Stephanie Lovett-Bowman, Friday, February 11, 2011 | Filed under: No Child Left Behind
The Supreme Court of Missouri this week upheld the constitutionality of a federal law that provides immunity from civil liability for teachers and administrators. Congress enacted the Paul D. Coverdell Teacher Protection Act as part of the No Child Left Behind Reforms of 2001, but the Act has rarely been addressed by courts. The Act’s purpose is to provide teachers, principals, and other school professionals the ability to undertake reasonable actions to maintain order, discipline, and an appropriate educational environment without fear of civil liability. The Act provides immunity for teachers who, among other things, act within the scope of their employment and in conformity with federal, state, and local law.
In
Dydell v. Taylor, the Missouri Supreme Court first upheld the constitutionality of the Coverdell Act and then held that the Act provided immunity from suit to former Kansas City, Missouri School District superintendent Bernard Taylor, who was sued for allegedly negligently permitting a student to assault another student. The plaintiff argued that Taylor had violated district policy, making the Act’s immunity inapplicable. The Court disagreed, saying that violating district policy was not sufficient to revoke the Act’s protection and that, nonetheless, there was no evidence that Taylor violated district policy anyway.