INDIANAPOLIS | Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels delivered the first plank of his second-term education agenda Monday, proposing a lawsuit shield for teachers who mete out student discipline.

"Students can't learn and teachers can't teach in classrooms where kids are disruptive. Some teachers are afraid to restore order when needed because they fear legal harassment. It's unacceptable that a teacher would have that hesitation," Daniels told a Fort Wayne audience. "In schools today, teachers are protected from litigation when they hand out medicine, but there are no protections for them when they try to prevent disruptive students from disturbing others who are trying to learn."

Daniels, who is seeking re-election and campaigning against Democrat Jill Long Thompson, plans to ask the General Assembly next year to pass a law providing legal immunity for teachers who "act in good faith to preserve order in their classrooms or other school settings." The governor's office said "a number" of states have laws more protective of teachers than Indiana.

The governor pointed to examples of a claim against a central Indiana gym teacher who ordered a student to do push-ups and a northern Indiana school sued after a principal attempted to restrain a student while breaking up a fight.

Daniels plans to visit Evansville Tuesday to outline an education funding initiative and propose a tax credit for teachers. On Wednesday, the governor is scheduled to make a college affordability announcement in Terre Haute, and on Thursday he plans to dish out full-day kindergarten and teacher preparation proposals in Indianapolis.