District 2 State Representative Dan Flynn filed House Bill 868 on January 22nd, also labeled the “Teachers Protection Act”. Flynn the lifelong Texan, Banker, and Rancher explained his Legislative request by saying. “An educator is justified in using force or deadly force on school property, on a school bus, or at a school-sponsored event in defense of the educator’s person or in the defense of students of the school that employs the educator if, under the circumstances as the educator reasonably believes them to be, the educator would be justified… in using force or deadly force as applicable, on defense of the educator or students.”
Whoa! So it’s up to the educator if it was a reasonable instance to end your child’s life? Also by the use of the word “educator” so frequently Rep. Flynn is indicating multiple positions within the School System. What about the Coaches breaking up flustered player’s in a teenage scuffle? A Principal catching a student driving sporadically in the parking lot?
A lobbyist with The Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE) Monty Exter, told the Houston Chronicle that Flynn’s Bill wouldn’t do much since in Texas you can already kill someone if it’s done in self defense. He went on to say that this issue should be discussed among the locally elected School Board members, and not by the State.
“We understand that he’s trying to carve out some liability protections, But, we can’t see that the liability protection in that particular Bill is any different than the protection that exists in the Law for a regular citizen.”
The current Law states that teachers can use force, but not deadly force to protect themselves or other students, So this Bill doubles the protection for them. The ATPE’s Managing Attorney Paul Tapp says that “Texas educators actually do have some legal protections that allow them to use physical force to protect themselves and protect others as long as the use of physical force is reasonable.” So if passed, will there be an outside investigator to review any deaths that occur during a “reasonable or applicable” altercation between teachers and students? Or will they investigate from within like the Law Enforcement Officers do?
I have no problem with the self-defense aspect of it, knowing that there are some dangerous young men and women out there. This blanket of protection for any wrongdoing against students will eventually seep into the mentality of the school staff, let’s just hope that it is not abused.
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