Student Contests School Immunity in Unsupervised Detention Injury

If you have a question or concern about special education law, school administration, federal standards, or the overall rights of a student, please feel free to call the expert education law attorneys at Maya Murphy, P.C. in Westport today at (203) 221-3100 .

In the case of Cluney v. Regional Sch. Dist. No. 13, a town and defendant selectman moved for summary judgment for a student’s claim of negligent supervision when she was raped by other students in an after school program.

The case was brought forth by the parents of a high school student who was given after school detention. No teacher came to the detention, so the students went out to the school's ball field, and one of them raped the daughter. The parents then filed suit against several defendants, including the town and the town selectman. Governmental immunity barred the claims alleging violation of general state law including common law negligence because they failed to allege a statutory right of action that abrogated immunity. There are three exceptions to the qualified immunity of a municipal employee where an official can be held liable when performing a discretionary act: (1) where the circumstances make it apparent to the public officer that his or her failure to act would be likely to subject an identifiable person, such as a student, to imminent harm; (2) where a statute specifically provides for a cause of action against a municipality or municipal official for failure to enforce certain laws; and (3) where the alleged acts involve malice, wantonness, or intent to injure, rather than negligence.

Because the daughter was not a foreseeable victim to defendant selectman, governmental immunity applied to his discretionary acts. The selectman did not owe a duty of care to schoolchildren for acts concerning control and supervision at a high school. The parent’s claim did not allege a policy or custom that resulted in a deprivation of the daughter's constitutional rights. The court granted summary judgment to the town and town selectman, holding that governmental immunity barred the claims brought under common law negligence and Connecticut General Statutes, and that the negligence claim failed because the parents  did not allege a policy that deprived parent’s daughter of a constitutional right.

If you have a child with a disability and have questions about special education law, please contact Joseph C. Maya, Esq., at 203-221-3100, or at JMaya@mayalaw.com, to schedule a free consultation.

Source: Cluney v. Regional Sch. Dist. No. 13, 2000 Conn. Super. LEXIS 1561 (Conn. Super. Ct. June 16, 2000)