Negligence

Educators, including teachers and school administrators, are often concerned about the extent of their legal liability for injuries sustained by children who are under their direct supervision as students. When educators are sued for injuries to children, it is under the broad rubric of the tort of negligence. Torts are civil wrongs that occur when persons suffer harms or losses as a direct consequence of the improper conduct of others.

One type of tort, intentional torts, such as assault, battery, and defamation, are expressly characterized as the intent to do harm to others. For example, while assault is the threat of an unwanted touch, battery is the actual unwanted intentional contact with another person, such as striking a child while in the act of imposing corporal ...