A new California Senate bill has strengthened existing sexual misconduct laws in schools by clarifying standards and definitions.
According to CalMatters, SB 848 was written by California State Senator Sasha Pérez and develops a plan and a statewide database to document and protect students from sex offenses. It also expands the definition of the terms “violent crime,” “sex offense,” and “mandated reporter” in the context of hiring employees, principal-parent communication, and school legal responsibility. The bill passed 37 to three on the Senate floor and became law on Oct. 7, 2025.
Carlmont’s Administrative Vice Principal, Gregg Patner, oversees the school’s administrative process in terms of sexual misconduct prevention.
“Any bill where there’s an increase in response to egregious acts of sexual misconduct is really positive,” Patner said.
Furthermore, Patner describes how Carlmont handles cases of sexual assault.
“We look at problems not just as the individual situation itself, but the impact of that situation,” Patner said.
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I look at it like a boulder being thrown into a still pond. There’s ripples that happen from the event itself.
— Gregg Patner
Given Carlmont’s preexisting comprehensive hiring process and sexual misconduct plan, it is unlikely this legislation will present a large change to our school community. According to Patner, the Sequoia Union High School District prevents sexual misconduct through its hiring practices and collaboration with the Belmont Police Department.
“Human Resources does a background screening and fingerprint tests. As far as I know, if anything were to be flagged as somebody having any kind of issue with sexual misconduct in their history, they wouldn’t get hired,” Patner said.
As Carlmont’s Title IX Coordinator, Patner is in charge of matters involving sexual harassment. According to the US Department of Education, Title IX protects students from harassment both on and off campus.
“We have a Title IX coordinator who is at the district level, so there’s communication between those levels,” Patner said.
Streamlined communication is important, as sexual misconduct legislation is constantly changing, and the school administration needs to stay up to date on current laws.
“There have been some changes in legislation as well as the change in administration,” Patner said. “We’ve been responsive to those changes and are aware of them.”
One important legislative change came with the passage of AB 218 in 2020, which made it easier for sexual abuse victims to sue school agencies. On the state-wide level, the subsequent increase in lawsuits cost California school districts $3 billion, according to the California State Assembly Budget Subcommittee.
These changing standards are communicated to the school community through a yearly comprehensive safety plan, according to Patner. His profile is labeled as the Title IX coordinator on the Carlmont website.
Carlmont sophomore Alina Robinson believes that such practices should be further publicized.
“I think we should have fliers around school in popular areas, like the lunch line and around hallways, with a very quick summary of the legislation and a QR code for more information,” Robinson said.
Many California State Senators, including Tony Strickland, voted for this bill because it increases the scope of mandated reporters.
“I supported this legislation, now signed into law, because it places additional safeguards such as training requirements and reporting mechanisms to prevent abuses in K-12 schools,” Strickland said.
More mandated reporters may impact student communication.
“If the mandated reporting is done correctly, children would still feel comfortable sharing stuff with adults,” Robinson said.
Ongoing transparency in the Carlmont community regarding practices to prevent sexual misconduct remains a priority.
“I think the lines of communication, the ability to have people share their experience, and the adult’s responsiveness to those shared experiences is really good,” Patner said. “If you can communicate and trust, you will be heard.”