The Nebraska Supreme Court recently revived a mother’s negligence lawsuit against a public school district over her 11-year-old son’s disappearance from the school, reversing the trial court’s dismissal. The court said it’s too soon to determine whether immunity rules block the claims and that the mother has adequately stated an emotional-distress claim.
In Larsen v. Papillion La-Vista Community School District in 2021, an 11-year-old who had significant disabilities and a known history of elopement was left unsupervised at school, walked out during the day, and school staff did not stop him. He has not been seen since. Extensive searches followed, including cadaver-dog alerts near a nearby lake, and the complaint alleges he likely died.
His mother sued for negligent supervision under Nebraska’s Political Subdivisions Tort Claims Act (PSTCA) and for negligent infliction of emotional distress, but the trial court dismissed under the PSTCA’s “due care” and “discretionary function” exemptions and said the emotional-distress claim failed.
The Nebraska Supreme Court reversed, holding that at the motion-to-dismiss stage, those immunity exemptions can’t be decided from the complaint alone and require a developed factual record; it also found the emotional-distress claim plausibly pled and faulted the trial court for relying on a probate order not in the appellate record. The case will go forward to build the record on immunity and the district’s supervision duty.
This case serves as a reminder of the need for schools to maintain clear, consistently applied safety and supervision protocols and to train staff on them. It also serves as a reminder to keep IEPs current and actionable, with student needs accurately documented and implemented across the team.
As this case is ongoing, stay tuned for more information and updates.
Source: Larsen v. Papillion La Vista Cmty. Sch. Dist. 2023 WL 7183795 (D. Neb. Nov. 1, 2023)
