Liability with respect to schools and school employees is generally based on the legal theory of negligence. Negligence has been defined as: the omission to do something which a reasonable person would do or the doing of something which a prudent and reasonable person would not do; the failure to exercise ordinary care under the circumstances; conduct that a reasonably prudent person should realize involves an unreasonable risk of causing invasion of another’s interest; or, a failure to do an act that is necessary for the protection or assistance of another.
For a plaintiff to prove negligence, generally, four elements must be proven:
- Legal duty;
- A breach of legal duty;
- Proximate cause; and
- Damages or injury.
Legal duty means conforming to a certain standard of care for the protection of others against unreasonable risks. There is a duty of due care that the law recognizes one person owes to another. This duty may arise from a contract, a statute, common sense, or a special relationship the parties have to one another. Regarding students, the courts have found that schools and their employees have the duty to supervise students, provide adequate and appropriate instruction prior to commencing an activity that may pose a risk of harm, and provide a safe environment. Usually, that duty extends to students while they are in the custody or control of the school. Schools may have a duty to supervise students off school grounds when they have caused them to be there such as while on field trips.
Schools may have a duty to supervise students on school grounds before and after school when they have caused them to be there, for example, when the bus drops them off. A duty can be extended if a person assumes additional responsibilities, such as assuming the duty to supervise students before and after school. Schools may acquire a duty to supervise when they have, by their previous actions, assumed the duty to supervise at this time such as when some staff has supervised intermittently or consistently before official time to arrive.
Schools also have a duty to warn of known dangers even when they do not have a duty to supervise. In the general workforce, a supervisor, and ultimately the company, is responsible for the negligent acts of employees under the doctrine of respondeat superior. However, in education, generally no one is automatically responsible for the acts of another. School administrators are not automatically responsible for the negligent acts of teachers. In school situations, usually a plaintiff must find a separate duty on the part of each defendant.
In the context of schools, one standard of care is reasonable supervision of students. Either a total lack of supervision or ineffective supervision may constitute a lack of ordinary care on the part of those responsible for student supervision. Other standards of care include the duty to warn parents of possible harm to their children and duty to warn of dangerous conditions on school property.
School employees have the responsibility to hold pupils to a strict account for their conduct on the way to and from school, on the playground, during recess and lunch time, and on class trips. Teachers have the legal duty to prevent misconduct on the part of pupils which could result in injury to a pupil and which may lead to school liability.
