School denied stay of insurance rules

The Arkansas Supreme Court denied a request from three school districts to stop enforcement of new state regulations requiring child care providers to purchase liability insurance, the districts' attorney James "Mitch" Llewellyn said.

Llewellyn received a notice Monday from the court, he said.

The Fort Smith, Greenwood and Van Buren school districts sued the Department of Human Services, arguing that they should not be subject to the regulations because of concerns that purchasing liability insurance for pre-kindergarten programs will harm their tort immunity. State law protects schools, counties, cities and other political subdivisions of the state from lawsuits seeking damages for harmful acts, but allows for damages when those entities have liability insurance.

The new Human Services Department regulations went into effect Tuesday.

The districts had sought an injunction from Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza to stop enforcement of the insurance regulations until the case is resolved, but Piazza on June 5 denied that request.

The districts appealed Piazza's decision on the injunction to the Arkansas Supreme Court. The case, however, is still awaiting trial in Circuit Court, and a date for trial has not been set, Llewellyn said.

Metro on 07/02/2014

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