Legal Question in Education Law in California

I am a principal of a small private school in southern california. We had an incident where a first grade boy (allegedly) jumped on another first grade boy several times in an attempt to (allegedly) hurt the boy. This was not witnessed by an adult but was told to the mother of the boy that was jumped on. The teacher has talked to the boys, the boy that did the jumping has written an apology. The little boy that did the jumping has ADHD ... and takes medication everyday. He was adopted from a childrens home in Russia. He is in his second year at our school. He is typically a good guy but does have issues that are being worked through with therapist and parents.

My question: The mother that had her boy jumped on is concerned that it could happen again and appears to want to know "exactly" what will happen to the child if he does it again. She appears to be insistent that this is dealt so it will not happen. Her question is "what will happen if this happens again with any child?"

I've not given her an exact answer because I do not feel the answer is black or white. What happens if the child is provoked.......what happens if it is considered an accident ....

I do not feel I should tell the parent "exactly" what will happen as a result of an action until the action occurs and I can determine the events that set the action off. I don't think I need to tell a parent exactly what will happen if this happens again. Should I be telling her what will happen?


Asked on 11/19/10, 11:35 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Andrew Harrell W. Andrew Harrell, Attorney at Law

This has not yet become a matter requiring a legal opinion per se. There is a scientific literature concerning the duty to provide extraordinary supervision of children with disabilities who are integrated into classrooms with other, non-disabled children. As you can imagine, this is a complicated situation. Because of this incident, and because he is receiving treatment for his "issues," you and the school are on notice concerning the child's conduct. One thing that you can do is ensure that your teachers have special training in dealing with children with disabilities. (I believe that is mandated in public schools. I'm not sure about private schools.) Contact me if you want to discuss this further. (I have handled similar cases as an expert (www.kidsaccident.com) as well as as a lawyer. Good luck. I think it is wise that you are giving some thought to the problem.

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Answered on 11/24/10, 6:35 pm


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