Ala. Weighs Extending State’s Liability Coverage to Teachers

Several Alabama teachers testified in support of Gov. Bob Riley’s “Teacher Protection Act” this week when a Senate committee held a public hearing on the bill.

The Teacher Protection Act would provide teachers with professional liability insurance. This insurance would provide teachers with legal representation and protect them from potential financial ruin if they are sued over issues related to work. Liability insurance is a protection the state already provides to state employees.

“The state provides a form of liability insurance protection to all state employees, but not our teachers. Currently, our hardworking teachers are forced to pay for this protection out of their own pockets,” said Riley. “I believe this protection should be extended to our teachers so they are secure from the financial dangers of work-related lawsuits.”

The state’s General Liability Trust Fund covers state employees from personal liability in lawsuits arising out of their official duties and helps them pay for legal expenses incurred in their defense. It protects, for example, state troopers when they are sued for false arrest, corrections officers when the are sued by inmates, and agency officials when they are sued by disgruntled employees.

If the same protections are extended to the state’s teachers with the Teacher Protection Act, it is estimated Alabama teachers would save about $8 million annually.