Hazing in public schools is a significant problem that may result in serious physical or emotional harm to students who are victims. According to experts in the field, each year more than 1,500,000 American students become new hazing victims. Hazing also results in legal challenges for school personnel. The courts consider public schools to be…

In 1999, the United States General Accountability Office (USGAO) investigated restraints and seclusion use in mental health settings and found patterns of misuse and abuse. A decade later, it found the same misuse and abuse in schools. Restraints and seclusion are traumatizing and dangerous procedures that have caused injury and death. In the past…

There is no evidence that physically restraining or putting children in unsupervised seclusion in the K-12 school system provides any educational or therapeutic benefit to a child. In fact, use of either seclusion or restraints in non-emergency situations poses significant physical and psychological danger to students. Yet the first round of data…

In a student production of "Dracula" at Texas A&M University some years ago, the final scene was exceptionally dramatic. One actor stabbed another, who was playing the vampire, in the chest with a real knife. A volunteer director from the community, who was assisting the drama club, had decided that the scene required the actual weapon, not the…

Due to increasing numbers of lawsuits, educators need protection against financial liability to persons claiming injury on school property or in school-related activities. This legal memorandum describes needed protections, discusses the National Association of Secondary School Principals' (NASSP) role in developing liability insurance, and…

Discusses the 1997 collapse of a balcony on a historic building at the University of Virginia, which resulted in a death and several injuries. Explores the balcony structure and cause of the collapse, any possibly preventative measures, and the resolution of legal proceedings resulting from the collapse. (EV)

Legal issues in liability for and prevention of injuries through negligence are discussed: proving negligence, who is owed a duty of care, who may be sued, remedies, risk management (shifting risk, insurance, indemnification, waivers and releases), and preventing claims (warning of known danger, proper supervision, school maintenance, security,…

Areas of potential faculty liability are reviewed: evaluation of student performance, and liability for student work, for injuries to students, and as author or consultant. The emphasis is on faculty's efforts to control these aspects of their work. (MSE)

Recent limitation of charitable and sovereign immunity of colleges and universities and the increased willingness of courts to entertain tort lawsuits by students against universities has resulted in increased institutional exposure to tort liability for injuries caused by dangerous buildings or grounds. Institutions can take some measures to…

School systems that allow handicapped students to participate in athletics may be open to liability suits if injury occurs; yet systems with a policy of excluding all physically impaired students from sports may be sued under Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act for denial of equal opportunity. (Author/JM)

Drinking on college campuses is more pervasive and destructive than many people realize. The extent of the problem was recently highlighted by an extensive 3-year investigation by the Task Force on College Drinking, commissioned by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The Task Force reports that alcohol consumption is…