A California law designed to help survivors of childhood sexual abuse seek justice is now creating difficult financial and legal challenges for school districts across the state.
Survivors say the law has exposed abuse that institutions ignored for decades and finally given victims a path to accountability.
But school leaders warn the growing costs tied to those lawsuits are increasingly affecting today’s students through rising insurance premiums, staffing pressures and cuts to programs and services.
CBS News California Investigates found the costs are no longer limited to the districts where abuse allegedly occurred.
Because many school districts share insurance coverage through large risk pools, settlements tied to decades-old abuse claims can increase costs for schools across the state, including districts with no abuse claims of their own.
That means today’s students can lose teachers, programs and classroom resources because of crimes committed years before they were born, sometimes at schools they have never heard of.
Survivor says law helped expose abuse hidden for decades
For Joelle Casteix, the law is personal and represents long-overdue accountability.
Casteix says she was sexually abused by a choir teacher at Mater Dei High School in Orange County in the 1980s. She says school officials knew and failed to protect her.
“When I came forward to tell my story, people thought I was crazy,” Casteix told CBS News California Investigates.
She later became an advocate for survivors and helped pass or the 2019 California law, AB-218, that expanded the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse lawsuits.
“Thousands and thousands of survivors have come forward,” Casteix said.
To Casteix, that is the point.
Survivors often need years, or even decades, before they are ready to publicly name what happened to them or seek accountability.
A small Kern County district offers a case study in the financial fallout
Sierra Sands Unified School District, a small rural district in Kern County, offers a window into the growing financial pressures some California schools say they are facing.
Public records obtained by CBS News California Investigates show the district recently agreed to pay $1.42 million to settle a lawsuit involving alleged abuse by an elementary school principal during the 1974-75 school year.
The district denied liability and settled the case without admitting wrongdoing.
Superintendent Dr. April Moore said she supports justice for survivors, but worries the financial burden is now falling on current students and staff.
“Everybody wants justice for these individuals,” Moore said. “But there are unintended consequences.”
Moore estimated the settlement amount could have funded approximately 12 to 14 teachers in her district.
She said districts often feel pressure to settle because litigation itself can become extremely expensive.
According to Moore, simply taking a case to trial can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars before a verdict is ever reached.
Districts say decades-old claims are difficult to investigate
Moore says the age of the claims makes them especially difficult for districts to investigate.
In some cases, physical records are gone, there are no whitensses to contact, and the accused employees are dead.
Districts are often forced to rely on old yearbooks to determine whether a student or employee even attended the school.
Moore said districts often settle because fighting decades-old claims through court can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars before a verdict is ever reached.
“We can’t even investigate accurately,” Moore said. “We’re paying claims for things that may have happened in the past,” Moore said. “And we’re using the funds that are earmarked for today’s students.”
How one district’s claim can impact schools across California
In Sierra Sands’ case, the district says it ended up paying the settlement directly.
“We know we had insurance. We don’t know who it was,” Moore said, explaining the district ultimately became “100% liable” for the claim.
But for some California districts, the financial impact goes even further.
Many public school districts participate in shared insurance pools known as Joint Powers Authorities, or JPAs, where districts collectively share liability costs.
That means a district can still be financially responsible for abuse claims tied to another school decades later — if both districts belonged to the same insurance pool at the time the alleged abuse occurred.
Even districts that later left those pools can remain financially tied to older claims because liability is connected to pool membership during the years the alleged misconduct happened.
As lawsuits tied to past abuse continue to surface, some districts are now facing costs connected to schools hundreds of miles away — and incidents that happened decades ago.
Moore said Sierra Sands has seen the impact firsthand.
“Even if we don’t have a claim, we’re paying the price,” Moore said.
According to Moore, Sierra Sands’ insurance premiums have increased more than 50% in three years, adding more than $500,000 annually in ongoing costs.
She said those funds could otherwise support counselors, social workers, smaller class sizes, playground improvements and trauma support programs for students still recovering from the pandemic.
Moore called it “an injustice for today’s students.”
Critics raise concerns about attorney advertising and fraud
As the number of lawsuits has grown, so has attorney advertising targeting potential survivors.
Ads promising compensation for abuse claims now routinely appear online and on social media.
Andy Baum, an attorney representing Los Angeles County in abuse litigation, said the lawsuits have created what he described as a “massive cottage industry.”
Baum also pointed to a Los Angeles Times investigation that reported personal injury attorneys allegedly paid people cash outside a social services office to join sex abuse lawsuits.
But survivor advocates say those cases should not overshadow legitimate victims.
“False allegations and false claims and lawsuits are extraordinarily rare,” Casteix said. “Because the process stinks.”
She says survivors often face years of emotional trauma, public scrutiny and difficult legal battles before cases are resolved.
Debate grows over attorney fee caps and future reforms
As financial pressure grows on schools and public agencies, some lawmakers and education groups are pushing proposals to cap attorney fees and limit future payouts tied to abuse claims.
Supporters say reforms are needed to protect school budgets and prevent classroom funding from being diverted into litigation costs.
But survivor advocates warn those changes could make it harder for victims to find experienced attorneys willing to take complicated cases against large institutions.
Casteix is also opposed to proposals that would cap settlement amounts, arguing that large financial consequences are often what force schools and public agencies to confront systemic failures and better protect children in their care.
“Survivors need to be able to have their day in court,” Casteix said. “Because if you have your day in court and you prove it, then you should be entitled to that accountability that you deserve.”
At the same time, California Attorney General Rob Bonta has launched a statewide effort reminding schools of their legal responsibility to prevent and respond to sexual misconduct in educational settings.
Lawmakers consider caps as attorney general encourages reporting
As costs rise, some critics are pushing for reforms to the law, including caps on attorney fees and future payouts.
Supporters of those changes say they are needed to protect school budgets and keep money in classrooms.
But survivor advocates and attorneys warn fee caps could make it harder for survivors to find experienced lawyers willing to take complex, years-long cases against powerful institutions.
At the same time, California Attorney General Rob Bonta has urged schools to take sexual misconduct seriously and has issued a legal alert reminding districts of their responsibility to prevent, investigate and respond to abuse in educational settings
The question for California lawmakers
The debate now reaching the California State Capitol is no longer just about past abuse.
It’s about whether California can deliver accountability for survivors while protecting resources for today’s students who are losing teachers, programs and support services because of decades-old abuse claims.
Casteix said survivors must still be allowed to pursue accountability.
“Survivors need to be able to have their day in court,” she said. “Because if you have your day in court and you prove it, then you should be entitled to that accountability that you deserve.”
The question now facing California lawmakers is whether the state can preserve justice for survivors without forcing today’s students to pay for the failures of the past.