Tax dollars should fund education; not attorney’s fees

By Edgar Zazueta, especially for CalMatters

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The California Legislature is considering revising a state law that would give more victims of child sexual abuse the ability to sue public schools. This column argues for reforming the law. This companion column argues against that.

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What began as a moral imperative has turned into a financial emergency, draining California public schools of student dollars.

Bill 218 was written to deliver justice for survivors of sexual assault, but its design opened the door to an expensive and unbalanced system — one that rewards trial lawyers while punishing California classrooms.

During the last legislative session, lawmakers tried to craft a solution to deal with the law’s unintended consequences. But pressure from trial lawyers, who stand to make billions from AB 218 lawsuits, is blocking any meaningful reform.

The consequences of inaction are mounting: every day reform is delayed, advocates win while classrooms lose vital resources, and California students continue to bear the cost.

Even the author of AB 218, former lawmaker and current California Federation of Labor President Lorena Gonzalez acknowledged lawmakers’ shortsightedness when the bill was passed six years ago, saying that while its goal was to protect children and ensure victims had a path to justice, “some unscrupulous advocates are treating (AB 218) like a feeding frenzy.”

Survivors deserve justice – no one disputes that. But every dollar that goes to legal fees is a dollar that doesn’t reach these survivors. These funds should help victims rebuild their lives, not enrich lawyers who want to profit from their pain.

The cost impact on California school districts cannot be underestimated. Take two districts with similar demographics: If one pays a $1 million claim and the other doesn’t, the former could see cuts to teachers and student aid programs, often within a year. These are real impacts that create lasting change in already vulnerable communities.

The California Association of Joint Jurisdictions found that lawsuits against public entities have increased in cost, with large claims payouts quadrupling since 2018-19 and expected to triple again by 2026-27.

The consequences are devastating. A statewide estimate from the Fiscal Crisis Assistance and State Management Team is a total school district liability of more than $3 billionmuch higher when you consider recent settlements in Los Angeles County.

The Los Angeles Unified School District last year authorized more than $500 million in bonds to cover settlements.

This is not just a Los Angeles problem. School districts across the state receive claims and it takes years to settle them. Every week we hear about new multi-million dollar settlements. Montecito Union School District settled a decade-long sexual assault case for $7.5 million, or about 40% of the district’s annual budget.

This doesn’t just affect districts with AB 218 cases.

School districts typically contribute to shared insurance risk. When this pool faces unexpectedly large claims, the cost per participant rises. Districts that never faced an AB 218 claim are now being hit with skyrocketing costs associated with their insurance.

In some cases, schools have received bills equal to a teacher’s salary or required them to forego cost-of-living raises for a year to cover abuse cases dating back decades.

Most parents don’t know this is happening. They are not told how much up 40% of payouts go to lawyers. Nor do they know that these costs are not covered by deep-pocketed insurers; come from today’s school budgets.

This is not about denying victims justice. Abuse is unacceptable. Survivors deserve compassion, compensation and support.

The problem is that AB 218 created an unbalanced legal system that makes it nearly impossible for schools to defend themselves against decades-old lawsuits where perpetrators may be dead, witnesses unavailable and insurance records long gone.

This imbalance has allowed lawyers to turn litigation into a cottage industry, with today’s students paying the price.

Other countries have found a better balance. Maryland has capped attorneys’ fees while ensuring survivors still receive compensation and continued mental health care. This is a model worth looking into here in California.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state legislature have consistently prioritized school funding, with recent investments in literacy and expanded learning. Unless there is AB 218 reform, more of those dollars will continue to be diverted to lawyers instead of the classroom.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and is republished under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives license.