Educational Malpractice: The Price of Professionalism

Abstract

ver the last two decades, educational malpractice has emerged as a formidable threat to educators. Increasingly, parents have brought suits on behalf of their children, alleging that teachers were either negligent or incapable of providing competent instruction, proper placement, and classification of their children. In these cases students have charged that they suffered academic injury by being denied the full benefits of a proper education. While numerous suits have been filed in the past, no case currently has been won by parents or students. However, with the emergence of school-based management, national teaching standards, and an emphasis on professionalism in education, the prospect of a successful malpractice challenge is greatly heightened. There is little doubt that somewhere in the foreseeable future a malpractice suit will be won by a student who has suffered academic injury.