With the upcoming 2023 and 2024 eclipses, parents and teachers should plan ahead so that kids can enjoy the excitement of the eclipse and develop a passion for science.
There are always some people who believe that eclipses are dangerous, and that children should be locked inside during an eclipse. There are often claims that large numbers of persons damaged their eyesight, or even became blind, due to looking at an eclipse. But those claims are invariably greatly exagerated.
Of course, you should never look directly at the sun, eclipse or no eclipse. The only exception is during the short period of totality, when the sun's disk is totally covered.
I'm an attorney, and prior to the 2017 eclipse, I went searching for court cases in which someone reported injuries from an eclipse. Despite millions of kids having lived through solar eclipses, I found a grand total of one (1) such case, Versprill v. School Board of Orange County, 641 So.2d 883 (Fla. Ct. App. 1994).
The plaintiff was a fourth grader who received damage to his eye after allegedly looking at a solar eclipse, which appears to have been the eclipse of October 3, 1986. After he left school at the end of the regular school day, but while he was still on school property, he saw one of his former teachers and a group of students in an extended day program. The students were outside to watch the eclipse using two sheets of construction paper, one with a pinhole projecting to the sheet on the ground.
The teacher denied that he gave the plaintiff permission to participate or that he was even present with the extended day students. The plaintiff viewed the eclipse by looking directly at the sun through the hole in the paper. He was later diagnosed with solar retinopathy, and his vision was reduced from 20/20 to 20/40.
The first question on the jury's special verdict was whether the teacher had given permission to the student to participate in viewing the solar eclipse with the extended day class. The jury responded in the negative, resulting in a judgment for the defendant. The plaintiff objected to the jury instruction, and appealed to the Florida Court of Appeals.
On appeal, the plaintiff argued that the jury instruction implied a duty of supervision that was too narrow. In other words, it implied that without permission to participate, there was not duty to supervise. The appeals court agreed that this was not an accurate statement of the law, and that the jury may have been confused or misled by the instruction.
The court held that when the school or one of its employees was aware of the student's presence on campus, they were obligated to supervise, independent of whether the student was engaged in a school sponsored activity.
For these reasons, the appeals court reversed and remanded.
The lawsuit was arguably frivolous, and the lower court dismissed it. But the appeals court ruled that the dismissal was improper, because it was dismissed for the wrong reason. This case is not authority for the proposition that schools are liable for eye damage from eclipses.
If you're a teacher, and you're worried about frivolous lawsuits, then I suppose you might prevent one such lawsuit if you lock your kids inside during an eclipse. But it seems to me that you would be guilty of educational incompetence if you did that, and someone should sue you for that!
Of course, take proper precautions when viewing the sun at any time, including during an eclipse. That could mean having the kids make pinhole viewers to watch a projection of the sun, as described in this case. Or better yet, get the kids inexpensive ISO 12312-2 certified solar viewers, such as the ones for sale on MyEclipseGlasses.com. On that site, you will also find links to NASA guidelines on eclipse safety.
Kids deserve to see the eclipse, and with the help of parents and teachers, they can do it safely.
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