California just changed the rules on child abuse prevention training in schools. Here’s what you need to know if you work or volunteer at a California school.
In April 2024, a Southern California school district was ordered to pay $48 million in connection with the sexual abuse of six students by a former elementary school teacher. The abuse spanned years. Multiple adults in the school had opportunities to recognize warning signs. None of them acted in time.
That case is a significant reason California passed two new laws that reshape how schools approach child abuse prevention: Assembly Bill 1913 (AB 1913) and Senate Bill 848 (SB 848).
These laws apply to staff, teachers, and volunteers at California schools. They create new training requirements, new policy mandates, and new expectations for every adult on the school campus and in school programs.
Here is what the laws require, who is affected, and what your school needs to do.
Protecting Children from Abuse and Sexual Abuse at Schools
A 2004 literature review commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education estimated that nearly 1 in 10 public school students experienced some form of sexual misconduct by an educator during their K-12 years.
A more recent large-scale survey of recent high school graduates found that figure has increased to approximately 11.7%
These numbers reflect a persistent pattern and carry serious consequences for schools.
AB 1913 and SB 848 seek to prevent this kind of abuse from occurring and make schools a safer place for children.
AB 1913 created new training requirements for school personnel
AB 1913, signed into law in September 2024, amended California’s Education Code to require annual abuse prevention training for school personnel. Effective July 1, 2025, AB 1913 requires school districts, county offices of education (COEs), state special schools, and charter schools to provide annual training to employees on the prevention of abuse, including sexual abuse, of children on school grounds, by school personnel, or in school-sponsored programs.
SB 848 extended school personnel training requirements and prevention policies
SB 848, signed by Governor Newsom on October 7, 2025, builds on AB 1913 with a broader scope and additional mandates.
SB 848 extends the training and mandated reporting requirements to school volunteers, governing board members, and contractors whose duties involve contact with or supervision of students. Before SB 848, volunteers were generally excluded from the mandated reporter definition. Under the new law, any volunteer over 18 who interacts with students outside the immediate supervision of a parent or school employee is a mandated reporter and must complete training.
Private schools are also included in this requirement. California’s school-based child abuse prevention framework applies to private schools, including religious schools. Private schools must adopt written safety policies and provide annual training.
SB 848 requires schools to adopt written policies that address professional boundaries between adults and students, including limits on communication through social media, texting, and other channels that exclude a student’s parent or guardian. Schools must also adopt written policies on facilities that promote environments where students are easily supervised, among other safety measures and policies aimed at protecting children at schools and in school-sponsored programs.
Child Abuse Prevention Training for School Personnel
This training requirement is separate from mandated reporter training. Mandated reporter training, required under the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA), covers reporting duties and legal requirements.
The abuse prevention training required by AB 1913 and SB 848, also known as Child Abuse Prevention Training for School Personnel, focuses on recognizing grooming behaviors, maintaining professional boundaries, and building protective environments within schools.
Both trainings are required for school personnel, teachers, and school volunteers, among others.
Who needs to take the training
Starting July 1, 2026, the following individuals must complete annual Child Abuse Prevention Training for School Personnel:
- school district employees
- COE employees
- charter school employees
- state special school employees
- private school employees
- school volunteers
- governing board and body members
- contractors (and their employees) whose duties require contact with or supervision of students
New employees must complete training within the first six weeks of the school year or their date of hire.
New volunteers must complete training within six weeks of beginning volunteer service.
Training must be renewed annually.
Tracking Training Completion to Meet SB 848 Requirements
Schools must also develop a process for tracking proof of training completion.
These are two distinct training requirements under California law.
- Mandated reporter training is required for school personnel under CANRA. It covers what constitutes child abuse and neglect, who is required to report, the reasonable suspicion standard, how to make a report, and the legal protections and penalties for reporters.
- Abuse prevention training is required for school personnel and volunteers under Education Code section 44691, as amended by AB 1913 and SB 848. It covers recognizing grooming behaviors, establishing and maintaining professional boundaries, environmental safeguards and supervision practices, responding to disclosures and boundary violations, and school-specific prevention policies.
Both trainings are required annually. They serve different functions and address different competencies. Schools and districts must be able to prove that staff and volunteers have completed these training requirements.
The Mandated Reporter Training platform makes it easy to prove and verify that training has been completed. When a Learner on the platform completes the training, the Mandated Reporter Training platform issues a certificate of completion. These certificates of completion are verifiable and shareable. They utilize blockchain technology to ensure authenticity and integrity.
Organization administrators can issue certificates of completion to school personnel and volunteers, track who has completed their training, and provide proof of completion through their organization dashboard with a free organization account on the Mandated Reporter Training platform.
Learn more about organization accounts.
Why Abuse Prevention Training Matters
The research on institutional child sexual abuse consistently identifies the same risk factors in schools: adults with authority over children, unsupervised access, emotional dependency between adults and students, and colleagues who fail to recognize or report early warning signs.
Grooming behaviors precede the vast majority of sexual abuse in school settings. They are identifiable. They follow predictable patterns, and they can be interrupted by trained adults who know what to look for and how to respond.
The abuse prevention training required by AB 1913 and SB 848 is designed to equip school personnel and volunteers to distinguish between healthy and concerning adult-student interactions, recognize the stages of grooming, and take action when something raises concern.
This training is a direct response to the finding that schools have historically lacked a comprehensive, standardized approach to prevention. As Senator Sasha Renée Pérez, the author of SB 848, stated during the legislative process, the law was informed by survivors’ experiences and the recognition that education about grooming behaviors can interrupt abuse before it occurs.
Start Assigning The Free AB 1913/SB 848 Training Now
If your school has not yet adopted the policies and training programs required by these laws, the time to act is now.
By July 1, 2026, California schools must have annual abuse prevention training in place for all covered personnel, including volunteers, board members, and contractors. Written policies addressing professional boundaries, communication limits, and facility supervision must be adopted. Comprehensive school safety plans must be updated. A process for tracking proof of training completion must be established.
The Child Abuse Prevention Training for School Personnel was developed by Simple Learning Systems to meet the requirements of AB 1913 and SB 848. It provides instruction on building protective school environments, recognizing grooming behaviors and boundary violations, understanding reasonable suspicion and taking appropriate action, and responding to student disclosures. This online training is available for free at the Mandated Reporter Training platform.
The training supplements mandated reporter training and is designed to be completed in approximately 35 minutes. It includes scenario-based practice and a comprehension review. Learners receive a verifiable certificate of completion upon completing this training.
Log in to assign AB 1913 Child Abuse Prevention Training for School Personnel to your team now. Get started.
