MW

We are called to address the accountability of school districts for actions that occur on their campuses when school grounds are open to students during noninstructional times. In this case, an eighth grade special education student filed suit against a school district after he was sodomized by another student in the school bathroom prior to the beginning of class. The school district provided only general supervision at the time, under which no adult was specifically responsible for supervision of the students on campus. A jury returned a verdict against the school district in excess of $2 million.

The school district appeals, arguing that it owed no duty of care to the student to prevent the sexual assault. We disagree. The assault occurred on the school’s watch, while the student was entrusted to the school’s care. It was substantially caused by the school’s indifference toward the dangers posed by failing to adequately supervise its students, particularly special education students. In the published portion of this opinion, we find the school district owed the student a duty of care to protect him from this foreseeable assault.

In the unpublished portion of this…

The victim in this case suffered grievous harm. Moreover, Chris, the 14-year-old perpetrator, unquestionably had serious behavior problems. However, I cannot agree that it was reasonably foreseeable that a student, who had been disciplined primarily for defiant and disruptive behavior, would rape another student while on school grounds. The majority’s contrary position expands the concept of duty to the point of essentially imposing strict liability on school districts for the criminal conduct of any student with a discipline record that includes hitting and kicking other students. This is a clear departure from established California law. Therefore, I respectfully dissent.

As noted by the majority, a school district has a general legal duty to exercise reasonable care in supervising the conduct of the students on school grounds and may be held liable for injuries proximately caused by the failure to exercise such care. (Hoyem v. Manhattan Beach City Sch. Dist. (1978) 22 Cal.3d 508, 513 [ 150 Cal.Rptr. 1 , 585 P.2d 851 ].) The standard imposed on school personnel in carrying out this duty is the degree of care “ ‘which a , person of ordinary pmdence, charged with [comparable]…

I concur fully in Justice Wiseman’s opinion. I write separately to make further comments as to the existence of the school district’s duty toward the minor victim in this case. First, I note that Ann M. v. Pacific Plaza Shopping Center (1993) 6 Cal.4th 666 [ 25 Cal.Rptr.2d 137 , 863 P.2d 207 ] and Sharon P. v. Arman, Ltd. (1999) 21 Cal.4th 1181 [ 91 Cal.Rptr.2d 35 , 989 P.2d 121 ] address premises liability and are inapplicable to the instant case given the special relationship that exists between a school district and its students.

Second, in my view, even if Romero v. Superior Court (2001) 89 Cal.App.4th 1068 [ 107 Cal.Rptr.2d 801 ] was extended to this type of situation, the school district herein would still have a duty toward the minor victim given its actual knowledge of the pertinent factual circumstances in this case. Romero held the parents therein had no legal duty to the victim because they had no actual knowledge of the minor’s assaultive tendencies or even his school disciplinary record, which included “a long history of misconduct, including sexual harassment of female students, fighting and other misbehavior that resulted in numerous detentions and suspensions; as…

Certified for Partial Publication. [*]

We are called to address the accountability of school districts for actions that occur on their campuses when school grounds are open to students during noninstructional times. In this case, an eighth grade special education student filed suit against a school district after he was sodomized by another student in the school bathroom prior to the beginning of class. The school district provided only general supervision at the time, under which no adult was specifically responsible for supervision of the students on campus. A jury returned a verdict against the school district in excess of $2 million.

The school district appeals, arguing that it owed no duty of care to the student to prevent the sexual assault. We disagree. The assault occurred on the school's watch, while the student was entrusted to the school's care. It was substantially caused by the school's indifference toward the dangers posed by failing to adequately supervise its students, particularly special education students. In the published portion of this opinion, we find the school district owed the student a duty of care to protect him from this foreseeable…