News Room: SB 1339: Sexual Misconduct in Schools

Sen. Joe Simitian, a Palo Alto Democrat, realizes that it's not easy to persuade his colleagues to expand government's vulnerability to lawsuits. But Simitian has identified a serious deficiency in a well-established state law known as the Tort Claims Act, which requires someone who wants to file a lawsuit against a city, county or school district to initiate his or her claim within six months of cause of action. This rule might make sense for timely reporting of a car accident or tree-removal dispute, but it's incongruous with the reality of sexual abuse of children. read more ...

Children who are sexually abused by adults in public schools and in city recreation programs should have the same recourse under civil law as students who are molested at private schools and camps. That's not the way it works now because of a quirk in state law that a bill sponsored by Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, would fix. It has its first hearing in the Legislature on Tuesday. read more ...