school employees with begin insert that end insert training begin delete in
child abuse prevention end delete at least once every three years.