Thank you,
Benjamin Burton
Education Major
Union College
bebu...@ucollege.edu
I have never been sued, but you raise an interesting question. Anyone can
be sued for just about anything, so listing things you could be sued for
isn't very easy. Actually, I think it is more likely that teachers would be
sued for things they don't do. There have been cases where students sued
teachers and/or schools for not preparing them properly or graduating them
without the necessary skills. With the introduction of Internet in the
classroom, it is more likely that teachers will get sued for lack of
supervision if students get in trouble online.
Art
***************************************************************
* Art Wolinsky I am perfectly capable *
* awol...@adelphia.net of learning from my *
* Technology Director mistakes. *
* Online Innovation Institute *
* http://oii.org I will surely learn a *
* NJ Chapter Director great deal today. *
* 21st Century Teacher *
* http://www.21ct.org *
*****************************************************************
URL: www.aasa.org/SchoolAdmin/schadmTC.htm
Jay P. Goldman
Editor
The School Administrator
> I am a education major at Union College in Lincoln NE. I would like to
>know what are some actions of a teacher in a classroom which might make them
>liable for lawsuits? Have you ever been sued?
>
<< I am a education major at Union College in Lincoln NE. I would like to
know what are some actions of a teacher in a classroom which might make them
liable for lawsuits? Have you ever been sued? >>
Hi. If I were a teacher I would be concerned with the area of Special
Education. A parent or in some cases students can bring suit over a teachers
actions or inactions concerning a childs IEP. A teacher has to be real careful
to make sure they have received the proper training from their district. In
fact every teacher should demand training in IDEA regulations. Most school
boards and districts can claim govermental immunity from most law suits. This
leaves the teacher liable if there is a challange to the effectiveness of a
childs educational program. Always follow the IEP no matter how hard that
might be to do.
Second, be very, very careful about the privacy rights of both parents and
students. In most states, privacy/records regulations include: Federal
Regs....FERPA and IDEA, State Regs and local policies. Because there are so
many different laws covering this subject, it can become complicated real
quick. Again, should you violate someones rights, the district will claim
that you acted alone and were not following established policies. Districts
will almost always hang teachers out to dry in these types of issues. This is
how they claim immunity. A privacy violation can lead to a Section 1983 Civil
Rights suit and the district will always claim immunity, leaving the teacher
to take the heat. The fastest way to a law suit in this area is to disclose
personaly identifiable information from a childs educational record without
parental consent. It is in violation of Federal privacy laws to even talk
about a childs program unless the person you are talking to has a legitimate
educational reason to be hearing it.
Hope this helps.
Dither
Dithe...@aol.com
Marsha
At 01:51 PM 11/5/98 -0600, you wrote:
> I am a education major at Union College in Lincoln NE. I would like to
>know what are some actions of a teacher in a classroom which might make them
>liable for lawsuits? Have you ever been sued?
>
David Sloan, Ed.D.
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
UMHB Box 8017
Belton, TX 76513
dsl...@umhb.edu
http://www.umhb.edu
----------
>From: Benjamin Burton <bebu...@UCOLLEGE.EDU>
>To: K12A...@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
>Subject: Question about Lawsuits
>Date: Thu, Nov 5, 1998, 1:51 PM