| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | CONTACT: | Henry Reske reske@erols.com (703) 683-5275 |
Washington, DC, September 01, 1999 --
WASHINGTON, DC -- A nationwide survey of principals has found that schools across the country are eliminating or altering basic programs and activities due to the fear of lawsuits.
The programs eliminated or altered include such staples of American education as physical education, driver's education, shop, recess, dances and scouting. An amazing number of principals (78) reported banning all physical contact (i.e. hugging) for fear of lawsuits.
“Principals honestly lament the freedom they've lost to simply hug a child anymore,” said Vincent L. Ferrandino, executive director of the National Association of Elementary School Principals.
Sherman Joyce, president of the American Tort Reform Association, called the results, “staggering.”
“Sixty-five percent of over 500 school principals reported a difference in the kinds of school-related programs offered because of liability concerns and costs,” he said. “An amazing 25 percent of them reported lawsuits or out-of-court settlements in the last two years.”
The survey found:
--65 percent of those responding noticed a difference in general in the kinds of school-related programs offered because of liability concerns and costs.
--20 percent of those responding reported spending 5-10 hours a week in meetings or documenting events in efforts to avoid litigation. Six percent put that number at 10-20 hours a week.
--25 percent of those responding had lawsuits or out-of-court settlements in the last two years.
--57 percent of those responding reported that the suits affected school- related programs for students or teachers.
--60 percent of those responding expected an increase in peer to peer sexual harassment litigation as a result of the recent Supreme Court ruling.
--64 percent of those responding expect an increase in litigation as a result of the recent violent incidents in schools.
-- 64 percent of those responding reported that litigation in schools increased in the last ten years.
-- 63 percent of those responding said that more legislative reform was needed, most often citing a need for more protection for teachers, staff and administrators, a clarification of special education laws, protection from frivolous suits, and limits on punitive damages.
--78 principals reported terminating all physical contact such as hugging.
The survey was sent to 5,000 randomly selected members of the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National Association of Secondary School Principals in late July. By late August, 523 principals had responded to the four-page survey, representing a more than 10 percent return rate. The percentages noted in the survey results are calculated on responses for each question.
The survey is a reprise of one conducted in 1989 by the National Association of Secondary School Principals and the National School Boards Association's Council of School Attorneys, working in cooperation with the American Tort Reform Association.
That survey posed just eight questions of the 480 respondents and found similar problems such as cancellation of both curricular and extra-curricular programs, alterations of programs due to liability concerns and an inability to obtain insurance for some programs.
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The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) is the only national organization dedicated exclusively to tort and liability reform through public education and the enactment of legislation. ATRA's membership includes non profits, small and large companies, as well as state and national trade, business, and professional associations.
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