ABSTRACT
This chapter describes a sobering view of legal liability and risk management in schools. It examines how immunity and liability affect common school interests, such as the law of torts and contractual liability. The chapter considers how legal liability and risk management affect the decisions and actions of education’s stakeholders. It focuses on internalizing the risks and costs of liability because the law and schools are in close partnership, with profound budget implications. The chapter describes the US Constitution therefore both grants authority and creates liability for schools by endowing certain rights to citizens relating to education, while leaving direct responsibility for education to the states. It explores the Congress both grants authority to schools and creates liability by enacting laws supporting federal education initiatives that result in both benefit and liability. Perhaps the best way for school leaders to think about immunity and liability is to consider whether an alleged fault was a governmental or a proprietary act.
