Tort Liability101: When are Teachers Liable?

1 Edu ca tor Resou rce s Nati on al Off ice One Lakeside Comm on s 990 Hamm ond Drive, Suit e 200 Atl anta, GA 30328 [P] 866 .416 .0656 [F] 770 .394 .0333 www .MyERtea tort Liabili ty101 : when are teacher s Liable? (1) Introdu ction (2) Intentional Torts (3) egli gent Torts (Elements) (4) Add itional Discuss ion a. Corporal Pun ishment b. Duty to Report Chil d Abu se c. Su spension / Expu lsion d. Searc h & Seizure (5) Conclusion Introduction As a teac her, cou ld you face person al li abilit y in a schoo l-r elated lawsuit ? For most profess ion al edu ca tors, the answer is simple: Your risk is minimal if you exercise common sense and good judgment.

2 However, the iss ue of teac her and schoo l li abilit y in tod ay s liti giou s society tell s us that anyon e ca n be sub jec t to a lawsuit . The profess ion al teac her shou ld be edu ca ted as to his/her li abilit y in the class roo m, and be mind ful of ho w to minimize expo sure to lawsuit s and stud ent/ parent complaints. Barr ing a discuss ion on con trac t law, there are two broad area s of the law perti nent to edu ca tors in the Unit ed States. The first, Criminal Law, add ress es the wrong s against society in general. For example, if a sub stit ute teac her drives to schoo l und er the influence of alcoho l or drug s, then he/she is sub jec t to state criminal laws and may be pun ished acc ording ly ( , fined, arr ested, place d in jail or on prob ati on ).

3 The sec ond area , tort Law, con ce rns civil wrong s and add ress es the du ty, breac h and injury sustained to on e ind ividu al as a result of ano ther s condu ct. For example, a science teac her all ows a stud ent to op erate lab equ ipment un sup ervised whil e he/she att empts to gain a qu iet moment to finish a less on plan. The stud ent s lac k of sup ervision and instructi on result s in injury to other stud ents watching . The teac her ca n be held ind ividu all y li able for the stud ents injuries and risks a cou rt award of mon etary damages. tort law is based on the legal premise that ind ividu als are li able for the con sequ ence s of their own condu ct (or lac k of condu ct) when such ac ti on s result in injury to others.

4 In a schoo l/ class roo m setti ng , tort law is the most comm on area of the law that sub jec ts teac hers to person al li abilit In most edu ca ti on -r elated civil lawsuit s there are two main ca tego ries of tort li abilit y relevant to the profess ion al edu ca tor Intenti onal and egli gent Torts. Intentional Torts Sce nario 1: A teacher s Aid is trying to calm an agit ated student in your classroom when the student suddenly turns ove r his desk, throws a book and strike s back at the Aid in a fit of anger. In an att empt to restore order, you pick up the book, raise it above your head and slam it down on the desk in front of the chil d to get his att enti on.

5 You then grab the student by the arm and lead him to the ti me%out area. The student struggles, curs es, and screams that you are a chil d abuser and that his parents will sue. That evening , at the Parent/ teacher Ass ociati on mee ti ng, you casuall y describe the incident to several parents, remarking how unprofess ional and inept the Aid was in resolving the sit uati on. The nex t day the principal call s you and tell s you that a poli ce man is at school to take a statement from you regarding a poss ible incident of chil d abuse. Is there a poss ible tort law li ability? In schoo ls ac ross the Unit ed States, teac hers and stud ents ali ke have bee n found li able for comm itti ng intenti on al torts.

6 As the name impli es, intenti on al torts occ ur when an ind ividu al att empts or intend s to ca use harm to ano ther. For intent to exist, the ind ividu al must be aware that injury will , or cou ld, be the result of the ac There are fou r comm on typ es of intenti on al torts that are see n in edu ca ti on al setti ng s Ass ault , Batt ery, False Imprisonment and Defamati on. 1 Alexand er, K. & Alexand er, (1992 ), America n Pub li c Schoo l Law. St. Paul, MN: West Pub li shing Company . 2 Emanu el on Torts: Capsule Summ ary (1994 ). Emanu el Pub li shing Corp.

7 The pu rpo se of this arti cle is to prov ide sti mulati ng though t regarding the legal tort expo sure to which teac hers are sub jec t. It is in no way intend ed to serve as legal adv ice pertaining to the con tent or examples used. State laws vary, and a sli gh t diff erence in fac ts ca n aff ec t the ou tcome of a lawsuit . Edu ca tor Resou rce s Nati on al Off ice One Lakeside Comm on s 990 Hamm ond Drive, Suit e 200 Atl anta, GA 30328 [P] 866 .416 .0656 [F] 770 .394 .0333 www .MyERtea Ass ault and Batt er y Ass ault refers to an ov ert att empt to phy sica ll y injure a person or crea te a fee li ng of fea r/app rehension of injury.

8 There do es no t nee d to be ac tual phy sica l con tac t in order for an ass ault to occ ur. For example, a stud ent picks up a book and threa tens to throw the book at ano ther stud ent. The threa t cou ld be in the form of (1) verball y exp ress ing that he is go ing to throw the book , or by (2) crea ti ng the fea r/app rehension in the other stud ent that the book is go ing to be thrown at him through phy sica l gestures of att empti ng to throw the book in his direc ti on . Batt ery is the ac tual phy sica l dee d that is threa tened by the ass ault . In the example abov e, a batt ery occ urs when the first stud ent ac tuall y throws the book at the sec ond stud ent and hit s him.

9 Batt ery ca n be as simple as a sli gh t tou ching or as force ful as a pun ch or direc t con tac t fr om an ob jec t that is thrown. In a class roo m setti ng , Ass ault and Batt ery charges that are made against teac hers are generall y a result of a teac her s att empt to exercise discipli ne or whil e brea king up a figh t. For this rea son , cou rts have historica ll y given a grea t dea l of latit ud e to teac hers who are charged wit h eit her Ass ault or Batt ery du ring the cou rse of their schoo l However, cou rts have found teac hers gu ilt y of Ass ault and Batt ery when the degree of their discipli ne rises to the level of brutal, cruel or exce ss ive, or is administered wit h mali ce and the clea r intent to injure.

10 Whil e the main focus of cou rts app ea rs to be on the teac her s egregiou s behavior, there are several fac tors that the cou rts tend to con sider. The age of the stud ent, the discipli nary instrument (if any ) that was used by the teac her, the gravit y of the stud ent s off ense and the discipli ne history of the stud ent are examples. A cou rt in Conn ec ti cut found a teac her gu ilt y of Ass ault and Batt ery when the teac her slamm ed a stud ent against a chalkbo ard and then against a wall . The teac her used exce ss ive force , displayed a clea r lac k of self- con trol and severely injured the stud Remember, Ass ault and Batt ery charges ca n be all eged by eit her the stud ent or the parents (ac ti ng in the best interest of a mino r) , so it is always wise to have ano ther schoo l off icial present if phy sica l discipli ne ever bec omes nece ss ary.