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I am studying Curriculum & Instruction with the intention of becoming an elementary school P.E. teacher. The topic of this legal guide will be negligence. I chose this topic because it should be known that inaction can often be just as detrimental as bad action. The audience of this legal guide includes fellow teachers and administrators.

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I interviewed Mr. Mason De Leon, a head middle school orchestra director in Lewisville ISD. Mr. De Leon is a first year teacher, so he hasn't had extensive experience in the realm of negligence. He did mention that a student told him that she started "cutting herself" again, so he immediately reported it to the counselor. Failure to do this would have been negligence. Not to mention, the student's suicidal thoughts must be taken seriously. Mr. De Leon adds that an emerging issue involves students creating false reports against teachers to get teachers they don't like in trouble. Mr. De Leon stressed that it is important to report things and to really know the difference between something serious and what is considered "a joke" (De Leon, personal communication, December 1, 2019).

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3. Minnesota Association of School Administrators

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3. Minnesota Association of School Administrators

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Citation and Link: Palmatier, T. (2016, October 2). Proceed with caution: The five most common liability issues that schools face and how to avoid being a casualty of litigation. Minnesota Association of School Administrators. Retrieved from https://www.mnasa.org/cms/lib/MN07001305/Centricity/Domain/132/TPalmatier_Five_Common_Liability.pdf

Summary: As the title suggests, this workshop goes over common liability situations in school. It also goes over what teachers should do according to related legislation so that the teacher does not engage in wrongdoing.

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4. Grandview School District sued over alleged negligence in dealing with ‘sexual predator' teacher

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4. Grandview School District sued over alleged negligence in dealing with ‘sexual predator' teacher

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Citation and Link: Goodell, E. (2019, September 10). Grandview school district sued over alleged negligence in dealing with ‘sexual predator’ teacher. YakTriNews. Retrieved from
https://www.yaktrinews.com/news/grandview-school-district-sued-over-alleged-negligence-in-dealing-with-sexual-predator-teacher/1119416143

Summary:
-A lawsuit was filed against Grandview School District due to negligence of an initial criminal investigation into high school P.E. teacher Zachary Sybouts

-School negligence still persists (this article is from September)

-Reports of sexual misconduct by teachers should be critically examined and not ignored and allowed to continue

-If a school fails to properly investigate sexual misconduct, they will pay for it later through lawsuits

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5. Tick Bites May Cost Private School $41.5 Million in Damages

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5. Tick Bites May Cost Private School $41.5 Million in Damages

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Citation and Link: Walsh, M. (2017, August 15). Tick bites may cost private school $41.5 million in damages. Education Week. Retrieved from https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/school_law/2017/08/the_tick_bites_that_may_cost_a.html
Summary:
-Hotchkiss School in Connecticut was sued after a student's tick bites while on a field trip to China led to debilitating permanent conditions like an inability to speak and compromised brain function from encephalitis

-the school failed to warn participants of the field trip about the potential insect-borne diseases in the area

-the family of the disabled student sued the school for negligence

-the jury is set to award the 41.5 million dollar amount to the family

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Citation: U.S. Const. amend. X.

Source of Law: Constitutional

Link: https://www.senate.gov/civics/constitution_item/constitution.htm

Summary: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Essentially, negligence in school is defined under the state.

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7. Buzzard v. East Lake School District (1939)

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7. Buzzard v. East Lake School District (1939)

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Citation: Buzzard v. East Lake School District, 34 Cal. App. 2d 316,93 P.2d 233 (1939).

Source of Law: Judicial

Link: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ca-court-of-appeal/1786452.html

Summary: A school teacher was sued for negligent supervision during recess who allowed
students to bike among others playing, causing a student to break an arm.

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8. Texas Educators' Code of Ethics (Standard 3.2)

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8. Texas Educators' Code of Ethics (Standard 3.2)

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Citation: Educators’ Code of Ethics, 19 Tex. Admin. Code § 247.2.

Source of Law: Administrative

Link: https://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=19&pt=7&ch=247&rl=2

Summary: Standard 3.2: "The educator shall not intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly treat a student or minor in a manner that adversely affects or endangers the learning, physical health, mental health, or safety of the student or minor."

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Citation: Federal Tort Claims Act of 1946, 28 U.S.C. § 1346.

Source of Law: Statutory

Link: https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/usao/legacy/2010/12/06/usab5806.pdf

Summary: Under this law, the federal government acts as a self-insurer, and recognizes liability for the negligent or wrongful acts or omissions of its employees acting within the scope of their official duties.

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10. Local Policy- Reporting suspected child abuse

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10. Local Policy- Reporting suspected child abuse

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Citation/Link: Killeen Independent School District. (2018). Killeen ISD Employee Handbook. Retrieved from https://www.killeenisd.org/WebData/DocumentViewer/EmployeeHandbook.pdf.
Summary: In the handbook, under the section "Reporting suspected child abuse", it says the educators must report suspected child abuse or neglect within 48 hours to the proper authorities. Failure to do this would be considered negligence.

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11. Texas Educators' Code of Ethics (Standard 3.5)

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11. Texas Educators' Code of Ethics (Standard 3.5)

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Citation: Educators’ Code of Ethics, 19 Tex. Admin. Code § 247.2.
Link: https://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=19&pt=7&ch=247&rl=2
Summary: This standard states that " the educator shall not intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly engage in physical mistreatment, neglect, or abuse of a student or minor." This means that negligence is against the Code of Ethics. Even if the educator claims that it was not their intention to be negligent, plaintiffs may argue that an educator's actions were reckless.

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12. When is a teacher or school liable in negligence?

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12. When is a teacher or school liable in negligence?

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Article Title: When is a teacher or school liable in negligence?
Citation/Link: Newnham, H. (2000). When is a teacher or school liable in negligence?. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 25(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2000v25n1.5
Summary: This article provides helpful information all about negligence pertaining to the school system. The three main topics that are covered in this article are duty of care, breach of duty, and causation. Negligence is also defined. This article describes what is expected professionally of teachers and how they can avoid being negligent.

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1. Always report and document incidents that you should (De Leon, personal communication, December 1, 2019)
2. Hold negligent teachers accountable (De Leon, personal communication, December 1, 2019)
3. Report suspected child abuse or neglect immediately (within 48 hours upon learning) (Killeen ISD Employee Handbook, 2018).
4. Always take sexual misconduct allegations seriously and perform a full investigation (Goodell, 2019)
5. Make sure to constantly supervise your class and don't lose control of what is going on (Buzzard v. East Lake School District, 1939)
6. To sum it up, "school districts by law have a duty to exercise ordinary care to prevent foreseeable misconduct of other students" (Palmatier, 2016)