The Court of Appeals of Virginia (Court of Appeals) recently confirmed that a school board employee, who is sued in his or her official capacity, is entitled to sovereign immunity in tort. The ruling, in which the Prince William County School Board employees prevailed, found that claims of gross negligence against School Board employees in their official capacity are barred under sovereign immunity.
Factual Background:
A student in Prince William County Public Schools filed suit in circuit court against three Prince William County School Board employees (appellees) in their official capacities. The student alleged that the appellees were grossly negligent in their approval of the transfer of a student to her high school who allegedly sexually assaulted her while in class together.
Procedural History:
At the circuit court, the appellees plea in bar was granted on the grounds that the student’s suit against them in their official capacities amounted to a suit against the School Board itself, which enjoys absolute sovereign immunity in tort under Virginia law. On appeal, a divided three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals reversed the circuit court’s judgment, holding that school board employees sued in their official capacities are not entitled to sovereign immunity from gross negligence claims. Drasovean v. Walts, No. 0259-23-4, slip op. at 27-28 (Va. Ct. App. Nov. 6, 2024). The appellees’ filed petition for rehearing en banc with the Court of Appeals.
Ruling:
After a rehearing en banc, the Court of Appeals issued a published opinion on July 15, 2025, affirming the circuit court’s decision in Drasovean v. Walts, et al. in a downright intriguing legal analysis, which included numerous concurring and dissenting opinions. The Court of Appeals affirmed that Virginia school boards continue to partake in the Commonwealth’s sovereign immunity in tort. Because the student sued several School Board employees in their official capacities, the suit was “functionally” against the School Board itself. As a result, the student’s gross negligence claims were barred under sovereign immunity.
Takeaways:
Ultimately, this decision reiterates the limitations of potential tort liability for school board employees acting within the scope of their employment. Nevertheless, the dissenting opinions in this case, as well as the split decision of the three-judge panel, highlight the differing judicial interpretations regarding sovereign immunity as it applies to school boards and its employees.
