HB133 Alabama 2010 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

David Grimes

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2010

Title

Teachers and other certified educational employees and student teachers, professional liability insurance, Education Department and Finance Department to purchase or provide, Teacher Protection Act

Summary

The bill would create a state-funded educator professional liability insurance program to protect certificated personnel and student teachers from lawsuits related to their teaching duties.

What This Bill Does

It authorizes the State Department of Education and the Department of Finance to purchase or provide educator professional liability insurance for certificated personnel and student teachers. Coverage would automatically protect full-time staff and student teachers at no cost, with part-time staff able to join at their own cost, and funding would come from annual Education Trust Fund appropriations through a competitive selection of insurers. The program would be jointly administered, with rules established to implement it, and it would take effect no later than July 1, 2011.

Who It Affects

• Certificated personnel (full-time teachers, principals, and other certified staff) and student teachers would be automatically covered for damages and defense costs arising from duties, at no cost.
• Local boards of education and their school districts would implement and participate in the program, with funding and administration managed by the state departments and funded through Education Trust Fund appropriations.

Key Provisions

• authorize SDE and DOF to purchase or provide a policy of educator professional liability insurance for certificated personnel and student teachers, subject to legislative appropriations;
• define certificated personnel, student teachers, and local boards of education for the purpose of the act;
• require insurance coverage to protect against damages and defense costs arising from duties, with coverage amount and specifics determined by DOF and funding appropriated annually to the Education Trust Fund;
• require insurers to be selected through a competitive process; any excess funds after coverage revert to the Education Trust Fund;
• provide automatic coverage for all full-time certificated personnel and student teachers, at no cost, with optional cost-based coverage for part-time personnel;
• establish joint administration by SDE and DOF and authorize them to adopt necessary rules and regulations;
• set the program to take effect no later than July 1, 2011 and repeal conflicting laws.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Insurance