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Kern High School District sexual abuse claimsConfidential. No fee unless we recover.

A lawsuit reported by Univision alleges that a Bakersfield High freshman abused a classmate during class in 2019 while a teacher stood 15 feet away. The accused was a student; the claim is against the district for failing to supervise. Survivors of abuse at any Kern High School District school can still bring claims. You decide whether to contact us.

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Josh Kohanim, Esq.Written and reviewed by Josh Kohanim, Esq., California Bar No. 328609 · Published · Reviewed

In this guide

You can read this page without contacting anyone. If you decide to reach out, you can do it without giving your name. Nothing happens until you say so. If this happened to you or your child at a Kern High School District campus, the record below is public, and the sections after it explain what the law allows. The law in full is on our California school sexual abuse lawyer page.

The Bakersfield High lawsuit

Univision's Bakersfield station reported a lawsuit against the Kern High School District over an incident at Bakersfield High School. The complaint alleges that in 2019 a freshman sexually abused a female classmate in the middle of class while a teacher stood in front of the students, 15 feet away. According to the complaint, the same student had already been accused of sexually abusing three other female students at age 14. The complaint alleges that neither administrators nor teachers supervised the student or took the measures needed to control his behavior. The report is undated and records no response from the district. We have found no reported outcome. An allegation in a complaint is not a finding, and the district has not been found liable.

Abuse by another student

A district's duty to supervise is not limited to abuse by employees. School personnel owe students a duty to use reasonable measures to protect them from foreseeable harm, and that harm can come from another student. When the abuser is a classmate, the questions are practical. What did the school know about that student before the incident? What supervision was in place in the room? What did staff do when it happened, and did anyone report it? A district that had notice of earlier accusations and kept the student in an ordinary classroom with no added supervision has a supervision problem. That is the claim the Bakersfield complaint describes. The student's own conduct is a separate matter for the criminal system, and a civil claim does not depend on it.

Status of the cases

The suit was filed and, as of the Univision report, unresolved. The report gives no filing date, so we describe it as undated rather than guess. If the case resolves, we will add the outcome, the date and the source. Univision covered it in Spanish, and you can call us in Spanish. Other districts in the region are on our Central Valley and Sacramento page.

Filing deadlines

California has two tracks. For abuse on or after January 1, 2024, there is no time limit; that is AB 452, now Code of Civil Procedure section 340.1(p). For abuse before that date, including 2019, AB 218 controls: a survivor may file until age 40, or within five years of discovering that an adult injury was caused by the abuse, whichever is later. Survivors 40 and older also file certificates of merit from an attorney and a licensed mental health practitioner. No government claim is required for childhood sexual assault under Government Code section 905(m). SB 577 passed the Legislature at the end of August 2026 and awaited the Governor as of September 23, 2026. It may change the rules for older claims. Our statute of limitations page tracks it.

District responsibility

A public district answers for its employees under Government Code section 815.2. In C.A. v. William S. Hart Union High School District (2012), the California Supreme Court held that a district can be liable when its administrators negligently hired, kept or supervised an abusive employee. In Doe v. Lawndale Elementary School District (2021), the Court of Appeal held that this duty does not depend on proof that the district knew of the employee's prior misconduct. Whether administrators responded reasonably to warning signs is a question for the jury. Section 340.1 allows up to treble damages for a cover-up, but in Los Angeles Unified School District v. Superior Court (2023) the Supreme Court held that Government Code section 818 bars that enhancement against public entities. We do not promise it.

A confidential first step

Call, text, or use the confidential form on this page. The form has no narrative box; it asks how to reach you and whether it is safe to call. A Jane Doe or John Doe filing is common in these cases, and we will ask whether you want one. You do not have to face the abuser to bring a claim. We handle cases statewide by phone, video and travel. No fee unless we recover. If there is no recovery, you owe no fee and no case costs.

Records to gather

You do not need any documents to call. Our before you call checklist for adult survivors lists what helps: the school and the years, the adult's role, who was in the room, yearbooks, photos, messages, and friends who knew. Parents can use our after your child tells you checklist. Write down what your child said in their words, with the date. Preserve messages and devices, and ask the school for its written policy and its Title IX coordinator's name. Do not contact the other student's family or the district, and do not post details online.

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Sources cited

Frequently asked questions

Can I sue a school district if the abuser was another student?
Yes, when the district failed to supervise. The claim is not that the district committed the abuse. It is that the adults responsible for the room, and the administrators who assigned that student to it, did not take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable harm. What the school knew about the student beforehand, and what staff did in the moment, decide the case. An attorney will ask about both.
Do I have to file a claim with Kern High School District before suing?
No. Government Code section 905(m) exempts childhood sexual assault claims from the government claim requirement that applies to most suits against public entities. Nothing has to be filed with the district first, and the district cannot require it. That said, records and witnesses fade, so the sooner an attorney reviews your dates the better, whichever filing track applies.
Will my child have to face the other student?
No. Survivors do not have to face the abuser to bring a claim. Most of a civil case is records, written questions and interviews handled by attorneys, and a Jane Doe or John Doe filing is common. We will ask whether you want one. If a deposition or hearing is ever needed, an attorney prepares your child and stays with them, and you can pause at any point.
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