SACRAMENTO - The Civil Justice Association of California (CJAC) lauded Congress' passage today of an education bill that will protect teachers and school administrators from meritless lawsuits.

"It's become an absurd tragedy that teachers can't assign a grade or discipline a student without envisioning a knock on the door by some lawyer," said CJAC president John H. Sullivan. "The last thing we need as California continues sharpening its education system are attorneys swarming around school grounds. Our tax dollars should be educating children, not fighting off frivolous lawsuits."

A 1999 survey by The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) found that a quarter of the administrators responding had dealt with lawsuits or out-of-court claims settlements in the prior two years. One in five reported spending 5-10 hours a week documenting activities in an effort to prevent lawsuits.

An earlier study sponsored by the Civil Justice Association found that during the 1990s, California's K-12 public school districts spend an average of $80 million a year on liability-related costs - enough money to triple the number of school librarians or double the number of school nurses.

"These reforms are essential to protecting the ability of teachers and principals to do their jobs - educating tomorrow's leaders," said John Wilson, Schools Excess Liability Fund (SELF). "Now they can focus on doing just that."

The federal bill, expected to be signed immediately by President George W. Bush, would prohibit the award of non-economic damages against a teacher in excess of teachers' proportion of fault; limit the availability of punitive damages against teachers; and protect teachers from lawsuits for most acts committed in compliance with the law or school rules, such as enforcing discipline, grading students, or promoting school safety.

Sullivan said his organization had been working with the schools insurance group on a California legislative proposal, but was deferring action in light of the new federal law.

"We are optimistic this new law will benefit California and we will be monitoring it to see whether additional changes at the state level might make it more effective here."