Special relationship between Colleges or Universities and their students is limited

The Washington Supreme Court recently ruled that colleges have no custodial duty to protect students from the actions of a third party, even when the school is aware of the perpetrator’s prior behavior.

In Barlow v. State, No. 101,045-1, five of the nine justices of the Supreme Court agreed universities have no protective custody over adults who are enrolled at the university. K-12 schools do have a recognized duty to protect students, but the Court said that “[t]he duty of K-12 schools stems from the school’s care and custody of the student, the fact that the child must attend school and the relationship is not voluntary, and the protective custody that teachers undertake being a mandatory substitution for that of the parent.” Because “[u]niversity students are not under the complete control of the university or otherwise dependent in the same way as K-12 students[,]” the duty to protect them does not apply.

Four justices disagreed with the decision. The dissenting justices argued that colleges and universities should have the same duty to their students as K-12 schools because “they are stewards of student growth and success and provide a home and a space for students to develop their professional, social, and cultural identities.”