John R. v. Oakland Unified School District

John R.'s ninth-grade math teacher encouraged him to participate in a school-sanctioned extracurricular work-experience program that involved correcting other students' papers at the teacher's apartment; after many sessions the teacher developed a close relationship with John and pressured him into sexual acts. John's parents (plaintiffs) sued the Oakland Unified School District (defendant), asserting vicarious liability for the teacher's conduct and direct liability for the district's own negligence. The trial court sustained a demurrer dismissing the vicarious-liability claims, the appellate court reversed on the theory that the school's conferral of official authority on the teacher made the misconduct possible even though it exceeded his official duties, and the state supreme court granted review.