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EDUCATION EXPERT BLOG: EDUCATION LAW AND SCHOOL LIABILITY ISSUES

Schools have a duty to protect students, faculty, and staff from harm arising from acts of violence, such as school shootings, when the harm is reasonably foreseeable. However, schools are not built like fortresses, nor should they be. It is not the latest security technology, metal detectors, or an indoor...

Public K-12 school districts, colleges, universities, and other educational institutions receiving public funds must operate their education programs and activities in a nondiscriminatory manner, free from discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity (Office for Civil Rights [OCR], 2021b). Since the new Title IX rule, known as the...

Schools, including public, private, and charter K-12 schools, and colleges and universities, have a responsibility to protect students from physical and emotional harm. Harm that creates a climate of fear can interfere with a student’s education, leading to a range of outcomes from failing courses to, in the worst case,...

Parents send their children to school expecting that their kids will be safe.  The parents trust that the school’s staff will act in their place and look out for their children’s welfare in the same way they would.  The presence of security guards, school police, or resource officers at the...

Statistically, it’s safer to transport children to and from school by school bus than by car, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association. But accidents and other bus-related incidents that result in student injury and negligence are frequently causes for litigation and claims regarding negligent hiring of school bus...

A school has a responsibility to protect students from harm.  Will arming teachers or placing armed security guards and police in the building make our schools safer and prevent school shootings? There is a great deal of debate as to whether more or different forms of attention to school safety...

When risk is managed, injury, student death, and resulting litigation are less likely to occur. All too frequently, it is only after a tragedy that officials look back and ask, “How could this have been avoided?” Risk management is a far-reaching topic, but when focused on the professional standard of...

Standard of care is a general expression of what constitutes care in professions such as medicine, nursing, education, or child care administration. In schools and other agencies responsible for the care and supervision of children, the professional standard of care is the ethical or legal responsibility of a professional to...

Title IX, the law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender in public education programs, is also relevant in application of professional standards within the context of private school sexual abuse and harassment and their response to alleged incidents.  Every school that accepts federal funding for any program or...

Parents are responsible for the protection and care of their children, and there may be legal consequences if a parent negligently fails to take reasonable steps to protect his or her child from harm. As with parents, entities and agencies charged with the care and supervision of children are responsible...

Whenever children are involved in events on school premises, there is always the possibility of school district liability for incidents that happen on school grounds or at school-sponsored events. This foreseeability gives rise to a duty to take reasonable steps to prevent a child from being harmed. Public school districts...