Sen. Perez advances SB 1083 to add due process for classified employees in egregious misconduct database

Senator Perez presented SB 1083 as a set of technical and procedural improvements to the Safe Learning Environments Act (SB 848). The bill would require an administrative law judge to determine whether a classified school employee should be added to the statewide egregious misconduct database, require immediate notice to a prospective employer if a worker leaves during an investigation, and extend vetting measures to certain contractors and nonpermanent individuals who have unsupervised student access.

Navneet Purier of the California School Employees Association said the bill is "about fairness," arguing that classified staff currently can be placed in the database on allegation alone without the due process available to credentialed staff. Erica Williams of the California Federation of Teachers also supported the measure and described cases where classified employees lost jobs or careers while investigations proceeded.

School administrators and risk-management organizations urged caution. Dorothy Johnson (ACSA) and Leilani Aguinaldo (SELF) said they share the bill's safety goals but worried that the ALJ requirement and other changes could affect how notices are added to the database and how districts vet applicants; they said the bill might unintentionally dilute existing protections for students if implementation reduces the effectiveness of local vetting.

Senator Perez said the ALJ requirement applies only to egregious-misconduct cases and is intended to align due process for classified employees with that afforded to credentialed staff; she acknowledged outstanding language on contractors and volunteers and said staff would continue discussions.

The committee voted to pass SB 1083 to the Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee for further consideration; clerks later recorded the bill as reported out of committee with unanimous support.