YEAR OLD

Case Law reflection on School Negligence
Name
Institutional Affiliation

Reflection on the case of school Negligence
In this case – a student with special needs drowned during a gym class – the facts and legal precepts determine the liability of the school.
During this incident, the school lacked a tutor for special needs who would be involved during gym classes. In addition, it did not have multiple tutors for gym classes – only one teacher engaged the students in both swimming and playing basketball. In relation to this case, Find Law (2014) outlines in the case Marson v. Thomason on the vital aspects of ministerial act of two tutors engaging in gym lessons. In Marson v. Thomason (Find Law, 2014, Para. 9), the court acknowledged the value of two tutors engaging students, specifically for emergency situations and controlling other students during this scenario. The judge argued that ministerial duty is only determined in specific and discretionary duties. However, for Marson v. Thomason’s case, the teachers on duty were not having the specific obligation of “extending the bleachers” (Find Law, 2014, Para. 43). Nevertheless, the ministerial act in this situation is based on the responsibility of ensuring the safety of every student during the gym lesson. Goto (2014), also discusses the essence of a swimming lifeguard – which the school did not consider – especially acting during emergencies within the swimming area (Goto, p.337-338).
Therefore, the school is liable for the student’s death since they only focused on budgetary control over the safety of students.

Conclusion
The main regulation the school should explore is hiring a lifeguard and a tutor for special needs students. Gym tutors must ensure the safety of all students – including needy students – before, during and after the gym lessons.
References
Find Law (2014). Marson v. Thomason. Findlaw.com. Accessed at: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ky-supreme-court/1664013.html
Goto, R. (2014). Lifeguard Effectiveness. In Drowning (pp. 337-338). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.