AB 13 81 advances after committee backs tougher screening, disclosure rules for teachers

Assemblymember Mercer Gee presented AB 13 81 to the Education Committee as a gut-and-amend measure aimed at strengthening protections for students and preserving due process for teachers. Gee cited a May 2026 ProPublica report alleging gaps in screening and disciplinary transparency that allowed a teacher who had been fired in 2019 to obtain other teaching placements. "AB 13 81 ... the goal of protecting students from teachers committing ****** and other egregious misconduct while also respecting the due process rights of teachers," Mercer Gee said.

Gee said the bill builds on a 2024 law (AB 2534) that requires disclosure of past employment history and inquiries by districts into credible complaints and disciplinary investigations. AB 13 81 would make it unprofessional conduct for applicants to fail to disclose a full history and would make it unprofessional conduct for districts or administrators to fail to investigate past districts for credible complaints or previous discipline for egregious misconduct. A representative of the California Federation of Teachers, Tristan Brown, spoke in support.

The committee moved to concur in the Senate amendments; members recorded unanimous support on the roll and the chair announced the measure was reported out of committee. The clerk left the roll open for add-on votes; the committee later confirmed final tallies reported as unanimous in favor before adjourning.

The author framed the bill as tightening screening procedures and accountability for districts and credentialing processes; the transcript references the Commission on Teacher Credentialing and a 2019 case in the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District in discussing past disciplinary practices.