Mr. Jones is taking his second grade class on a field trip to the Brookfield Zoo.There are 25 students and two volunteer moms who are helping chaperone the field trip.The students have been told they must stay together as a group.One of the students, Missy Chief, has been to the zoo many times with her parents, knows her way around, and has several exhibits in mind that she intends to see while on the field trip.

As they get off the bus, Jimmy announces he needs to "use the facilities." Sally chimes in and says she needs to go to the bathroom, too.Mr. Jones takes Jimmy to the restroom, and one of the volunteer moms takes Sally.Mr. Jones tells the other volunteer mom to take the students to the dolphin show, which will be starting in fifteen minutes, and he will catch up with them there.

As the students head off to the dolphin show, Missy hangs behind, intending to take a quick side trip and sneak into the large mammal house to see "Teeny", her favorite gorilla.When she goes to the zoo with her parents, they always point out the signs that say, "Do not feed the animals" and they strictly admonish her never to get close to the animal cages.In fact, there is a fence keeping zoo patrons from getting too close to the cages, but Missy has seen other kids attempt to climb over the fence when the zoo staff is not watching.

Meanwhile, as Mr. Jones is waiting outside the men's restroom for Jimmy to come out, his cell phone rings.He answers it and becomes engrossed in a conversation with his bookie about placing bets for the Belmont Stakes.When he finishes his "business" with the bookie, he goes in the restroom to check on Jimmy.At that moment, Missy sneaks into the large mammal house across the way.

As Mr. Jones and Jimmy are coming out of the restroom, several EMTs rush by, and Mr. Jones hears their walkie talkies - something about a little girl being bitten by a gorilla in the large mammal house.Concerned that it might be one of his students, he and Jimmy run after the paramedics into the mammal house.There they find zoo staff administering to Missy, who is crying hysterically.Between tears, she tells them that when she was reaching into the cage to give " Teeny" a treat (which she had brought from home), Teeny snatched the treat out of her hand with his mouth, biting her fingers in the process.In fact, Teeny still had Missy's index finger in his mouth, and the zookeeper was attempting to pry it loose.

The mission was successful, and Missy and her finger were rushed off to the hospital.After several hours of surgery, the finger was reattached, but Missy will have numbness and decreased range of motion for the foreseeable future.

Mr. Jones has just been informed that Missy's parents have filed suit against the School District and Mr. Jones as a result of the zoo field trip incident.

Discussion Question(s):What are the principles of law applicable toScenario #8 (i.e., federal and state laws, school codes, statutes or case law)?What would be your judgment/ruling in this case?Why?What administrative policies and/or procedures would you institute to preclude the same scenario happening again?