Massachusetts General Laws ch. 71A sec. 6 – Legal standing and parental enforcement
Section 6. Legal standing and parental enforcement
Terms Used In Massachusetts General Laws ch. 71A sec. 6
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
(a) As set forth in Section 4 of this chapter, all school children are to be provided at their assigned school with an English language public education. The parent or legal guardian of any school child shall have legal standing to sue for enforcement of the provisions of this chapter, and if successful shall be awarded reasonable attorney’s fees, costs and compensatory damages.
(b) Any school district employee, school committee member or other elected official or administrator who willfully and repeatedly refuses to implement the terms of this chapter may be held personally liable for reasonable attorney’s fees, costs and compensatory damages by the child’s parents or legal guardian, and shall not be subsequently indemnified for such monetary judgment by any public or private third party. Any individual found so liable shall be barred from election or reelection to any school committee and from employment in any public school district for a period of five years following the entry of final judgment.
(c) Parents and legal guardians who apply for and are granted exception waivers under Section 5(b)(3) of this chapter retain full and permanent legal right to sue the individuals who granted such waivers if they subsequently discover before the child reaches the age of eighteen that the application for waivers was induced by fraud or intentional misrepresentation and injured the education of their child.