California Attorney General Rob Bonta is putting the El Monte Union High School District on a tight legal leash, announcing Friday that his office has reached a proposed stipulated judgment with the San Gabriel Valley district after a Department of Justice probe found repeated mishandling of sexual harassment, assault, and abuse reports. The proposed deal zeroes in on districtwide reforms and brings in court supervision, new complaint-tracking rules, mandatory staff training, and strengthened support services for affected students, as state officials step up pressure on school systems to better protect kids.
As outlined by the Office of the Attorney General, the proposed judgment "permanently enjoins the District from violating" state and federal laws designed to safeguard students, and requires at least four years of oversight by the court and Bonta's office. "Every child deserves to learn and grow in a safe and supportive school environment," Bonta said in the announcement, framing the settlement as a package that pairs monitoring with concrete reforms and services aimed at preventing future harm.
Starting soon: Watch live as I make an important announcement on our continued efforts to protect California students. Tune in at https://t.co/biszIi59EV
— Rob Bonta (@agrobbonta) March 20, 2026
What Investigators Say They Found
The DOJ's Bureau of Children's Justice opened its probe in August 2024 and, according to the complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, plowed through more than 88,000 documents, 199,000 emails, and 113 complaints spanning 2018 through fall 2025. The filing alleges the district repeatedly failed to respond in a legally compliant way to reports of sexual harassment, assault, and abuse, and that its recordkeeping, notice procedures, and investigator training were all lacking.
Those shortcomings, the complaint argues, meant students did not consistently receive timely investigations or appropriate remedies, even when they came forward. In other words, the systems that were supposed to protect them often sputtered or stalled.
Inside the Settlement Deal
The proposed stipulated judgment would put the district under a detailed reform plan. It requires El Monte Union to appoint a compliance coordinator approved by DOJ, create an electronic centralized system to capture every oral and written complaint, and maintain a consolidated list of substitute employees who will not be reappointed after sustained findings of misconduct, according to the Office of the Attorney General.
The district must also revise its board policies and provide compensatory education and mental-health services to complainants affected by the alleged failures. On the prevention side, the judgment mandates annual, age-appropriate training for students, parents, and staff, as well as the creation of a School Climate Advisory Committee that will regularly review how the district is preventing and responding to abuse. Bonta's office is pitching the package as a court-enforceable roadmap meant to overhaul how the district handles misconduct reports.
What Happens Next
DOJ filed both the complaint and the proposed stipulated judgment in Los Angeles County Superior Court on the same day. If the court signs off, the district will face a minimum four-year monitoring period, during which its progress will be tracked against the judgment's requirements, according to the court filing.
The Attorney General's office says it will be responsible for monitoring compliance and can return to court to enforce the agreement if the district falls short. For students and families, the settlement is supposed to translate into clearer ways to report concerns, stronger follow-through when they do, and access to support services while the court keeps an eye on how the district carries out its promises.
Legal Stakes for Schools Statewide
The enforcement action leans on a mix of California education and child-protection laws that require schools to prevent and promptly investigate sexual harassment and report suspected abuse. Among them is Education Code Section 220, which bars discrimination and harassment in publicly funded schools, and the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA), which sets mandatory reporting duties for school staff. Both statutes are cited in the complaint.
For the underlying law, see Education Code Section 220 and the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, which spell out what schools are supposed to do long before an Attorney General comes knocking.
