Back to School Coronavirus Liability

Today, we're going to talk about legal issues and going back to school. So the coronavirus, this global pandemic's still going on and some schools are back in session. What does that mean? Well, it means that there's liability. Probably means they're going to be lawsuits. Some schools are having students sign liability waivers and other schools and school districts have said, "We're not doing that and we find them wholly unenforceable." What's the real answer? Well, the answer is from what I can tell, it depends. Some states have sovereign immunity for teachers and school districts as long as they follow CDC and federal guidelines for reopening school and complying with pandemic guidelines and protecting their students. And other states have different rules for tort immunity for their teachers and professionals. What about other students? You go to school and your child is sick and gets another child sick. Can you get sued? The unfortunate answer as we sit here right now is probably everybody can get sued. And I say this all the time, anybody can get sued for anything at any time. There is no federal or state liability shield for coronavirus. And many insurers are declining to protect their insured parties, that is schools, school districts, teachers, et cetera, from liability for a coronavirus "incident" or issue. From everything I can tell, I think having a liability waiver is a good idea, but I agree with most school districts and legal experts that it's probably not going to be enforceable in court, but at least it sets the parents and the student's minds in the right place if you do your liability waiver the right way.