Jury Awards Family $15 million after P.E. Student dies running laps. 


Los Angeles Unified owes a family $15 million after their son died during a middle school P.E. class in 2016, the Los Angeles Times reported.The jury found that the district was liable because even though a defibrillator was located on campus, staff didn’t know it was there and didn’t use it to help the boy, who had collapsed while running laps during a morning P.E. class at Pa…

A decision was reached in the legal case involving the 4th graders who were reading the Bible at recess and were told to stop. It seems a parent observed the activity and complained.

The parents of one of the Bible reading students sued with the assistance of the Alliance Defense Team . The parents sued for just one dollar, recognition that their child's rights had been violated, and an injunction against future such actions.

The school cla…

Summer is officially over but summer heat remains in some areas. Here's a quick recap on some of the articles on the topic resulting in children receiving burns on playground mats.

Four year old NYC child hospitalized for 7 days with burn from playground. Parent sues city. City sues parent. Channel 2 news NYC.

Playground dangers. Rubber mats cause burns. Channel 2 News. NYC. "The black rubber mats at Van Vorhees playground in Cobble H…

An interesting case involving a student and teacher is unfolding in the Broward County School District in Florida. A student rant aimed at her english teacher on Facebook lands her on suspension with the threat of a blemished school record.

"You can express an opinion on whether someone is a good teacher," said Pamela Brown, assistant director for the Broward County School District, who oversees expulsions. "But when you start inv…

A principal from the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage school district is being investigated after a parent filed a complaint. It seems a six year old student flushed a paper towel down the toilet in his classroom restroom after a bathroom break resulting in a clogged toilet.

Complaints from the parents of a kindergarten student that their son was forced to unclog a toilet with his bare hands resulted in proposed disciplinary action against an Eagan ele…

Have you missed any of our recently posted Peaceful Playgrounds featured articles. Topics include bullying, physical activity, nutrition, discipline, recess before lunch to name a few. Click on the links below for the complete articles.

Bullying Prevention: Life Lessons on Good and Evil


School Recess before Lunch

Countdown to Good Health: 5-4-3-2-1 Go

Playground Liability: Accident or Injury

Schoolwide Discipline: What Works?

Recess is on the Upswing

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The "Williams Settlement" filed in 2000 on behalf of San Francisco County students requires annual inspections of low-achieving schools to guard against substandard conditions. It was during a Williams Audit that Mintie White Elementary School was dinged for the poor condition of its playground. But inspector Nancy Serigstad from the Santa Cruz County Office of Education also told Principal de Santa Anna about the possibility of getti…

Reasonable care does not require constant and undeviating scrutiny of a particular child on a supervised playground. Accordingly, a playground supervisor is not necessarily negligent if he or she fails to observe a particular child at the precise moment an injury occurs. However, a common refrain in lawsuits is that the supervisor’s failure to observe a child at the time of injury constitutes a negligent act and therefore the supervision is ina…

When a Philadelphia 4 year old feel off a cork screw while playing on an elementary school playground structure the case rested on three legal issues. 1. The depth of the surfacing, 2. in adequate supervision, and 3. age appropriate equipment. It was alledged that all three conditions contributed to the injury ( fracture of the child's left arm) according to attorney's involved in the case.

It seems the depth of the surfacing did not…

A Florida judge over turned a jury's $4 million award to a elementary school age boy that was bullied at recess. The judge cut the award to $600,000.

Hillsborough County Circuit Judge William Levens wrote in his order that the boy's attorney delivered an "improper and unfairly prejudicial" closing argument. The attorney's words, Levens wrote, were inflammatory and focused on punishment rather than the facts of the case.

On J…