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18, United States Code) for which the defend-
ant has been convicted in any court;
(B) involves a sexual offense, as defined by
applicable State law, for which the defendant
has been convicted in any court;
(C) involves misconduct for which the de-
fendant has been found to have violated a Fed-
eral or State civil rights law; or
(D) where the defendant was under the in-
fluence (as determined pursuant to applicable
State law) of intoxicating alcohol or any drug at
the time of the misconduct.
(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this
subsection shall be construed to effect subsection
(a)(3) or (d).
SEC. 1505. LIABILITY FOR NONECONOMIC LOSS.
(a) GENERAL RULE.—In any civil action against a
teacher, based on an action of a teacher acting within the
scope of the teacher’s responsibilities to a school or gov-
ernmental entity, the liability of the teacher for non-
economic loss shall be determined in accordance with sub-
section (b).
(b) AMOUNT OF LIABILITY.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Each defendant who is a
teacher, shall be liable only for the amount of non-
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economic loss allocated to that defendant in direct
proportion to the percentage of responsibility of that
defendant (determined in accordance with paragraph
(2)) for the harm to the claimant with respect to
which that defendant is liable. The court shall
render a separate judgment against each defendant
in an amount determined pursuant to the preceding
sentence.
(2) PERCENTAGE
OF
RESPONSIBILITY.—For
purposes of determining the amount of noneconomic
loss allocated to a defendant who is a teacher under
this section, the trier of fact shall determine the per-
centage of responsibility of that defendant for the
claimant’s harm.
SEC. 1506. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this title:
(1) ECONOMIC
LOSS.—The term ‘‘economic
loss’’ means any pecuniary loss resulting from harm
(including the loss of earnings or other benefits re-
lated to employment, medical expense loss, replace-
ment services loss, loss due to death, burial costs,
and loss of business or employment opportunities) to
the extent recovery for such loss is allowed under ap-
plicable State law.
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(2) HARM.—The term ‘‘harm’’ includes phys-
ical, nonphysical, economic, and noneconomic losses.
(3) NONECONOMIC LOSSES.—The term ‘‘non-
economic losses’’ means losses for physical and emo-
tional pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical im-
pairment, mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of en-
joyment of life, loss of society and companionship,
loss of consortium (other than loss of domestic serv-
ice), hedonic damages, injury to reputation and all
other nonpecuniary losses of any kind or nature.
(4) SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘school’’ means a pub-
lic or private kindergarten, a public or private ele-
mentary school or secondary school (as defined in
section 14101 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801)), or a
home school.
(5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of
the several States of the United States, the District
of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the
United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American
Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, any other territory or possession of the
United States, or any political subdivision of any
such State, territory, or possession.
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(6) TEACHER.—The term ‘‘teacher’’ means a
teacher, instructor, principal, administrator, or other
educational professional that works in a school, a
local school board and any member of such board,
and a local educational agency and any employee of
such agency.
SEC. 1507. EFFECTIVE DATE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—This title shall take effect 90 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) APPLICATION.—This title applies to any claim for
harm caused by an act or omission of a teacher where
that claim is filed on or after the effective date of this
Act, without regard to whether the harm that is the sub-
ject of the claim or the conduct that caused the harm oc-
curred before such effective date.
Passed the House of Representatives June 17, 1999.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.