chapter 10 - william allan kritsonis, lecture notes
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8/20/2019 Chapter 10 - William Allan Kritsonis, Lecture Notes
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Chapter 10
Legal Liability
William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
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Ask Yourself This
“Can I be sued?” “YES” In America, anyone can be
sued at any time. The more relevant question is:
“Can I be held liable?” The anser to this questionturns on a host o! !actors. "tate or #ederal? $ersonal
In%ury or Constitutional? Liability o! the school or o!
the individual?
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Identifying Areas of Legal Liability
Legal liability can be se&arated into to distinct
categories:
Criminal Law
Civil Law
Criminal la involves any crime against the state
hile civil la involves a lasuit brought buy
one &erson to another.
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Identifying Areas of Legal Liability
cont. There are to torts in the educational realm:
"tate Torts
#ederal Torts
At the state level, negligence is the highest &ro&osed
and most commonly used in the educational setting.
'hile at the !ederal level, constitutional and !ederalstatutory rights are common.
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"tate Torts
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School District Immunity
The Te(as Tort Claims Act )“The Act”* is a set o! statutes
that determine hen a governmental entity may be liable
!or tortuous conduct under state la. +ranting
governmental units immunity serves a great &ur&ose. It &rotects governmental time and resources !rom
diminishment !rom &rivate litigation and encourages
!orthright action by &ublic o!!icials. It also &rotects the
government !rom !raudulent or !rivolous suits that
otherise may arise because o! the &erceived “dee&
&ocets” o! government entities.
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Sovereign Immunity and Contract Cases
"overeign immunity is a %udicial doctrine that
&revents the government or its &olitical
subdivisions, de&artments, and agencies !rom being sued ithout its consent.
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Qualified Immunity for ublic School
rofessional !m"loyees
Te(as -ducation Code &rovides &ro!essional
school em&loyees ith “quali!ied immunity.”
uali!ied immunity &rotects &ublic o!!icials!rom being sued !or damages unless they
violated “clearly established” la o! hich a
reasonable o!!icial in his &osition ould havenon. It aims to &rotect civil servants !rom the
!ear o! litigation in &er!orming discretionary
!unctions entrusted to them by la.
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The S"ecial Case of Cor"oral unishment and hysical
#orce
Cor&oral &unishment is legal in Te(as. All
decisions about these &ractices are le!t u& to the
school district. Te(as $enal Code //.01 states: A &erson commits an o!!ense i! he intentionally,
noingly, reclessly, or ith criminal negligence,
by act or intentionally, noingly, or reclessly by
omission, causes to a child, elderly individual, ordisabled individual.
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unishment and hysical #orce
The !olloing o!!enses by a teacher are
&unishable by la:
)2* serious bodily in%ury
)/* serious mental de!iciency, im&airment, or
in%ury
)3* bodily in%ury
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#ederal Civil 4ights Liabilities
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+overnmental Liability
"ection 2563 s&eas o! “every &erson.” Is a
city a “&erson”? In 2576, the 8.". "u&reme
Court held the terms “&erson” in "ection 2563
includes governmental entities such as cities
and school districts.
-(&lanation9 “a government is not liable
merely because o! his or her !ederal rights.”
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-(am&le o! +overnmental Liability
Lo&e v. ;ouston I.".<.
A student alleged that he as beaten unconsciously
on a school bus. The bus driver as a substitute andas accused o! doing nothing.
4esults: The !ederal district court dismissed the casenoting that the district could not be held liable merely
because it hired someone ho used &oor %udgment.
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$ersonal In%uries and the Constitution
A &erson ho sues the local school district or
school o!!icial over a &ersonal in%ury !aces yet
another &roblem that a ty&ical &lainti!! ho !alls
don in a grocery store doesn=t encounter.
-(&lanation: The &erson ho sues must establish
that he or she has su!!ered an in%ury that de&rivesthe individual o! !ederally &rotected rights.
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Individual Liability
'hen &lainti!!s see to im&ose liability on
individuals under !ederal la, the conce&t o!
“deliberate indi!!erence” comes into &lay as
ell
A school o!!icial ho maes mistaes is not
necessarily “deliberately indi!!erent” even i!
those mistaes have a tragic outcome.
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Individual Liability -(am&le
“"arah <oe” a student that as sus&ended at
school had an “uncle” come to &ic her u&. The
&rinci&al became “&re9occu&ied” and didn=t see
her leave. The girl later sued the &rinci&al and theschool because she as se(ually assaulted by a
man ho as alloed to &ic her u& !rom school.
Conclusion9 the &rinci&al as not &ersonally
liable.
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There is > general duty to &rotect students hile they are at
school, does !ederal la &rovide any resource !or &ersonal
in%uries?
@-"The &lainti!! must &rove:
2. the de&rivation o! a !ederally &rotected right
/. !or hich the district itsel! should be accountable
3. hich involved a degree o! cul&ability that e(ceeds mere
negligence
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"ummary
“There is an increase in cases brought under
!ederal la, but &lainti!!s carry a heavy burden
o! &roo! in those cases. oreover, i! they see
to im&ose liability on individuals, they must
overcome the quali!ied immunity de!ense.”
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Discussion Questions
• 'hat is the only e(ce&tion to immunity !or
&ro!essional em&loyees in Te(as?
• "hould cor&oral &unishment be alloed in Te(as$ublic "chools? 'hy or hy not?
•
'ho is res&onsible and may be held liable !or tose(ual assault o! a student by a teacher? -(&lain.
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Landmar Cases
Goss v Lope! "1#$%&
"tudents are entitled to certain due &rocess rights.
'ew (erse) v *L+ "1#%&
"tudents have a reduced e(&ectation o! &rivacy in school.
