(a) An employee is not civilly liable for taking any action related to the control, grading, suspension, expulsion, or discipline of a student that occurs while the student is on the property of the educational entity or under the supervision of the educational entity or the employee unless that action violates a law, rule, or clearly articulated state or school policy. The plaintiff bears the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the action of the employee violated a law, rule, or clearly articulated state or school policy.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 49-1-1204

  • Educational entity: means the state board of education, department of education, and any other body, board, or agency that governs a public or private elementary or secondary school, and includes, but is not limited to, local education agencies and local boards of education. See Tennessee Code 49-1-1203
  • Employee: means :
    (A) An individual who is elected or appointed to an educational entity. See Tennessee Code 49-1-1203
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) An employee is not liable for making a report consistent with federal or state law to the appropriate law enforcement authorities, or to an official of an educational entity, if the individual making the report has reasonable grounds to suspect that a student is:

(1) Under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance that is not lawfully prescribed to the student;
(2) Involved in the illegal solicitation, sale, or distribution of alcohol or a controlled substance; or
(3) Involved in any other illegal activity.
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