Legal Question Of The Week - 3/1/13
By Attorney Thomas B. Mooney, Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut
The "Legal Question of the Week" is a regular feature of the CAS Weekly NewsBlast. We invite readers to submit short, law-related questions of practical concern to school administrators. Each week, we will select a question and publish an answer. While these answers cannot be considered formal legal advice, they may be of help to you and your colleagues. We may edit your questions, and we will not identify the authors. Please submit your questions to:legalmailbag@casciac.org .
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Dear Legal Mailbag:
Some of the teachers have been a little lax in their supervision of students, so I thought that I would get their attention. At a faculty meeting last week, I asked how many of them have put their houses in their spouses’ names. As you might imagine, I got a bunch of blank stares, and then I explained. I told the teachers that we live in a litigious age and that they can be sued personally if a student gets hurt. Then I asked rhetorically whether they agree that they should be super careful in supervising students because a damage award to an injured student could take their house and possibly more. The Union complained to the Superintendent about my “scare tactics,” and now he is on my case. Did I make my point appropriately?
Signed,
Blunt Instrument
Dear Blunt:
Your attempt to frighten teachers into more careful supervision was ham-handed and unnecessary. To be sure, you have a responsibility to assure that teachers are exercising appropriate care, and that would include training teachers (and others) on supervision as well as monitoring their performance to assure that students are indeed supervised. However, you were simply wrong on the law. Teachers, administrators and other school employees do important work on behalf of the public, and there is a strong public policy in favor of protecting them from liability.
Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-235 provides that teachers, other school employees, school board members and even many volunteers are indemnified and held harmless against financial loss and expense for claims made against them for actions taken within the scope of their responsibilities provided that such actions are not wanton, reckless or malicious. This indemnification includes reasonable attorneys’ fees. Moreover, as “remedial legislation,” this protection will be broadly construed, and teachers and others (yes, including you) will be protected against financial loss even when they make serious mistakes that result in injury.
This is not to minimize your concern. Teachers and others are subject to supervision in how they fulfill their supervisory responsibilities. If a teacher is not providing satisfactory supervision, you have every right to warn and, where appropriate, impose disciplinary consequences for any failure to supervise students as you may expect them to do. However, threatening them with financial loss is not only bad leadership – it is plain wrong.
The "Legal Question of the Week" is a regular feature of the CAS Weekly NewsBlast. We invite readers to submit short, law-related questions of practical concern to school administrators. Each week, we will select a question and publish an answer. While these answers cannot be considered formal legal advice, they may be of help to you and your colleagues. We may edit your questions, and we will not identify the authors. Please submit your questions to:
_____________________________________________________________________________
Dear Legal Mailbag:
Some of the teachers have been a little lax in their supervision of students, so I thought that I would get their attention. At a faculty meeting last week, I asked how many of them have put their houses in their spouses’ names. As you might imagine, I got a bunch of blank stares, and then I explained. I told the teachers that we live in a litigious age and that they can be sued personally if a student gets hurt. Then I asked rhetorically whether they agree that they should be super careful in supervising students because a damage award to an injured student could take their house and possibly more. The Union complained to the Superintendent about my “scare tactics,” and now he is on my case. Did I make my point appropriately?
Signed,
Blunt Instrument
Dear Blunt:
Your attempt to frighten teachers into more careful supervision was ham-handed and unnecessary. To be sure, you have a responsibility to assure that teachers are exercising appropriate care, and that would include training teachers (and others) on supervision as well as monitoring their performance to assure that students are indeed supervised. However, you were simply wrong on the law. Teachers, administrators and other school employees do important work on behalf of the public, and there is a strong public policy in favor of protecting them from liability.
Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-235 provides that teachers, other school employees, school board members and even many volunteers are indemnified and held harmless against financial loss and expense for claims made against them for actions taken within the scope of their responsibilities provided that such actions are not wanton, reckless or malicious. This indemnification includes reasonable attorneys’ fees. Moreover, as “remedial legislation,” this protection will be broadly construed, and teachers and others (yes, including you) will be protected against financial loss even when they make serious mistakes that result in injury.
This is not to minimize your concern. Teachers and others are subject to supervision in how they fulfill their supervisory responsibilities. If a teacher is not providing satisfactory supervision, you have every right to warn and, where appropriate, impose disciplinary consequences for any failure to supervise students as you may expect them to do. However, threatening them with financial loss is not only bad leadership – it is plain wrong.