(The Center Square) – California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a settlement Friday with El Monte Union High School District that addresses what the state calls the district's “mishandling” of allegations and complaints of sexual harassment, sexual assault and abuse of students.
Speaking at a press conference in Los Angeles County, Bonta said the incidents occurred over a number of years. El Monte is an inland city of more than 100,000 people in the county's San Gabriel Valley. The school district serves 9,500 students at eight schools.
“Every child deserves to learn and grow in a safe and supportive school environment,” the Democratic attorney general told reporters. “Anything that interferes with that, anything that jeopardizes a student’s safety and violates a community’s trust in their schools is entirely unacceptable.”
The comprehensive investigation into the El Monte district focused on the years 2018 to the fall of 2025. Over the course of a year, Bonta’s team reviewed over 88,000 documents and nearly 200,000 emails. Twenty-six administrators were interviewed along with staff members, former students and other witnesses.
Across multiple years, investigators found the district “consistently mishandled student complaints of sexual harassment, sexual assault and abuse by district employees and others.”
According to Bonta, the district systematically violated laws and regulations in place to protect against and address these types of allegations and complaints, including the California Education Code and the Child Abuse and Neglect and Reporting Act (CANRA).
“Under California law, teachers, administrators, aides and all classified employees at a public school are mandated reporters,” said Bonta. “Once a mandated reporter learns of or has a reasonable suspicion of child abuse, they’re required to immediately follow certain steps to report the abuse to law enforcement or a child welfare agency.”
One example in the complaint states that the district received notice that a teacher had sexually abused a student from roughly October 2021 to April 2022. However, the Office of Attorney General did not receive any evidence or information to show that the district’s Title IX coordinator met with the alleged victim to discuss supportive measures or discuss the procedure for filing a former complaint. Title IX is involved with sexual harassment or abuse claims because the federal civil rights law prohibits sex-based discrimination in school districts receiving federal funding.
In another example, which occurred during the 2023-2024 academic school year, the district received notice of allegations that “a student brandished a knife at another student and sexually assaulted her.”
Bonta’s office also found that the district has an unwritten policy of using a third-party investigator to review allegations of sexual harassment, assault or abuse of a student by a staff member. The attorney general's staff said this practice was done to assess the school district’s civil liability, then claim the findings were attorney-client privileged and refuse to disclose evidence to the parties.
As a result of these and other related issues, the California Department of Justice and El Monte Union High School District agreed on an extensive four-year plan that Bonta said permanently enjoins the district from violating all laws and regulations related to sexual harassment, assault and abuse.
Other requirements for the district include designating a new DOJ-approved compliance coordinator, creating an electronic system for complaints, offering education and mental health services to complainants, and maintaining a list of substitute teachers who will not be reappointed based on sustained findings of Boundary Policy violations or sexual harassment.
In the complaint, the Office of Attorney General’s investigation found that “while a substitute teacher might have been blocked from one school site after they were found to have committed sexual harassment, assault, or abuse, there was not a procedure in place to ensure the same substitute teacher did not end up at another school in the district.”
The Center Square reached out to district Superintendent Edward Zuniga’s office and was provided a media statement saying the district “takes all allegations of bullying, harassment, and abuse seriously." The district said it's committed to improving how it responds to concerns.
“The agreement includes measures intended to strengthen existing protocols and enhance how student safety concerns are addressed,” said Zuniga in the media statement. “As part of this work, the District will implement additional supports, including the designation of staff to oversee and monitor student safety complaints and investigations, expanded training and resources for students and families, and improved systems for reporting concerns.”
Meanwhile, Zuniga said the district will gather feedback through surveys and establish a committee focused on school climate.
“These efforts are intended to strengthen safe, inclusive, and respectful learning environments across the District,” said Zuniga.
