SB 848 Amends and Expands Mandated Reporter Definition and Training Requirements for Both Public and Private Schools

02.10.2026

On October 7, 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill (“SB”) 848, a comprehensive bill intended to address pupil safety and school employee misconduct disclosure requirements for both public and private schools. As addressed below, in addition to other new legal obligations such as egregious misconduct verification for all staff and school safety plan content additions, SB 848 expands the scope of who qualifies as a mandated reporter in schools and adds mandated reporting and training requirements.[1]

Definition of “Mandated Reporter”

The Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (“Act”), codified in California Penal Code sections 11164 et seq., establishes procedures for the reporting and investigation of suspected child abuse or neglect. The Act requires certain professionals, including teachers, instructional aides, and classified employees, known as “mandated reporters,” to report known or reasonably suspected child abuse or neglect to a local law enforcement agency or a county welfare or probation department. Failure by a mandated reporter to report an incident of known or reasonably suspected child abuse or neglect is a misdemeanor.

Effective January 1, 2026, SB 848 amends Penal Code section 11165.7 by expanding the “mandated reporter” definition to include: school volunteers, as defined; board members; and contractors whose duties require contact with or supervision of pupils.  Specifically, SB 848 states:

(a) As used in this article, “mandated reporter” is defined as any of the following:

(1) An employee, volunteer, or governing board or body member of a school district, county office of education, charter school, or private school. For purposes of this paragraph, a volunteer is a person who is over 18 years of age and who interacts with pupils outside of the immediate supervision and control of the pupil’s parent or guardian or a school employee.

(2) An employee, volunteer, or board member of a public or private school, contractor to a school district, county office of education, charter school, state special school or diagnostic center operated by the State Department of Education, or private school whose duties require contact with or supervision of pupils at that school district, county office of education, charter school, state special school or diagnostic center operated by the State Department of Education, or private school. For purposes of this paragraph, a volunteer is a person who is over 18 years of age and who interacts with pupils outside of the immediate supervision and control of the pupil’s parent or guardian or a school employee.

(3) An employee or volunteer assigned to a state special school or diagnostic center operated by the State Department of Education. For purposes of this paragraph, a volunteer is a person who is over 18 years of age and who interacts with pupils outside of the immediate supervision and control of the pupil’s parent or guardian or a school employee.

Training Requirements for Mandated Reporters

Existing law requires that school districts, county offices of education, state special schools and diagnostic centers operated by the State Department of Education, and charter schools annually train mandated reporters in accordance with Education Code section 44691.  Existing law also requires a process for all persons required to receive such training to submit proof of training completion either within the first six weeks of each school year or within the first six weeks of that person’s employment.  As of January 1, 2026, SB 848 now applies these training requirements to school and county board of education members and contractors as defined above.  SB 848 also requires Board members and contractors who work with students to submit proof of completion of mandated reporter training.

Effective July 1, 2026, SB 848 extends these training requirements to private schools and school volunteers as defined above and requires mandated reporters to submit proof of training within the first six weeks of each school year, within the first six weeks of that person’s employment, or within six weeks of commencing volunteer service, as applicable. Entities may use an online training module provided by the State Department of Social Services or an equivalent training module developed specifically to meet SB 848 requirements.  As of July 1, 2026, SB 848 requires all mandated reporters, including the category of volunteers as defined, to submit proof of completion of mandated reporter training within six weeks of service and annually thereafter.

Please contact your AALRR attorney or the authors of this Alert if you have any questions or need assistance with SB 848 compliance requirements.

[1] Read more about the changes under SB 848 to the egregious misconduct verification process here: https://www.aalrr.com/newsroom-alerts-4185

This AALRR publication is intended for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon in reaching a conclusion in a particular area of law. Applicability of the legal principles discussed may differ substantially in individual situations. Receipt of this or any other AALRR publication does not create an attorney-client relationship. The Firm is not responsible for inadvertent errors that may occur in the publishing process.

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