Example of a Laboratory Instructional Space Safety Incident

In Denver in 2014, a fired chemistry teacher was criminally charged with four counts of third-degree assault—a class 1 misdemeanor—after four students were burned (one seriously) when a fire erupted in a charter high school chemistry laboratory while the teacher conducted a demonstration with methanol. The teacher did not have a Colorado teacher’s license or special training in the dangers of methanol. (Charter schools are not required to have licensed teachers in the classroom.) 

Science Laboratory or Classroom Accidents and Liability

In the United States, whether in a public or private high school, responsibility for student safety in a science laboratory or classroom instructional space is generally not always placed solely on the individual science teacher. Instead, liability is often shared among multiple individuals and entities, depending on the circumstances of the accident.

Parties that could potentially share liability include:

• the science laboratory or classroom instructional space teacher 
• the principal or head of school 
• the superintendent (in many public school systems) 
• the school district or board of education 
• the private school organization or governing board 
• department chairs or supervisors 
• facilities or maintenance personnel 
• outside manufacturers or contractors 

Legal responsibility basically comes down to shared liability. When a serious accident occurs in a high school chemistry laboratory or classroom instructional space in the United States and lawsuits follow, the outcome usually falls into several separate categories: civil liability (most common), administrative or employment discipline, regulatory or code enforcement penalties, or criminal charges (rare). For example, a chemistry teacher and school administrators are not automatically fined personally simply because an accident occurred. What happens depends on the facts, state law, insurance coverage, and whether there negligence or recklessness and violation of safety laws occurred.

Typical patterns include the following:

• The school district or board of education is often the primary defendant because public schools generally bear institutional responsibility for employee actions performed within the scope of employment. 
• Teachers and administrators may be named individually in lawsuits, but judgments are frequently paid by the school district’s insurance carrier or municipality. 
• Fire marshals, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)–equivalent agencies, or state education authorities may issue citations or fines to the school or district if safety codes were violated. 
• Employees can face disciplinary consequences such as reprimands, suspension, reassignment, loss of laboratory privileges, or termination. 
• Personal financial liability for a teacher or principal is less common unless gross negligence, reckless conduct, intentional misconduct, or actions clearly outside school policy took place. 

The type of safety incident can potentially increase exposure to liability.

Science Teacher Responsibility

The laboratory or classroom science instructional space teacher usually has the most direct day-to-day legal responsibility for supervising experiments and demonstrations, providing safety instruction, and enforcing the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). In addition, teachers must maintain safe procedures by monitoring student behavior and ensuring that they handle chemicals and equipment properly. 

If an accident results from unsafe laboratory or classroom instructional space practices, inadequate supervision, failure to follow accepted laboratory or classroom instructional space safety procedures, prohibited demonstrations, failure to provide PPE, improper chemical storage, failure to conduct hazard assessments, disabled or blocked safety equipment, and violation of fire or building codes, the teacher may face allegations of negligence or—even worse—recklessness. Negligence involves carelessness without intent to harm, while recklessness involves the conscious disregard of a known risk, which makes it more serious legally.

Principal or Head of School Responsibility

Principals or private school administrators may also share legal responsibility if they fail to enforce safety policies, ignore known laboratory or classroom instructional space hazards, or allow unsafe facilities or overcrowding. Failure to provide adequate staffing or training, lack of response to reported safety concerns, and failure to maintain required safety systems can also create legal responsibility for the principal or head of school. 

Because administrators oversee school operations, courts often examine whether reasonable administrative oversight existed when determining if the administrators hold responsibility for the accident.

Superintendent, District, or School Organization Responsibility

In public schools, superintendents and school districts or boards of education may have shared liability for districtwide safety programs, training requirements, funding, and staffing decisions. They are also responsible for laboratory or classroom instructional space facility conditions, emergency preparedness, and compliance with safety regulations and codes. 

In private schools, similar legal responsibility may rest with the school corporation, governing boards, executive leadership, and risk-management personnel.

Differences Between U.S. Public And Private Schools

The main legal difference between public schools and private schools is often governmental immunity. Public schools and employees may have certain governmental immunity protections under state law. Private schools generally do not receive governmental immunity protections and are usually treated more like private organizations under negligence law. 

However, whether an accident occurs in a public or private school, the legal analysis typically focuses on duty of care, whether reasonable safety practices were followed, and foreseeability of harm. The legal analysis also looks at adequacy of supervision and safety systems and whether the conduct was negligent or reckless. 

Shared Institutional Responsibility

Courts, investigators, and expert witnesses commonly view school science laboratory and classroom instructional space safety as a layered institutional responsibility. For example, a teacher may be responsible for unsafe supervision during an experiment; a principal may share responsibility for ignoring repeated safety complaints; and a district or private school organization may share responsibility for inadequate facilities, missing safety equipment, or insufficient training. 

An accident does not, on its own, automatically establish that there has been negligence or recklessness by any individual. The key legal question usually involves whether each responsible party acted reasonably under the circumstances and followed accepted safety standards.

Commonly referenced laboratory and classroom instructional space safety guidance comes from legal safety standards by organizations such as OSHA and the National Fire Protection Association. Better professional safety practice safety guidance comes from associations such as the National Science Teaching Association, the American Chemical Society, and the National Science Education Leadership Association.

Bottom Line

In both public and private high schools in the United States, science laboratory and classroom instructional space safety responsibility is generally considered to be shared among instructional staff, administration, and the governing education institution rather than resting solely with the science teacher.

In serious cases involving reckless disregard for safety, criminal charges can occur, but that is relatively uncommon in school laboratory and classroom instructional space accidents. More often, the case results in a civil settlement or jury verdict, regulatory violations, mandated corrective actions, and policy changes.

Submit questions regarding health and safety issues in science and STEM instructional spaces to Ken Roy at safersci@gmail.com. Follow Ken Roy on X: @drroysafersci.

The mission of NSTA is to transform science education to benefit all through professional learning, partnerships, and advocacy.