There was a time when a tap on the shoulder caused a student to sit up and pay attention to what his or her teacher was saying. And there was a day and age when a teacher could cuff a disruptive student on the hand as a reminder that unruly behavior would not be tolerated in the classroom. Today, our teachers are afraid their disciplinary actions will lead, not to obedience and compliance by the student, but instead to frivolous lawsuits filed by angry parents. This inability to maintain order in the classroom for fear of litigation has led to an environment detrimental to the learning process.

We’re blessed to have so many exceptional teachers who are willing and able to educate our young people. They spend hours each day doing their best to teach every child sent to their classroom – even the most difficult and challenging ones. The unruly students are the ones who can ruin the educational experience for everyone else in the class, and they make it a real challenge for teachers who simply want the best learning environment possible for our kids. Unless our teachers have the ability to effectively deal with these challenging students, the educational process will most certainly suffer.

Unfortunately there are many students and parents ready to file lawsuits at the drop of a hat – or a tap on the hand. Some of the lawsuits we have seen in recent years have been the very definition of frivolous. In one well-documented case we saw students bring suit against a school for removing them from a school-sponsored event at which they showed up inebriated. In another, we saw a teacher become the subject of a lawsuit after doing nothing more than trying to break up a fight between students. In those cases, and so many others, common sense has failed to rule the day, and our teachers, schools and tax payers have paid the price.

We want our teachers to focus on education rather than litigation. Our goal is to inject a dose of common sense into the process by protecting our teachers who are doing nothing more than trying to maintain order in the classroom. Once again, we will be working on teacher protection (House Bill 1722) that will provide liability protection to teachers and school officials who are only trying to do their jobs to the best of their abilities. This legislation would prevent lawsuits against teachers who discipline students by using their school district's approved procedures. With this we would give teachers the peace of mind to know they can take appropriate action to instill order in the classroom without fear of a lawsuit. It’s important to note this bill in no way protects teachers or staff who are not following school board policies or are willfully negligent in performing their duties. It would only protect the teachers who abide by policy as they go about the business of providing a quality education to our young people.

The bill also would provide liability immunity to qualified teachers and staff who distribute medication or life-saving medical treatments such as CPR. In addition, a teacher or other public school employee who is not qualified and who refuses to offer a treatment or administer medication will not be held liable for that action either. With this, we give our teachers the ability to do something as simple as provide medication to a sick child without fear of a lawsuit while also making it clear they are not required to do so.

With this common sense legislation we can create an environment where the focus is on education rather than litigation – where teachers can concentrate on the classroom rather than a courtroom. We want our teachers to feel secure when they are doing their jobs and following the guidelines of the school board. We can achieve this with the passage of the teacher protection act. You can view this bill at www.house.mo.gov. In the ‘bill search’ box, enter hb1722.

I encourage you to contact me with your suggestions or ideas. I can be reached at my Capitol office (573) 751-1484, or by e-mail at shannon.cooper@house.mo.gov. My mailing address is: Room 310, State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101.