School Districts Can Be Vicariously Liable When Students Are Sexually Abused by Their Employees

In a precedential, consolidated opinion decided on March 11, 2026, the New Jersey Supreme Court held in Hornor v. Upper Freehold Regional Board of Education and Simpkins v. South Orange-Maplewood School District that the Child Victims Act “fundamentally altered” claims against school districts under the New Jersey Tort Claims Act. In making this finding, the Supreme Court held that school districts are not barred from vicarious liability for claims for sexual abuse that occurred outside the…
By: Marshall Dennehey