Public schools have immunities under the law to being sued. The law also often imposes a cap on a public school’s liability, even when a jury finds a school responsible for harm to children. As the Associated Press has reported:
Parents and their children bring lawsuits only after everything else has failed. After the school has failed to protect their children, ignored warnings, and often refused to properly investigate when a child has been assaulted. Lawsuits give a citizen some power to fight indifference and secrecy. Lawsuits also provide an incentive for a government or company to change. If a community jury orders a business to pay money for its negligent conduct that harms another, then that provides an incentive for the business to act responsibly. Public school immunities are a reverse incentive. It makes it much, much harder to maintain a lawsuit against a public entity for its negligent conduct.
