Communications Division
State Capitol
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105

For Immediate Release: April 15, 2003

Audio Clip

Tort reform expert Leah Lorber, Sen. Scott Pruitt and Rep. Fred Morgan


National Expert on Teacher Tort Protections Visits Oklahoma
in Support of SB 346

• SB 346 Gains Support of State Chamber, School Boards, and School Administrators

State Capitol, Oklahoma City – Attorney and nationally recognized school tort reform expert Leah Lorber joined Senator Scott Pruitt (R-Broken Arrow) and Representative Fred Morgan (R-Oklahoma City) on Tuesday at a press conference in support of SB 346, the Education Protection Act.

Lorber, of the Washington, DC, law firm Shook Hardy & Bacon, assisted with developing the teacher tort protection language for H.R. 1, the federal No Child Left Behind Act. She says current Oklahoma law does not adequately protect educators from frivolous lawsuits, which can cost already strapped school districts millions of dollars.

“SB 346 will complement current Oklahoma tort laws and will enhance existing federal teacher protections. Increased tort protections for educators would allow school administrative costs that currently go to pay high liability insurance premiums and to the defense of frivolous lawsuits to be redirected to the classroom,” said Lorber, co-counsel for the American Tort Reform Association.

Meanwhile, state support for SB 346 is growing. The State Chamber of Commerce, Cooperative Council of Oklahoma School Administration, Association of Professional Oklahoma Educators, and the Oklahoma State School Boards Association have all endorsed the legislation.

SB 346 seeks to slash the number of frivolous lawsuits faced by school districts, school administrators, and teachers. In addition to important liability protections for educators, SB 346 would cap attorneys’ fees at 25 percent, would require the loser of a frivolous lawsuit to pay the attorneys’ fees of the prevailing party, and would make false accusations against educators a crime.

In a 1999 survey of members of the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National Association of Secondary School Principals, 65 percent reported a difference in the kinds of school-related programs offered because of liability concerns, and 25 percent reported lawsuits or out-of-court settlements in the two previous years.



For more information, contact:
Senator Pruitt: (405) 521-5602
Representative Morgan: (405) 557-7409