You asked (1) if Connecticut law recognizes parent-teacher organizations (PTO), (2) if so, whether it specifies their formation procedure, and (3) if Connecticut provides any protection for PTO directors, officers, or members against civil liability.

PARENT-TEACHER ORGANIZATIONS

Connecticut references parent-teacher organizations and parent-teacher associations interchangeably in its statutes, but they are actually very different. PTOs are school-based, and PTO decisions affect the students, parents, teachers, and staff of an individual school. Parent-teacher associations (PTA), by contrast, are not only part of an individual school, but are linked to the Connecticut PTA and the national PTA, which are child advocacy networks. A district schools may have some schools with PTOs and some with PTAs. The statutes mention PTOs and PTAs only in passing, and neither define them nor specify a manner for their creation.

LIABILITY

The statutes do not exempt PTOs per se from civil liability. State and federal laws, however, give immunity to members of 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations. Although PTOs are not required to organize in any formal manner, those that choose to organize with tax-exempt status may protect their members from liability rising out of the scope of their duties. The federal Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 provides immunity for volunteers' acts of negligence, except those caused by a volunteer's negligent operation of a vehicle (PL 105-19). Connecticut law protects the directors, officers, and trustees of a non-profit tax-exempt organization from liability for negligence if they acted in good faith and within the scope of their official functions (CGS § 52-557m). State law also indemnifies any volunteer whom a board of education approves to carry out a specific duty under the direction of a certificated staff member (CGS § 10-235). It is unclear whether PTO members would fall into this category.

JG:ts