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Committee advances bill to create statewide record of classified employee misconduct and employment history
Summary
AB 12 33 would establish a statewide database for classified school employees’ employment history and records of substantial investigations for egregious misconduct; school administrators and superintendents supported the bill as a tool to protect students while unions urged narrowing and due-process safeguards.
Assemblymember Josh Hoover introduced AB 12 33 in committee and the measure advanced to the Committee on Education with a recorded majority. The bill would create a statewide database of classified positions and employment history, including records of substantial investigations for egregious misconduct, to help school employers identify prior investigations and protect students.
Supporters — including district human-resources officials and county superintendents — said current hiring processes can miss prior employers or pending investigations when applicants omit prior work. Don Ogden, associate superintendent of human resources for Folsom Cordova Unified School District, told the committee that local employers use DOJ fingerprint checks but still lack a centralized record that would help keep “bad actors out of school settings.” Jeff Baca, representing the Riverside County Superintendent of Schools, said the bill strikes “a balance between achieving our goal…while also providing a fair process for employees.”
Unions and employee groups raised concerns about the bill’s current language and due-process protections. Sandra Perdue said classified employees “do not receive the same unbiased investigation and ultimate decision on their disciplinary allegations,” and urged sponsors to address false accusations and reputation harms. Mitch Steiger (California Federation of Teachers) and Chris Myers (California School Employees Association) similarly asked for narrower definitions of qualifying misconduct and stronger procedural safeguards.
The author and sponsors told the committee they would continue negotiating technical fixes and narrowing criteria; the bill’s education-sector supporters said the measure as drafted focuses on the most serious offenses involving students and can be refined in follow-up discussions.
The committee motion to refer AB 12 33 to the Committee on Education passed; clerks announced sufficient votes for the bill to advance.
