It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows
SECTION 1. Section 9-1-31 of the General Laws in Chapter 9-1 entitled "Causes of Action" is hereby amended to read as follows:
9-1-31. Public school teachers, supervisors and administrators
-- Immunity from liability -- Compensation for certain injuries --
Duty upon school committees and board of regents. -- (a) Each school
committee and the board of regents shall protect and save harmless
{DEL any public school teacher, or any supervisor or administrator or
other employee thereof whose position requires a certificate from the
department of education or board of regents for elementary and
secondary education or whose position directly involves work with
students DEL}
{ADD (1) any public school teacher
(2) any supervisor, administrator, or licensed professional employee
(3) any employee whose position requires a certificate from the department of education or board of regents for elementary and secondary education
(4) any employee whose position directly involves work with students
(5) any employee of the board of regents ADD} from financial loss and expense, including legal fees and costs, if any, arising out of any claim, demand or suit for actions resulting in accidental bodily injury to or death of any person, or in accidental damage to or destruction of property, within or without the school building, or any other acts, including but not limited to infringement of any person's civil rights, resulting in any injury, which acts are not wanton, reckless, malicious, or grossly negligent, as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction, provided such teacher, supervisor, or administrator, at the time of the acts resulting in such injury, death, damages or destruction, was acting in the discharge of his or her duties or within the scope of his or her employment or under the direction of such school committee or the board of regents.
(b) For the purpose of this section, the term "teacher" shall include any student teacher doing practice teaching under the direction of a teacher employed by a school committee or the board of regents.
(c) Each school committee and the board of regents shall protect and save harmless any teacher or any supervisor or administrator from financial loss and expense, including payment of expenses reasonably incurred for medical or other service necessary as a result of an assault upon such teacher, supervisor or administrator while such person was acting in the discharge of his or her duties within the scope of his or her employment or under the direction of such school committee or the board of regents which expenses are not paid by the individual teacher's, supervisor's, or administrator's workers' compensation.
(d) Any teacher, supervisor, or administrator absent from his or her employment as a result of injury sustained during an assault upon such teacher, supervisor or administrator that occurred while the teacher, supervisor or administrator was discharging his or her duties within the scope of his or her employment or under the direction of the school committee or the board of regents, or for a court appearance in connection with such assault shall continue to receive his or her full salary, while so absent, except that the amount of any workers' compensation award may be deducted from his or her salary payments during such absence. The time of such absence shall not be charged against such teacher's, supervisor's, or administrator's sick leave, vacation time or personal leave days.
(e) A person so injured in accordance with subdivision (d) above and who receives a disability therefrom, which renders them unable to fully perform their normal duties shall, if such disability continues for a period of one year, apply to the Rhode Island employees retirement system for appropriate benefits for which that person is entitled.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
