Key Takeaways: Schools have a duty to protect students from harm. When another student sexually abuses a child, the question quickly becomes, “Should the school be held liable for inadequate supervision and negligence?” To determine potential liability, plaintiff and defendant attorneys must evaluate two key factors: whether the school met...
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...
Children with disabilities in residential and therapeutic facilities are among those who are most vulnerable to abuse and other forms of harm. Protecting the safety of children and the facilities where they reside from costly litigation is achievable through proper policies, training, supervision of staff and students, and continued proactive...
Removing police from schools has been part of the Black Lives Matter movement for years. Research shows that schools with a police presence are more likely to refer children to law enforcement, even for non-serious behaviors. According to the Education Week Research Center, black students in most states are more...
The issue of school liability is going to be tested more as schools begin reopening and students and teachers return to brick-and-mortar schools. Many education professionals have decried what they see as a lack of clear direction, mandates, or guidelines from national and state leaders about how to keep kids...
Physical and school sexual abuse of students in educational institutions has been a recognized and foreseeable risk and something that all schools, including boarding and prep schools, need to proactively guard against. Boarding schools are responsible for the supervision of students in dorms and outside of the classroom to prevent...