Hopkins V. Spring Independent School Case Study

The case of Hopkins v. Spring Independent School District the Texas Supreme Court had another decision to make in reference to school district liability under the Tort Claims Act. In this case an elementary student in Spring I.S.D., Adeline Hopkins, allegedly sustained an injury to the head after being pushed into a stack of chairs in a room at school. Adeline had cerebral palsy and was prone to certain behaviors that occurred after the incident. While at school that day she had mild convulsions and developed cold sweats. She became dazed and incoherent. The school failed to contact the student’s parents to inform them of the events that had taken place. On the bus route home on that same day Adeline suffered severe convulsions. The bus
Thompson. In this case a student from Cypress Fairbanks I.S.D., Cary Schumate, sustained an injury on the playground. Schumate was a mentally retarded student that attended a school specifically for his disability in Cypress Fairbanks School District. As stated in Walsh, Kemerer, and Maniotis (2014), “Cary’s teacher directed the teacher’s aide, who was a mentally handicapped person, to take the class outside to play. The aide was given permission to choose the activities for the students. The aide directed Cary to jump a stick that was held by the aide and another student.” While attempting to jump over the stick, Cary tripped and hit his head on the ground. The fall caused him to receive a fracture in his neck vertebrae. After the accident, Cary’s mother filed a suit against the teacher for negligence resulting in bodily injury to her son. The trial court in this case granted immunity to the teacher. Mrs. Schumate tried to appeal the decision, claiming Section 22.051 of the Texas Education Code was unconstitutional. The appellate court upheld the lower court’s decision. In addition, they concluded that the teacher was acting in the scope of her employment. They established that she was exercising judgment in allowing her aide to supervise the playtime. The court went on to state that a desirable purpose of section 22.0511 of the Texas Education Code is