November 16, 2017

Issuing a certificate of good faith authorizing the indemnification of expenses incurred by school personnel in defending a proceeding arising from an act or omission of the individual


Issuing a certificate of good faith authorizing the indemnification of expenses incurred by school personnel in defending a proceeding arising from an act or omission of the individual
Decisions of the Commissioner of Education, Decision No. 17,245

A parent filed an application with the Commissioner of Education seeking the removal of the superintendent [Superintendent] of the school district.

The Commissioner ruled that the parent's application must be denied on procedural grounds, whereupon the Superintendent ask the Commissioner to issue a Certificate of Good Faith.

Such a certificate is issued by the Commissioner for the sole purpose of authorizing a school board to indemnify a school district officer, and certain other individuals, for legal fees and expenses incurred in defending a proceeding arising out of the exercise of the individual's power or performance of his or her official duties.*

The Commissioner said that it is appropriate to issue such certification unless it is established on the record that the requesting school district officer acted in bad faith. Here, however, the application filed with the Commissioner has been denied on procedural grounds. Nevertheless, the Commissioner said that as there has been no finding that the Superintendent acted in bad faith with respect to the allegations in the Parent's application, "to the extent such a certificate is necessary, I hereby certify that [the superintendent] is entitled to receive the requested certificate."

Similarly, §17 of the Public Officers Law provides for the defense and indemnification of officers and employees of the State as the employer in such situations while §18 of the Public Officers authorizes a political subdivision of the State, by the adoption of a of local law, by-law, resolution, rule or regulation to provide for the defense and indemnification of its officers and employees.

* §3811.1 of the Education Law provides that the "costs, expenses and damages" incurred by a trustees or board of education, school district officers, and other individuals designed in the statute in defending any action brought against them "shall be a district charge and shall be levied by tax upon the district." Paragraph (c) of §3811.1, in pertinent part, provides that "it shall be certified by the court or by the commissioner of education, as the case may be, that [the individual] appeared to have acted in good faith with respect to the exercise of his [or her] powers or the performance of his [or her] duties under this chapter.

The full text of the decision is posted on the Internet at: