FOR KIM WOODS ONLY EDU 486 Week 3 Assignment Discussion 2

Case study:
Anna Jones is a first grader at Perkins Elementary School. She has a history of hitting and biting other children. On this particular day, her teacher, Ms. Marks sees Anna hit another child across the face, and immediately redirects her to the principal’s office. On her way to the principal’s office, another teacher, Ms. Stewart, sees Anna in what appears to be an attempt to leave the building. Ms. Stewart intervenes with Anna at the door and inquires about where she is headed. Anna says that her teacher sent her to the office. Ms. Stewart then escorts Anna to the office. The principal is unavailable at the moment and Ms. Stewart indicates that she will leave Anna in the care of the secretaries until the principal is available. She also reports to the secretaries that Anna’s teacher sent her to the office, and she intervened with Anna in what appeared to be an attempt to leave the building.

When the principal is available, the secretaries inform him of what Ms. Stewart told them and he proceeds to walk with Anna into his office. While in his office, Anna talks about what she did that resulted in her being sent to the office. After 10 minutes of talking, the principal indicates he will need to talk with Anna’s parents and that they will have to discuss and decide on a consequence. He then directs Anna to go back to her classroom.

Anna leaves the office, exits the school and heads for home. Anna remembers that there is a window to her home that is unlocked and she proceeds to open the window and stick her arm on the window ledge, just as she does so, the window comes crashing down on her arm, splitting the bones in her arm. The next door neighbor hears loud cries of pain and comes rushing to Anna’s rescue. Anna is then rushed to the hospital where it is determined that she has severed her arm and may not be able to regain use of it. Her parents are furious and have contacted an attorney to sue the school district.

Based on what you have read about liability and negligence in your course textbook (you may also consult outside resources such as past court cases), were school personnel negligent? Is the school liable for damages in this situation? What policies [if any] might exist that protect the organization in a case such as this? What policies should be adopted within this district to avoid litigation such as this in the future? Defend your answer with details, examples, and references to the course text. Your response should be at least 250 words in length.