IASB Amicus Program Supports School District in Illinois Supreme Court Case Win
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Date PostedDecember 3, 2025
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CategoryNews
IASB's Amicus Program supported member board of education Kankakee SD 111 in an important victory before the Illinois Supreme Court involving the application of tort immunity to the supervision of students.
IASB files Amicus Curiae (“friend of the court”) briefs in a limited number of important Illinois Supreme Court cases that will have statewide significance. Kankakee SD 111, through its legal counsel at Franczek P.C., reached out to IASB for amicus support.
The issues presented in Haase v. Kankakee School District 111 were whether tort immunity applies to (1) a P.E. teacher’s alleged intermittent supervision of students playing soccer during a P.E. class; and (2) a decision by district administrators not to share a student’s disciplinary history with the P.E. teacher. Under Illinois’ tort immunity law, school districts and their employees are not liable for student injuries that occur under their supervision, unless the conduct is “willful and wanton.” District employees are also not liable for injuries that result from their determination of policy or exercise of discretion.
The Kankakee SD 111 Board of Education, represented by Franczek P.C., argued the teacher’s conduct was not willful and wanton where the teacher had no reason to foresee harm to the plaintiff student. And, even if the teacher was temporarily distracted when the injury occurred, many prior cases supported that there was no willful or wanton misconduct. Additionally, the district argued it should be immune because it exercised discretion in what behavioral interventions it used to assist the student who caused the injury, and the teacher exercised discretion when he decided how to supervise the P.E. class on the day of the incident.
On November 20, 2025, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in favor of the district, finding that the plaintiffs failed to show that the P.E. teacher engaged in willful or wanton misconduct because, although the teacher’s alleged conduct was arguably negligent, the teacher did not show an “utter indifference to or conscious disregard for the safety of others.” Having ruled for the district on this basis, the Court decided it did not need to address the other immunity defenses, including the exercise of discretion.
The Amicus Brief supporting the district, written by attorneys at the law firm of Robbins Schwartz, made several key points, including:
IASB extends a special thank you to Kankakee SD 111, its attorneys at Franczek, P.C., and IASB’s Amicus attorneys at Robbins Schwartz for their collaboration to benefit all IASB members across Illinois.
IASB files Amicus Curiae (“friend of the court”) briefs in a limited number of important Illinois Supreme Court cases that will have statewide significance. Kankakee SD 111, through its legal counsel at Franczek P.C., reached out to IASB for amicus support.
The issues presented in Haase v. Kankakee School District 111 were whether tort immunity applies to (1) a P.E. teacher’s alleged intermittent supervision of students playing soccer during a P.E. class; and (2) a decision by district administrators not to share a student’s disciplinary history with the P.E. teacher. Under Illinois’ tort immunity law, school districts and their employees are not liable for student injuries that occur under their supervision, unless the conduct is “willful and wanton.” District employees are also not liable for injuries that result from their determination of policy or exercise of discretion.
The Kankakee SD 111 Board of Education, represented by Franczek P.C., argued the teacher’s conduct was not willful and wanton where the teacher had no reason to foresee harm to the plaintiff student. And, even if the teacher was temporarily distracted when the injury occurred, many prior cases supported that there was no willful or wanton misconduct. Additionally, the district argued it should be immune because it exercised discretion in what behavioral interventions it used to assist the student who caused the injury, and the teacher exercised discretion when he decided how to supervise the P.E. class on the day of the incident.
On November 20, 2025, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in favor of the district, finding that the plaintiffs failed to show that the P.E. teacher engaged in willful or wanton misconduct because, although the teacher’s alleged conduct was arguably negligent, the teacher did not show an “utter indifference to or conscious disregard for the safety of others.” Having ruled for the district on this basis, the Court decided it did not need to address the other immunity defenses, including the exercise of discretion.
The Amicus Brief supporting the district, written by attorneys at the law firm of Robbins Schwartz, made several key points, including:
- Ruling for the plaintiff student in this case would expose school employees to liability for everyday decisions made in their professional judgement, opening a floodgate of litigation against school districts.
- School administrators and teachers are required as part of their jobs and by law to exercise discretion in managing student behavior.
- Courts should not be serving as “super-personnel” of school districts by second-guessing the decisions made by school district employees.
IASB extends a special thank you to Kankakee SD 111, its attorneys at Franczek, P.C., and IASB’s Amicus attorneys at Robbins Schwartz for their collaboration to benefit all IASB members across Illinois.
