Assembly bill would shield California school districts from coronavirus lawsuits
A new education bill — which State Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell, D-Long Beach — introduced this week seeks to limit liability related to the coronavirus for school districts this fall.
O’Donnell, who chairs the Education Committee in the California Assembly and is a high school history teacher, said his bill will help protect districts from COVID-19-related lawsuits as they try to reopen this fall. Many school districts, under the guidance from the state and their respective counties, will try to enact social distancing, sanitizing and other health polices to minimize the risk of the virus spreading.
In the wake of restaurants and other businesses reopening in recent weeks, Southern California has seen an increase in cases and hospitalizations, particularly in Los Angeles County, showing that enacting safety procedures doesn’t necessarily mean the virus won’t spread. (LA County this week shut down indoor dining for at least another three weeks.)
O’Donnell said he expected the legislature to pass the bill — which has as its coauthor state Sen. Susan Rubio, D-LA — before the summer session wraps up at the end of August.
“We need to do everything we can to protect the students, and the schools,” O’Donnell said Thursday, July 2. “My bill will indemnify (protect from lawsuits) school districts as long as they follow all the state and local health directives. We still want school districts to use best practices when it comes to student safety.”
Felton Williams, president of Long Beach Unified School District’s Board of Education, said student and employee safety was the top priority. While he declined to comment specifically on O’Donnell’s bill, he did say potential liability is an issue when discussing whether to bring students back to campus this fall.
“Liability weighs pretty heavily on us,” Williams said. “We will follow all the state and local guidelines. We rely on them. The safety and health of every student is paramount.”
O’Donnell said his bill, which he introduced to the Assembly on Monday, June 29, carves out workers compensation and other employee protections, so teachers and other staffers CONTINUE READING: Assembly bill would shield California school districts from coronavirus lawsuits
