Legal Update for Special Education Law – Case Law Update

Commonwealth Court Rules Sexual Abuse Provision of Government Immunity Under the Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act Is Limited to Persons Under the Age of 18
W. on behalf of S.W. v. Pittsburgh Pub. Sch., 327 A.3d 340 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2024)

A mother, the court-appointed guardian of 19-year-old student with intellectual disability, brought an action against the school district on the student’s behalf, alleging the student was sexually assaulted by a substitute bus driver and asserting claims for negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, assault and battery. The Court of Common Pleas, Allegheny County, overruled the district’s preliminary objection seeking dismissal on immunity grounds under the Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act. The district appealed. 

The Commonwealth Court later held the district was entitled to immunity from liability for intentional torts under the Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act and that the sexual abuse exception to government immunity under the Act was limited to persons under the age of 18. The court concluded, because the immunity exception specifically incorporated provision of the Pennsylvania Judicial Code allowing for certain crimes to be prosecuted without regard to statutes of limitations if a victim was under 18 years of age at time of offense, the sexual abuse exception was inapplicable due to the student’s age at the time of the alleged assault. 

The matter was remanded to the trial court to sustain the district’s preliminary objection and dismiss the intentional tort claims and negligence claims against the district. 

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