Italy's head teachers worry about liability with school openings

Head teachers in Italy, already bracing for the looming school year under Covid-19 protocols, are now demanding they not be held legally responsible for any infections in their establishments. School authorities have expressed concern over the start of the academic year on September 14, especially after a recent uptick in cases of infection in young people. "It is unthinkable that a head teacher could be blamed over a case of infection... where the health protocol has been fully applied," Antonello Giannelli, president of the National Association of Head Teachers, told AGI Italian news wire on Monday. The group wants the government to specify in an upcoming decree that head teachers cannot be held liable if they follow required directives when students or teachers are nevertheless found to be infected.  According to new protocols, each school must have a room where suspected cases can be immediately isolated, but the head teacher does not have the power to decide whether or not to close the school. That decision falls to local authorities.  Under new security protocols, all schools must ensure a distance of at least one metre (about 3 feet) between pupils. But schools are still...