St. Paul schools pay more for legal insurance – lots more
By Mila Koumpilova, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
That increase stands out, even amid rising costs for such coverage districts in
Documents released by the district show a wide variety of cases its insurer has handled recently under that policy, including allegations of age discrimination, wrongful termination and false advertisement.
Costs for that type of coverage have gone up statewide. People are suing public schools more and demanding more when they do.
"Over the last decade, the frequency and severity of educator legal claims have grown dramatically," said
On average, the 50 or so districts his agency works with saw single-digit premium increases this year.
The legal liability insurance generally covers claims or lawsuits against the district and a variety of personnel, including school board members, principals and district volunteers. Those claims can include employment disputes, discrimination charges, data privacy issues and others -- or, as
When a legal demand is made or a lawsuit is filed, the district forwards the claims to its insurer. The company enlists an attorney to defend the district, if necessary.
St.
Paul, which is
The legal insurance cost increases have not been as dramatic at
In
Based on the documents
Early last year, the district also settled a federal court case in which the families of several former students alleged a teacher at the
The district did not admit wrongdoing in those cases.
Riverport also helps handle a couple of ongoing lawsuits, including one by a
Ketterson, the Riverport president, said his company does not discuss pricing for individual clients. Riverport and its affiliated companies have worked with
Ketterson said that generally Riverport takes into account its recent expenditures defending the district, the number of educators working there and district efforts to control legal costs through policies or employee training, among other things.
Generally, districts have seen growing costs for such coverage as both the number of claims per educator and their amounts have more than doubled in 10 years -- a trend Ketterson said is not unique to
Gallagher, the executive vice president of the schools and public entities division at Marsh, said districts his company works with saw as much as 50 percent legal liability premium increases as recently as two or three years ago. Now, premium costs seem poised to flatten, he said.
In
"We just happened to have more claims that year," she said, adding, "I wasn't overly concerned, but it's something I will be more mindful of."
Recent cases
Here are the most recent legal cases that
2012
--The district and a former assistant director of human resources settled a pair of lawsuits stemming from the director's 2007 termination. In 2008, the district sued her, saying she was not abiding by the terms of a separation agreement, which included
--The district settled a teacher's complaint with the
--Two coaches at
2013
--The district settled with a former teaching assistant at
--
--The district settled a suit by several former Heights Community School families who alleged a teacher discriminated against black students and the district didn't intervene promptly. Settlement: Judge sealed amount.
--The district settled a suit alleging a special education student at Linwood-Monroe Arts Plus magnet school was improperly transferred to a different school after the district misidentified his disability. Settlement:
--LifeSpan, a
--A former Humboldt High School student sued, alleging that the school principal injured her in breaking up a hallway altercation. The district has filed to dismiss the lawsuit.
Mila Koumpilova can be reached at 651-228-2171. Follow her at twitter.com/MilaPiPress.
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