§ 9-1-31 - Public school teachers, supervisors, and administrators – Immunity from liability – Compensation for certain injuries – Duty upon school committees and board of regents.
SECTION 9-1-31
§ 9-1-31 Public school teachers,supervisors, and administrators – Immunity from liability –Compensation for certain injuries – Duty upon school committees and boardof regents. – (a) Each school committee and the board of regents shall protect and saveharmless
(1) any public school teacher
(2) any supervisor, administrator, or licensed professionalemployee
(3) any employee whose position requires a certificate fromthe department of education or board of regents for elementary and secondaryeducation
(4) any employee whose position directly involves work withstudents
(5) any employee of the board of regents
from financial loss and expense, including legal fees andcosts, if any, arising out of any claim, demand, or suit for actions resultingin accidental bodily injury to or death of any person, or in accidental damageto or destruction of property, within or without the school building, or anyother acts, including but not limited to infringement of any person's civilrights, resulting in any injury, which acts are not wanton, reckless,malicious, or grossly negligent, as determined by a court of competentjurisdiction, provided the teacher, supervisor, or administrator, at the timeof the acts resulting in the injury, death, damages, or destruction, was actingin the discharge of his or her duties or within the scope of his or heremployment or under the direction of the school committee or the board ofregents.
(b) For the purpose of this section, the term "teacher" shallinclude any student teacher doing practice teaching under the direction of ateacher employed by a school committee or the board of regents.
(c) Each school committee and the board of regents shallprotect and save harmless any teacher or any supervisor or administrator fromfinancial loss and expense, including payment of expenses reasonably incurredfor medical or other service, necessary as a result of an assault upon theteacher, supervisor, or administrator while the person was acting in thedischarge of his or her duties within the scope of his or her employment orunder the direction of the school committee or the board of regents, whichexpenses are not paid by the individual teacher's, supervisor's, oradministrator's workers' compensation.
(d) Any teacher, supervisor, or administrator absent from hisor her employment as a result of injury sustained during an assault upon theteacher, supervisor, or administrator that occurred while the teacher,supervisor, or administrator was discharging his or her duties within the scopeof his or her employment or under the direction of the school committee or theboard of regents, or for a court appearance in connection with the assault,shall continue to receive his or her full salary, while so absent, except thatthe amount of any workers' compensation award may be deducted from his or hersalary payments during the absence. The time of the absence shall not becharged against the teacher's, supervisor's, or administrator's sick leave,vacation time, or personal leave days.
(e) A person so injured in accordance with subdivision (d)above and who receives a disability therefrom, which renders them unable tofully perform their normal duties, shall, if the disability continues for aperiod of one year, apply to the Rhode Island employees retirement system forappropriate benefits for which that person is entitled.