A member asked over 8 years ago

Failure to identify and meet the needs of a student with learning disabilities.

If a child is at a school from yr 1, and a school and its resources fails to correctly identify the learning disability of that child, and hence does not address that child's needs correctly, has that school failed in its duty of care, or breached its contract to educate that child? Are they able to be held accountable? The child is now in Middle high school, and believed to be only still able to achieve primary level work.

obliviously this is a simple statement, of a complex issue. But major financial outlay, with unsatisfactory result.

Law Advisor Research Team
Researchers at LawAdvisor

Hi there. It sounds from your question that you may have spent a lot of money on school fees, and feel like your child hasnt really benefitted from it.


The action you are probably referring to in your question is a breach of duty of care. This is a common law action, and can result in damages being awarded. Duty of care is a requirement that a reasonable level of care is exercised by a caregiver in order to ensure the provision of a safe environment for people who are vulnerable. If this duty is breached, and someone suffers as a direct result, the person who has suffered may be eligible for damages. The most likely reason a teacher or school will face legal action for a breach of duty of care negligence is where a student has been injured while under the schools protection. However, what you are concerned with appears to be the provision of such a low standard of education that specific issues the student had were not picked up and not catered for. This makes the action more complicated.


Generally speaking the decision to take an action for breach of duty of care is made in accordance with the amount of damage that has been caused as a result of the alleged breach, and if that damage is something that can be compensated for in a straight forward monetary way. Your child has not yet finished high school, and so it may be difficult to judge in monetary terms what the damage to them has been.


Alternatively, you may have an action for breach of contract with the school. This will depend on the terms of the contract, and specifically whether certain educational outcomes were promised as terms of the contract. If specific learning outcomes were promised (and from what you mentioned, have likely been breached) you may have a course of action for breach of that contract.


Suggested way forward

Because both of these causes of action are complex, we would recommend you speak with a lawyer in Victoria who specialises in contract, or general common law civil actions. If you do wish to speak with a lawyer, by pressing the "Take Action" button through LawAdvisor - which opens in early September - we can help you search for experienced lawyers and obtain fee proposals for their services. Costs for legal advice and representation will vary between providers based on experience and the scope of services.

Answered over 8 years ago   Legal disclaimer

Thank

Hire lawyers to solve your legal problem now. Learn more

Other Questions


If you're experiencing any technical problems, please email techsupport@lawadvisor.com.