On August 18, 2025, a U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals panel affirmed a district court’s granting of summary judgment in Titusville Area School District’s favor, finding that the school district did not act with “deliberate indifference” to the abuse. What Happened In the fall of 2018, a middle-school gym teacher for Titusville Area School District (“Titusville”) began sexually abusing an … [Read more...] about Third Circuit Panel Affirms District Court Decision in Favor of the School District in Teacher Sexual Abuse Case
state created danger
Governor Wolf Vetoes Pandemic Liability Protections for Schools
On November 19, 2020, the Pennsylvania Senate amended and passed legislation requested by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (“PSBA”) to provide COVID-19 liability protections for schools. The amendment, House Bill 1737 (“HB1737”), would provide school entities with limited pandemic liability protections if they followed, or believed with good faith to have followed, CDC and state health … [Read more...] about Governor Wolf Vetoes Pandemic Liability Protections for Schools
New Case Brings Into Question Whether “State Created Danger” Liability Affects Districts
As a general rule, school actors are immune from tort claims under theories of sovereign immunity. However, in a recent case coming out of the Third Circuit, there seems to be a slight shift towards textualism when applying the doctrine. How does this “state-created danger” theory of liability affect school districts? Generally speaking, school districts are immune from lawsuits for injuries to … [Read more...] about New Case Brings Into Question Whether “State Created Danger” Liability Affects Districts