-a!elwoo. v K/hlmeier "1#&
Administrators may edit the content o! school nes&a&ers.
Santa e n.epen.ent S2hool Distri2t v Doe "3000&
"tudents may not use a schoolBs louds&eaer system to o!!er student
led, student9initiated &rayer.
4oar. o5 E./2ation o5 n.epen.ent S2hool Distri2t 6#3 o5 Pottawatomie
Co/nt) v Earls "3003&
4andom drug tests o! students involved in e(tracurricular activities do not
violate the #ourth Amendment.
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T!$!S Questions
r. ones, a seventh9grade teacher, comes to s. 'inston, the ne &rinci&al at 4aleigh iddle
"chool, to discuss an issue that he says is o! groing concern to classroom teachers. r. onessays that Admission, 4evie and <ismissal )A4<* committees are more !requently determining
that students ith s&ecial needs should receive services in regular classrooms and that many
teachers believe that they are not &re&ared to &rovide a&&ro&riate instruction !or these students.
“any o! us believe that the s&ecial education teachers are the ones ho should be mainly
oring ith these ids,” he says. “They=re the ones ho have the s&ecialied training.”
1. s. 'inston believes that the larger issues raised by r. ones must be addressed i! students
ith s&ecial needs are to be served a&&ro&riately. ;er encounter ith r. ones suggests that the
school is in need o! stronger leadershi& in the area o!
A. establishing !ormal communication channels through hich teachers= concerns can be
addressed.
D. &reå and su&&orting teachers so they can meet the needs o! all students.
C. &roviding increased o&&ortunities !or teachers to &artici&ate in school governance.
<. identi!ying more accurately the students ho are in genuine need o! s&ecial education services.
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3. r. ones also brings u& the sub%ect o! a student in his class ho has a
disability and receives s&ecial education services. This student is e(tremely
disru&tive and unruly.
r. ones urges s. 'inston to consider trans!erring the student to an
alternative education &rogram )A-$*. In this situation, s. 'inston should
be aare that
A. changes in the &lacement o! a student ho receives s&ecial education
services may be made only by the action o! an admission, revie and
dismissal committee.
D. she must obtain the a&&roval o! the school=s s&ecial9needs coordinator
be!ore maing any change in the student=s &lacement.
C. changes in the &lacement o! a student ho receives s&ecial education
services must be initiated by a certi!ied s&ecial education teacher.
<. r. ones must document the reasons !or his request be!ore s. 'inston
can change the student=s &lacement.
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"everal &arents have contacted a middle school &rinci&al ith regard to a
concern they have about the school=s e(tracurricular &rogram. The &arents say
that a!ter9school activities sometimes end early, leaving students to ait !or u& to
1E minutes, usually unattended, until the late bus arrives.
7. 'hich o! the !olloing ould be the most im&ortant immediate ste& !or the
&rinci&al to tae in res&onse to this issue?
A. A&&oint a sta!! member to gather more in!ormation and re&ort bac as soon as
&ossible regarding the e(tent o! the &roblem
D. Tem&orarily sus&end e(tracurricular activities until a tas !orce is !ormed and
is able to develo& a &ermanent solution to the &roblem
C. Arrange !or a sta!! member to be res&onsible !or su&ervising any students ho
remain a!ter e(tracurricular activities end
<. Assign each student a bac9u& activity to re&ort to i! their chosen activity
ends early
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8. ne &arent argues that e(tracurricular &rograms are not an integral &art o! a
school=s academic mission. The &arent also charges that such &rograms are
inherently un!air because not all students choose to, or are able to, &artici&ate. The
best %usti!ication !or the &rinci&al to o!!er in su&&ort o! e(tracurricular &rograms is
that they
A. generate revenues !or the school through club9s&onsored sales and event !ees that
hel& su&&ort essential student services.
D. hel& !ul!ill the school=s mission o! &romoting students= develo&ment across a
range o! develo&mental domains.
C. contribute to the e!!icient use o! resources by ensuring that school !acilities are
utilied !or as many hours in a day as &ossible.
<. &rovide o&&ortunities !or teachers and students to interact in conte(ts other than
the regular classroom setting.
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An elementary school &rinci&al is oring ith the school community to im&lement a &lan to integrate
technology into the school=s curriculum. The &lan, hich the &rinci&al develo&ed ith a technology
committee com&osed o! school sta!! and other staeholders, ensures that all teachers and students have
consistent, convenient access to technologies !or enriching the cam&us curriculum. All teachers have
received initial training in a&&ro&riate uses o! these technologies. The teachers also have access to
technical su&&ort services and relevant instructional resources, including descri&tions o! technology9 based instructional activities that are aligned ith the cam&us curriculum. any teachers have already
begun to integrate the technologies into classroom instruction.
% The &rinci&al observes that some teachers are se&tical about the technology initiative and are
reluctant to im&lement technology9based instruction in their classrooms. 'hich o! the !olloing
res&onses !rom the &rinci&al ould most liely be e!!ective in engaging these teachers in the technology
initiative?
A. -ncouraging the reluctant teachers to &artici&ate in additional sta!! develo&ment sessions to
strengthen their technology sills
D. eeting ith the reluctant teachers to reiterate the bene!its o! integrating technology into the cam&us
curriculum
C. Arranging !or teachers ho are success!ully using the ne technologies to serve as models and
mentors !or the reluctant teachers
<. !!ering to su&&ort the reluctant teachers by &ersonally observing their use o! the ne technologies
and &roviding constructive !eedbac
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%eferences
Femerer, #., aniotis, L., G 'alsh, . )/020*.
The -ducator=s +uide to Te(as "chool La.
8niversity o! Te(as $ress: Te(as.
Te(as -ducation Code
Te(as $enal Code
8nited "tates Courts
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