Education 210 Portfolio Artifact #3

Education 210 Portfolio Artifact #3

Tort and Liability
Jaime Hoonsan
The College of Southern Nevada

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Scenario:
Middle School Student Ray Knight was suspended from school for 3 days as punishment
for excessive absenteeism. School district policy requires parental notification via telephone and
a written notice delivered by mail. The school disregarded district policy and sent only a note
home with Ray, which he promptly threw in the trash. Therefore, Rays parents were
unenlightened of his suspension. On the first day of his suspension, Ray was unintentionally
shot during the time that he was visiting an acquaintances house. Do Rays mother and father
have a legitimate liability case against the school?
Pro-Support:
D.C. v. St. Landry Parish School Board, 802 So.2d 19 (La. App. 2001) Demonstrated
that a school may be held liable for injuries sustained by a child because the school violated a
district policy in allowing K.C., a 7th grade student to walk home through a neighborhood well
known for its high crime rate, after her after school behavior clinic. K.C. went back and forth to
her teacher and the office in an attempt to call home to find a ride home for herself, but was
unable to do so. K.C. was sexually assaulted while walking home. This case bears similarities to
the Ray Knight Case in that both schools violated district policy by releasing children from
school care without proper parental consent.
According to Eisel v. Board of Education 597 A.2d 447 (Md. 1991), school counselors
have a duty to report suicidal thoughts to parents to help prevent harm to the student. This was
one of the first cases where such a liability was established. 13 year old Nicole Eisel took part in
a murder suicide pact. Eisels father filed suit against the school after it was found that Nicole
had talked to her friends, telling them that she intended to commit suicide, and her friends then

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notified a school counselor, but the counselor failed to notify her parents. The school policy
stated that if it was reported that a student was having feelings of self-harm, it was to be reported
to the parents/guardians. The courts ruled in favor of Nicoles father. This case has semblance to
the Ray Knight case because harm came to a student when a trusted member of a school faculty
failed to follow protocol in reporting to parents/ guardians what was going on with a student.

Con-Support
Glaser v. Emporia Unified School District No. 253, 21 P.3d 573 (Kan.2001) demonstrated
that a school district has no liability to supervise students until they are inside the doors of a
school. In this case, 12 year old Todd Glaser arrived at school early one day and began playing
near the street with another student who had also arrived early. Glaser ran off school grounds,
across a parking lot, into the street and was hit and injured by a car. The courts found that since
Glaser was not on school property at the time of the accident and there was a no supervision
before school hours policy in effect, that the school was not liable for Todd Glasers injuries.
This case bears similarities to the Knight case in that neither Knight or Glaser were on campus at
the time their injuries were sustained, therefore neither of them were being supervised by school
staff. The school was not held liable for Glasers injuries, so Knights school should not be held
liable as well.
According to Collette v. Tolleson Unified School District, the appelees were injured
when a student drove their car off of a high school campus for lunch. The student had no right to
leave the campus, but legally, the school had no right to hold the student on campus. On the way
back to school after lunch, the student swerved out of his lane and into oncoming traffic causing

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injuries to the party driving the other vehicle. This case established that the school district is not
liable to injuries received by students while they are off campus during school hours, and the
district is also not liable for injuries received by others due to the students negligence. This case
is similar to Ray Knights case because neither Knight nor were on campus while they were
injured, and the courts determined that the school was not liable in the Collette case. Therefore,
the school should not be liable in the Knight case.

Final Paragraph
Middle School student Ray Knight made several poor choices. The first was excessive
absenteeism, followed by failing to give his parents a notice of his suspension, and ultimately,
the choice to go to his friends house where he was shot. Hopefully, Ray lived to learn the
consequences of his choices. However, the fact that the school failed to follow protocol and
proper procedures for notifying Rays parents of his suspension remains. It is unacceptable that
the school did not notify Rays parents of his suspension. It can be argued that had they been
notified prior to the first day of the suspension that they would have been able to provide Ray
with an adult to stay with during the hours of his suspension, and the shooting would not have
happened. D.C. v. St. Landry Parish School Board, and Eisel v. Board of Education have
demonstrated that when a school fails to follow school initiated policies in the care and release of
children from school grounds, that a school may be held liable if a child is injured or harmed.

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References
Find Law (2009, July 29). Retrieved from Find Law for Legal Professionals:
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/la-court-of-appeal/1422367.html

Leagle, Inc (1991, October 29). Retrieved from Leagle.net:

http://www.leagle.com/decision/1991700324Md376_1672.xml/EISEL%20v.%
20BOARD%20OF%20EDUCATION

Find Law (2001, April 20). Retrieved from Find Law for Legal Professionals:
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ks-supreme-court/1364854.html

Find Law (2002, September 12). Retrieved from Find Law for Legal Professionals:
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/az-court-of-appeals/1291266.html

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