A. Any teacher employed by a local school board in the Commonwealth shall not be liable for any civil damages for any acts or omissions resulting from the supervision, care or discipline of students when such acts or omissions are within such teacher's scope of employment and are taken in good faith in the course of supervision, care or discipline of students, unless such acts or omissions were the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct.
§ 8.01-220.1:2.Civil immunity for teachers under certain circumstances.
Chapter 3. Actions · Article 21. Miscellaneous Provisions · Last amended 2013 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceSection 8.01-220.1:2 shields Virginia public-school teachers from civil damages for good-faith, ordinary-negligence acts or omissions in supervising, caring for, or disciplining students, and protects school employees and volunteers who make prompt, good-faith reports of bullying or crimes to school officials.
Full Text of § 8.01-220.1:2
B. No school employee or school volunteer shall be liable for any civil damages arising from the prompt good faith reporting of alleged acts of bullying or crimes against others to the appropriate school official in compliance with §§ 22.1-279.6 and 22.1-291.4 and specified procedures.
C. This section shall not be construed to limit, withdraw, or overturn any defense or immunity already existing in statutory or common law, to affect any claim occurring prior to the effective date of this law, or to prohibit any person subject to bullying or a criminal act from seeking redress under any other provision of law.
Plain-English Summary
Subsection A protects teachers employed by a local school board from civil liability for the everyday judgment calls that come with supervising, caring for, and disciplining students — as long as the teacher acted within the scope of employment and in good faith. That protection has a limit: it does not cover gross negligence or willful misconduct, only ordinary negligence.
Subsection B addresses a different scenario: reporting. A school employee or volunteer who reports alleged bullying or a crime against another person to the appropriate school official, promptly and in good faith, and in compliance with Virginia’s bullying-prevention and school-safety statutes, cannot be sued for civil damages arising from that report.
Subsection C is a savings clause. It clarifies that the immunity does not wipe out any defense or immunity that already existed under other statutory or common law, does not reach back to affect claims that accrued before the statute took effect, and does not stop a student subjected to bullying or a crime from pursuing whatever other legal remedies are available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a teacher be sued for disciplining a student?
Only for gross negligence or willful misconduct. Section 8.01-220.1:2 immunizes teachers from civil damages for ordinary-negligence acts or omissions in supervision, care, or discipline undertaken in good faith and within the scope of employment.
Does this immunity cover every school employee, or only teachers?
Subsection A specifically covers teachers employed by a local school board. Subsection B’s reporting immunity extends more broadly to any school employee or school volunteer who reports bullying or a crime.
Is a teacher protected if a report of bullying turns out to be wrong?
Yes, as long as the report was made promptly, in good faith, and to the appropriate school official in compliance with the applicable statutes — the immunity does not depend on the report later proving accurate.
Does this section eliminate a bullied student’s ability to sue anyone?
No. Subsection C expressly preserves the right of a person subjected to bullying or a crime to seek redress under any other provision of law; it only immunizes the person making a good-faith report.
Does this immunity apply to conduct that happened before the statute existed?
No. Subsection C states the section does not affect any claim that accrued before its effective date.
Amendment History
1997, cc. 349, 879; 2005, c. 462; 2013, c. 575.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Code of Virginia, published by the
Code of Virginia, Virginia Division of Legislative Automated Systems. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
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