Gov. John Bel Edwards last week signed legislation that will help to shield school districts and colleges from civil damages resulting from injuries or deaths related to alleged exposure to the coronavirus on campuses.
House Bill 59, authored by Rep. Buddy Mincey (R-Denham Springs), passed the legislature on the final day of the special session with support from the Louisiana School Boards Association (LSBA), Charter Schools Association and the Board of Regents. It retroactively gives the districts and colleges the legal liability protections as of March 11, provided the institutions did not take an action that violated federal or state health regulations or acted in a way that amounts to gross negligence or reckless conduct..
“Like virtually every segment of society, school district administrators are having to rapidly adapt to circumstances far beyond their control,” Dr. Janet Pope, the LSBA’s executive director, told the Louisiana Record. “At this time, limiting the amount of precious resources that are expended in litigation will allow school districts to focus those resources on the education of our children.”
The association sees the measure as crucial to ensuring that schools can reopen in the fall and provide the highest level of in-person instruction, according to Pope.
“Experts in both education and medicine have opined that the higher the level of in-person instruction, the better for both the educational and mental health of students,” she said. “That which assists in moving toward the in-person educational model is essential.”
A key motivating factor behind HB 59 was the potential financial cost to districts resulting from lawsuits filed by students, parents or others over any alleged spread of the virus on campuses.
“While individual litigants and others looking to financially capitalize on the fluidity of the educational system during the COVID-19 pandemic have a narrow focus on an individual circumstance, school districts, including school board members, educators and school staff, have a greater obligation to our society and our educational system,” she said. “Meeting that obligation depends upon marshaling fiscal resources toward the education of our children.”
Pope credited Rep. Mincey, a former school board member, for his work in helping the LSBA and other education groups get the legislation passed. The bill originally applied to any infectious disease but was scaled down during the legislative process to apply only to the coronavirus pandemic.