Sexual Abuse Claims Against Public Entities in California

Yes. A survivor can bring a civil claim against a California public entity, such as a school district, county agency or public university, when its negligence or an employee's conduct contributed to the abuse. These cases follow the Government Claims Act, but childhood sexual abuse claims against local public entities no longer require its claim-filing step.

What It Means to Sue a Public Entity in California

California defines "public entity" broadly in Government Code section 811.2:

"Public entity" includes the state, the Regents of the University of California, the Trustees of the California State University and the California State University, a county, city, district, public authority, public agency, and any other political subdivision or public corporation in the State.

This reaches public K-12 school districts, county foster care and child welfare agencies, juvenile detention facilities, public transit authorities, and public universities. A private religious school or youth organization is not a public entity; claims against it follow the ordinary rules for institutional sexual abuse.

The Government Claims Act, Government Code sections 810 through 996.6, governs injury claims against public entities.

The Government Claims Act: The Presentation Requirement Explained

"Claim presentation" is a written notice delivered to the government body before a lawsuit. Government Code section 945.4 generally bars a suit for money damages against a public entity, where a claim is required, until a written claim has been presented and acted on or deemed rejected.

Under section 911.2, a personal injury claim must be presented no later than six months after the cause of action accrues. "Accrual" is the date the law treats the claim as existing, which is not always the date of injury.

If a required claim is not presented on time, a later lawsuit is generally barred. A late-claim application under section 911.4 may be made within a reasonable time, not exceeding one year after accrual, and must state the reason for the delay. The statute stops the clock in certain situations, such as some periods when a child is a dependent of the juvenile court in the custody of the public entity being claimed against.

AB 218 and the Lookback Window for Childhood Sexual Abuse

AB 218 (Stats. 2019, ch. 861), effective January 1, 2020, changed childhood sexual abuse claims in two ways.

First, it extended the time limit in Code of Civil Procedure section 340.1. For abuse on or before December 31, 2023, a survivor may file until age 40, or within five years of discovering (or when they reasonably should have discovered) that a psychological injury was caused by the abuse, whichever is later. AB 218 also opened a three-year revival window, January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2022, for time-barred claims. That window has closed.

Second, Government Code section 905, which lists claims that must be presented to a local public entity, now exempts claims under section 340.1 in subdivision (m). AB 218 removed the earlier condition tying that exemption to the date of the abuse, and section 905(p) made the change retroactive. A separate provision of the Act prevents a local entity from imposing its own claim procedure instead. For a school district or county, a childhood sexual abuse claim under 340.1 need not be presented before suit, whenever the abuse occurred.

AB 218 also added a concealment provision. Section 340.1(b)(1) allows a survivor who proves the abuse resulted from a cover-up to recover up to treble damages against a defendant found to have covered it up, unless another law prohibits it. Section 340.1(b)(2) defines a "cover up" as "a concerted effort to hide evidence relating to childhood sexual assault."

For abuse on or after January 1, 2024, section 340.1 provides no time limit. Section 340.1(p) limits that rule to abuse on and after that date. Section 340.1(q) states that a 340.1 claim is not required to be presented to any government entity before suit. That matters most for the State: the separate presentation rules for claims against the State contain no 340.1 exemption, so for a State defendant the exemption comes from 340.1(q) and reaches only conduct on or after January 1, 2024.

How Liability Is Established Against a Public Entity

Government Code section 815 provides that, except as a statute provides, a public entity is not liable for an injury. A claim must therefore rest on a statute.

The most common is section 815.2, which makes a public entity liable for injury caused by an employee's act or omission within the scope of employment, where the employee would be liable personally. Courts often find abuse itself falls outside the scope of employment, so cases more often focus on what supervisors and administrators did or failed to do.

Negligent hiring, supervision or retention means the entity, through its employees, knew or should have known a person posed a risk and failed to act. Section 340.1(a)(2) expressly allows claims against any person or entity that owed the survivor a duty of care where its negligence was a legal cause of the abuse.

Under Penal Code section 11166, a mandated reporter, including teachers and many school and child welfare staff, must report when they know or reasonably suspect child abuse; "reasonable suspicion" does not require certainty. A failure to report can be evidence of what an institution knew. See our guide to school sexual abuse.

For public school districts and universities, Title IX, 20 U.S.C. § 1681, may provide an additional claim where an official with authority had actual knowledge of abuse and responded with deliberate indifference.

Statutes of Limitations and Deadlines: What Applies When

For abuse in adulthood, a different statute applies. AB 2777 (Stats. 2022, ch. 442) opened a revival window running to December 31, 2026 for otherwise time-barred claims of adult sexual assault occurring on or after January 1, 2009, excluding claims already litigated to finality or settled in writing before January 1, 2023. A second window runs January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2027, but it expressly excludes public entities. Because the exemption in section 905(m) covers 340.1 claims only, the presentation requirement and its six-month deadline under section 911.2 may still apply to adult-assault claims against public entities.

The statute of limitations guide sets out the full timeline.

What the Claims Process Looks Like in Practice

1. Confidential consultation. An attorney identifies the defendant's status, deadlines and likely theories.
2. Investigation and records. Counsel seeks personnel files, prior complaints, reporting records and policies.
3. Presenting the government claim, where required.
4. The response period. Under section 912.4, the entity has 45 days to act. If it does not, the claim is deemed rejected on the last day.
5. Filing suit. Under section 945.6, suit must be filed within six months after written notice of rejection is delivered or mailed, or within two years of accrual if no proper notice is given. The Judicial Council's court website explains the court system.

Public entities may raise statutory immunities and defenses. Plaintiffs 40 or older filing under 340.1 must file certificates of merit executed by their attorney and a licensed mental health practitioner. California offers privacy protections, including filing under a pseudonym; see confidentiality in sexual abuse claims.

Resources for Survivors in California

• RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), and online chat at online.rainn.org.
• California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA): calcasa.org, connecting people to local rape crisis centers.
• California Victim Compensation Board (CalVCB): victims.ca.gov, which may help eligible crime victims with costs such as counseling and medical care.
• State Bar of California: calbar.ca.gov lists certified lawyer referral services.

If You Have Questions, Privately

If you were abused in a California public school, foster placement, juvenile facility or other government setting, you may have the right to pursue a civil claim against the institution as well as the individual. A survivor in that position may be able to seek compensation for emotional harm, therapy and medical costs, lost income and other damages the law allows. Because California extended and revived these deadlines, options may exist even when the abuse happened many years ago.

A confidential case review with Justice for Survivors covers whether the defendant is a local entity or the State, which deadlines apply, whether a government claim is needed, and what a California sexual abuse lawsuit would involve. It is free, private and carries no obligation.

To ask a private attorney what this means for your situation, call Justice for Survivors at (866) 694-1630 for a confidential case review, or use whichever contact method on this site feels safest.