Chapter 6 – School Personnel and School District Liability

Chapter Notes

 Tort—actionable or civil wrong committed against one person by another independent of

contract.
 Liability—injury occurs based on the actions of school personnel…may result from
deliberate acts involving negligence.
 Educators commit tort when they violate a legally imposed duty that results to injury of
student.
 Hosemann v Oakland Unified School District case
 Doe v Taylor case
 Intentional torts—results from deliberate act committed against another person. Can be
accompanied by malice. Includes assault, battery, defamation, libel and slander, mental
distress, false imprisonment, and trespassing.
 Assault—offer to use force in a hostile manner that causes apprehension.
 Battery—physical contact actually takes place. Involves unwelcomed and unprivileged
body contact.
 Defamation—occurs when false statements are made about another person.
 Slander—oral defamation
 Libel—written defamation
 Titus v Lindberg—case involving supervision
 Educational malpractice—any unprofessional conduct or lack of sufficient skill in the
performance of professional duties. Not physical, but emotional, psychological, or
educational, resulting from poor teaching or improper placement.
 Peter W. v San Francisco Unified School District—case involving education malpractice
 Hoffman v Board of Education—case involving intellectual development
 Develop proper means to monitor instructional practices to improve the overall
educational delivery system.
 Schools may be liable for foreseeable injury to students who use school-sponsored buses.
 A higher standard of care is necessary for labs, physical education classes, and contact
sports.