California has reached a sweeping proposed settlement agreement that mandates new oversight measures at an L.A. County school district that it says has an extensive track record of turning a blind eye. Students complain of sexual harassment by staff.
Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta announced a proposed settlement with the El Monte Union High School District at a news conference Friday in downtown Los Angeles to implement “comprehensive reforms” to prevent and address sexual assault and misconduct on the district’s campuses.
The settlement follows the Attorney General’s decision to open a Justice Department investigation into the District in 2024 following the 2023 Business Insider article “Headline.”“Hunter’s Playground” Rosemead High School reported 40 years of alleged sexual misconduct involving at least 20 teachers. The investigation reported alleged grooming on such a large scale that, in some cases, more than one teacher targeted the same girl.
“It was my mentor that I turned to and my mentor became my rapist,” one woman said at a 2024 press conference announcing her lawsuit against the district. She blamed a culture that allows and protects sexual abusers. “Our voices should have mattered,” he said.
In the wake of the Business Insider report, more than a dozen female accusers have taken legal action claiming that the district systematically covered up years of sexual abuse by employees in the 90s and 2000s and failed to report their claims to police.
The state investigation focused on the period from 2018 to the end of 2025 and found that the district routinely violated laws intended to protect against and address sexual assault allegations. The investigation included a review of 113 complaints, approximately 200,000 emails, and 26 interviews with administrators, staff, alumni, and witnesses.
“Over several years, the district consistently mishandled students’ complaints of sexual harassment, assault and misconduct by district staff and others,” Bonta said in a statement Friday. “By doing so, it endangered the safety and well-being of its students and violated the community’s trust.”
The state determined that the district violated the California Education Code and the Child Abuse and Neglect and Reporting Act. The scheduled judgment announced Friday permanently bars the district from violating these and other anti-sexual-harassment laws and requires a minimum of four years of monitoring by the court and the attorney general.
“Today’s agreement marks a beginning, not an end,” Bonta said. “I expect the District to move quickly to implement the reforms required by this agreement, and my office will monitor it closely to ensure compliance.”
According to the agreement — which requires a judge’s approval — the district must appoint a new, state-approved official to handle all sexual misconduct complaints, create a single system to track every report, update its rules and share its responses with state officials. It should also provide counseling and educational support to victims, train students, parents, and staff on how to report abuse, and form a committee to review safety issues and recommend changes.
“At El Monte Union High School District, student safety and well-being are our top priorities,” said El Monte Union High School Superintendent. Edward Zuniga in a media statement. “Through enhanced protocols, increased transparency and expanded training for staff, students and families, we are strengthening our responsibility to protect every student and ensure they feel supported, valued and ready to learn.”
The alleged culture of grooming students and concealing sexual abuse is no different than the El Monte Union High School District. In 2024, Bonta made a similar announcement comprehensive settlement With Redlands Unified School District to address systemic failures in responding to allegations of student sexual abuse.
Redlands Unified has one of the most widely documented histories of alleged employee sexual misconduct in the United States. cbs report “Oath of Silence” The documentary reported that 50 students accused more than 25 teachers of sexual misconduct between 1999 and 2022, with 11 teachers investigated by police and at least nine arrested.
