§ 9-1-31. Public school teachers, supervisors, administrators, and employees whose position
directly involves work with students — Immunity from liability — Compensation for
certain injuries — Duty upon school committees and the council on elementary and secondary
education.
(a) Each school committee and the council on elementary and secondary education shall
protect and save harmless any public school teacher, any supervisor, administrator,
or licensed professional employee, any employee whose position requires a certificate
from the department of education or council on elementary and secondary education,
any employee whose position directly involves work with students, and any employee
of the council on elementary and secondary education 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 the
teacher, supervisor, or administrator, at the time of the acts resulting in the injury,
death, damages, or destruction, was acting in the discharge of their duties or within
the scope of their employment or under the direction of the school committee or the
council on elementary and secondary education.
(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 council on elementary and secondary education.
(c) Each school committee and the council on elementary and secondary education shall
protect and save harmless any teacher or any supervisor, employee whose position directly
involves work with students (hereinafter referred to as "employee�), 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 the teacher,
supervisor, employee, or administrator while the person was acting in the discharge
of their duties within the scope of their employment or under the direction of the
school committee or the council on elementary and secondary education, which expenses
are not paid by the individual teacher's, supervisor's, employee's, or administrator's
workers' compensation.
(d) Any teacher, supervisor, employee whose position directly involves work with students
(hereinafter referred to as "employee�), or administrator absent from their employment
as a result of injury sustained during an assault upon the teacher, supervisor, employee,
or administrator that occurred while the teacher, supervisor, employee, or administrator
was discharging their duties within the scope of their employment or under the direction
of the school committee or the council on elementary and secondary education, or for
a court appearance in connection with the assault, shall continue to receive their
full salary, while so absent, except that the amount of any workers' compensation
award may be deducted from their salary payments during the absence. The time of the
absence shall not be charged against the teacher's, supervisor's, employee's, or administrator's
sick leave, vacation time, or personal leave days.
(e) A person so injured in accordance with subsection (d) of this section and who receives
a disability therefrom, which renders them unable to fully perform their normal duties,
shall, if the 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.