Collapse to view only § 7946. Limitation on liability for teachers
- § 7941. Short title
- § 7942. Purpose
- § 7943. Definitions
- § 7944. Applicability
- § 7945. Preemption and election of State nonapplicability
- § 7946. Limitation on liability for teachers
- § 7947. Allocation of responsibility for noneconomic loss
- § 7948. Effective date
This subpart may be cited as the “Paul D. Coverdell Teacher Protection Act of 2001”.
The purpose of this subpart is to provide teachers, principals, and other school professionals the tools they need to undertake reasonable actions to maintain order, discipline, and an appropriate educational environment.
The term “economic loss” means any pecuniary loss resulting from harm (including the loss of earnings or other benefits related to employment, medical expense loss, replacement services loss, loss due to death, burial costs, and loss of business or employment opportunities) to the extent recovery for such loss is allowed under applicable State law.
The term “harm” includes physical, nonphysical, economic, and noneconomic losses.
The term “noneconomic loss” means loss for physical or emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of society or companionship, loss of consortium (other than loss of domestic service), hedonic damages, injury to reputation, or any other nonpecuniary loss of any kind or nature.
The term “school” means a public or private kindergarten, a public or private elementary school or secondary school, or a home school.
The term “State” means each of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, any other territory or possession of the United States, or any political subdivision of any such State, territory, or possession.
This subpart shall only apply to States that receive funds under this chapter, and shall apply to such a State as a condition of receiving such funds.
This subpart preempts the laws of any State to the extent that such laws are inconsistent with this subpart, except that this subpart shall not preempt any State law that provides additional protection from liability relating to teachers.
Punitive damages may not be awarded against a teacher in an action brought for harm based on the act or omission of a teacher acting within the scope of the teacher’s employment or responsibilities to a school or governmental entity unless the claimant establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the harm was proximately caused by an act or omission of such teacher that constitutes willful or criminal misconduct, or a conscious, flagrant indiffe
Paragraph (1) does not create a cause of action for punitive damages and does not preempt or supersede any Federal or State law to the extent that such law would further limit the award of punitive damages.
The limitations on the liability of a teacher under this subpart shall not apply to misconduct during background investigations, or during other actions, involved in the hiring of a teacher.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect any civil action brought by any school or any governmental entity against any teacher of such school.
Nothing in this subpart shall be construed to affect any State or local law (including a rule or regulation) or policy pertaining to the use of corporal punishment.
In any civil action against a teacher, based on an act or omission of a teacher acting within the scope of the teacher’s employment or responsibilities to a school or governmental entity, the liability of the teacher for noneconomic loss shall be determined in accordance with subsection (b).
Each defendant who is a teacher shall be liable only for the amount of noneconomic loss allocated to that defendant in direct proportion to the percentage of responsibility of that defendant (determined in accordance with paragraph (2)) for the harm to the claimant with respect to which that defendant is liable.
The court shall render a separate judgment against each defendant in an amount determined pursuant to subparagraph (A).
For purposes of determining the amount of noneconomic loss allocated to a defendant who is a teacher under this section, the trier of fact shall determine the percentage of responsibility of each person responsible for the claimant’s harm, whether or not such person is a party to the action.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to preempt or supersede any Federal or State law that further limits the application of joint liability in a civil action described in subsection (a), beyond the limitations established in this section.
This subpart shall take effect 90 days after January 8, 2002.
This subpart applies to any claim for harm caused by an act or omission of a teacher if that claim is filed on or after the effective date of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 without regard to whether the harm that is the subject of the claim or the conduct that caused the harm occurred before such effective date.