About Legal Services

Important Changes in Legal Protection

We all know that legal protection is one of the most important benefits available to PA Principals Association members. All too often, members find themselves in need of some friendly professional support and we are here to provide it. Those of us “in the office” want you to fully understand the substantial level of support that we can make available.

PA Principals Association has a general counsel to address issues for the members and a number of regional attorneys for referral.

National membership provides legal fee reimbursement in the amount of $1,000 for each year of membership to a total of $10,000. In the event that you are involved in any situation that may result in possible legal action, you must contact the PA Principals Association office immediately. Members of the PA Principals Association staff will assist you in the claim submission process required by NAESP and NASSP.

However, if you let your membership in the national association lapse for any reason, you will start over at $1,000 dollars. Therefore, it behooves you to maintain your membership.

Your job-related legal liability insurance, which reimburses you up to $2,000,000 per individual of damage/settlement costs for eligible civil suit claims, also has some conditions you need to be aware of to protect your coverage. If you are named in a civil suit, even if you believe it to be frivolous and the school district is defending you, you still need to notify the PA Principals Association office so that it can be registered with the national insurance carrier. If you fail to do this and a judgment is made against you at some later date, the insurance carrier may refuse to cover your claim since they were not aware and did not have an opportunity to participate in the case. Additionally, this insurance is only in effect while you are a member of your national association. You must be a member at the time of the incident that brought about the lawsuit, and must maintain your membership throughout the case until settlement. This is particularly important for those of you that may be retiring or moving on to another job.

If you let your membership lapse, the insurance will not pay out a claim, even if you were a member at the time of the incident. You must maintain your membership until the case is resolved.

PA Principals Association members are extremely well protected in cases of legal need. Do not hesitate to call the state office and request advice and counsel at (717) 732-4999. We look forward to helping, and it is far better to learn that there is little need to be concerned than to avoid calling until it is too late.