Facts
- Courtneah DuBose was an elementary student at Portage Path Elementary School, part of the Akron Public Schools school district.
- During recess, several students tied multiple jump ropes together to make a longer rope and started playing tug-of-war on the playground.
- Before the incident, the school had announced over the intercom that tying jump ropes together to play tug-of-war was against school rules.
- Teachers were assigned to supervise the playground; DuBose claimed the teachers were talking among themselves while on duty.
- The students attempted to keep the tug-of-war out of the teachers’ view.
- DuBose wrapped the rope around her arm to secure her grip.
- During the game, the rope tightened and DuBose suffered severe rope burns.
- DuBose sued the school district, alleging the teachers negligently supervised the students.
- The trial court granted the district summary judgment, and DuBose appealed.
Issues
- Whether the evidence raised a genuine issue of material fact that Akron Public Schools breached its duty of reasonable supervision during recess.
- Whether the evidence raised a genuine issue of material fact that any allegedly inadequate supervision was a proximate cause of DuBose’s rope-burn injury, making summary judgment improper.
Decision
- The Ohio Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to Akron Public Schools.
- The court held that DuBose failed to produce evidence creating a triable issue that the teachers’ supervision was unreasonable under the circumstances.
- The court also concluded the record did not support a non-speculative finding that different reasonable supervision would have prevented the injury, given the students’ efforts to conceal the prohibited activity.
Legal Principles
- Public schools owe students a duty of reasonable care in supervision, but they are not insurers of student safety.
- Negligent supervision requires evidence of (1) a breach of the duty of reasonable supervision and (2) proximate causation linking that breach to the student’s injury.
- Foreseeability and the practical ability of adult supervision to prevent the specific harm inform whether supervision was reasonable and whether causation can be shown.
- On summary judgment, once the moving party shows there is no genuine dispute of material fact, the nonmoving party must present evidence on each essential element; speculation is not enough to reach a jury.
Conclusion
The appellate court left summary judgment in place for Akron Public Schools because the evidence did not show that playground supervision fell below reasonable care or that additional supervision would likely have stopped the students’ concealed, rule-violating tug-of-war that led to DuBose’s rope-burn injury.