Edson v. Barre Supervisory Union 61

**Edson v. Barre Supervisory Union 61 (Vermont, 2007)** This case involved a tragic incident where a student named DeAndra died due to a criminal act by another person while at Spaulding High School. DeAndra's family sued the school district, claiming the school failed to properly supervise students and breached its duty to keep students safe. The Vermont Supreme Court ruled in favor of the school district. The court determined that the school had no legal obligation to protect DeAndra from an unforeseeable criminal act committed by a third party. Additionally, the court found that even if the school did have such a duty, there was no direct connection between anything the school did or failed to do and the student's death. This ruling matters for workers, particularly those in educational settings, because it clarifies the limits of institutional liability for unforeseeable criminal acts by outsiders. While schools and other employers have duties to maintain safe environments, they are not automatically responsible for every harmful act that occurs on their property, especially when those acts are committed by third parties and could not have been reasonably predicted. This provides some protection for institutions while still maintaining their basic safety obligations.