Stephen Bucheli Bayne, Ed.D. is a highly experienced K–12 school safety and risk management expert with over 37 years of direct, real-world K-12 public education experience spanning school law enforcement, school risk management, school emergency preparedness, and campus safety operations.

For more than two decades (2005-2026), Dr. Bayne operated at the intersection of school operations and civil litigation, overseeing tort liability claims, coordinating defense strategy with legal counsel, and evaluating matters involving negligent supervision, negligent retention, negligent training, and standard of care in K–12 environments. His work played a direct role in shaping litigation strategy, guiding settlement decisions, and strengthening risk mitigation practices within public schools.

Dr. Bayne’s expertise was distinguished by his hands-on operational background. In 1989, he began his career in school policing, serving in progressive leadership roles from police officer to police captain, where he was directly involved in campus supervision, incident response, and criminal investigations involving student and staff safety.

In 2005, Dr. Bayne transitioned into director-level risk management leadership, where he continuously oversaw complex claims, civil litigation, liability exposure, and system-wide safety programs. He had been responsible for managing and analyzing high-risk incidents and litigation involving student injury, employee claims, premises liability, and emergency response actions. He has collaborated extensively with school administrators, legal counsel, law enforcement agencies, and emergency management professionals to develop policies, procedures, and safety frameworks aligned with real-world school operations.

From 2014-2026, Dr. Bayne also served on the Claims and Coverage Committee for a large Southern California risk pool for school liability and property protection, representing 90+ public school districts and smaller joint powers authorities. In this capacity, Dr. Bayne participated in hundreds of detailed post-incident and litigation analyses, providing recommendations on claim disposition, settlement strategy, and liability exposure, offering him a rare, system-wide perspective on how school-related cases are evaluated and resolved.

Dr. Bayne's expert witness work is grounded in a balanced, objective understanding of both sides of litigation, making him uniquely qualified to assist plaintiff and defense counsel. He brings clarity to complex issues by connecting what actually occurs in K–12 school environments with what is later scrutinized during civil litigation procedures.

Dr. Bayne is widely recognized for his ability to articulate whether actions taken by school personnel were reasonable, defensible, and aligned with professional standards of care, not just in theory, but in practice.

Services include:
-Expert Witness Testimony (plaintiff and defense)
-Case Review and Liability Analysis
-Standard of Care Evaluations
-School Safety and Risk Management Consulting

Curriculum Vitae available upon request.