United States. The prerequisites are a legal duty to protect a given student from unreasonable risks of injury, the breach of the duty to protect students, proof that the breach was the direct cause of the injury, and a loss or harm result from the injury (Alexander & Alexander, 1984). Torts are legally defined as civil misdeeds "for which a court will afford a remedy to the injured party in the form of damages" (Alexander & Alexander, 1984). While torts can include many areas, "the tort on which most actions will be brought against teachers in a court of law is that of negligence" (Sewall, 1995).
             The purpose of this project is to encourage administrators to take a more active role in training their staff regarding issues of negligence. The three areas that administrators need to address are instruction, supervision, and maintenance of equipment. While many administrators would like to believe that teachers are aware of how to avoid being negligent, administrators are asking for trouble if they do not address the needed changes in procedures, classes, activities, etc. with the entire staff. Principals must also be acquainted with the most common areas of negligence in order to avoid potential lawsuits. Administrators, as well as teachers, are responsible for protecting students while they are on school property.
             Research Sadly, many teachers have not had training in the legal ramifications for leaving students unattended. Principals should take it upon themselves to educate their staffs about the necessity of supervising students constantly. Administrators may be surprised to learn that more than fifty percent of lawsuits are the result of student injury (Jones, 1998). While one would like to think that the likelihood of a student becoming injured or even dying, is atypical in many schools, principals need to make the avoidance of injuries a priority. Principals who wait to react, rather than becoming proactive...