What Should I Do if My Son Assaulted a Student at School?
Full Question:
Answer:
The incident may involve court proceedings as well as internal school discipline. Students have been held by the courts to be citizens with a property right to their education. To deny that right requires, at the least, an informal hearing with notice, witnesses and the like. Suspensions for longer than 5 days might require even more formal procedures. The courts have found that a school's code of conduct must have minimum due process protections. The authorized rules students must obey without a specific verbal command must be in writing. The rules need to be specific, and published, so that the student is aware of the nature of the conduct that is prohibited.
In the school setting, it is generally a matter of internal administrative decision-making. While the school may have applicable guidelines to follow, it often is a matter of subjective determination. It is more of an administrative than a legal matter. Typically, the courts will review such cases only insofar as ensuring that due process rights were afforded to the student in the procedures. This will involve such considerations as whether the student was served with a written notice of requirements; was made aware of grounds which would justify her expulsion or suspension by way of the student handbook; the hearing tribunal afforded an opportunity to hear and confront the evidence presented against the student and an opportunity to be heard and to offer other evidence if the student chose; the student was accorded the right to have someone to assist him in the proceedings; was informed of the tribunal's finding; was given access to its decision for personal review; and, was advised in writing of the consequence imposed.
However, students attending private universities do not possess the same due process rights under the U.S. Constitution that are guaranteed to students attending public schools. Therefore, courts are reluctant to review the administrative decisions of private schools and tend to defer to private school decision making, especially in internal affairs. Courts generally have applied a very lenient standard of review and required that private school procedures conform to a basic fairness standard. The procedures must have a rational basis, so as not to be arbitrary or capricious. Courts typically rule that a private school’s decisions are fundamentally fair if they are aligned with the school's rules and procedures.
Please see the statutes below regarding punishment for battery. It is always preferable to have the assistance of an attorney when facing criminal charges, due to the important rights and liberties at stake.
Please see the following CA statutes:
241.2. (a) (1) When an assault is committed on school or park
property against any person, the assault is punishable by a fine not
exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in the
county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and
imprisonment.
(2) When a violation of this section is committed by a minor on
school property, the court may, in addition to any other fine,
sentence, or as a condition of probation, order the minor to attend
counseling as deemed appropriate by the court at the expense of the
minor's parents. The court shall take into consideration the ability
of the minor's parents to pay, however, no minor shall be relieved of
attending counseling because of the minor's parents' inability to
pay for the counseling imposed by this section.
(b) "School," as used in this section, means any elementary
school, junior high school, four-year high school, senior high
school, adult school or any branch thereof, opportunity school,
continuation high school, regional occupational center, evening high
school, technical school, or community college.
(c) "Park," as used in this section, means any publicly maintained
or operated park. It does not include any facility when used for
professional sports or commercial events.
242. A battery is any willful and unlawful use of force or violence
upon the person of another.
243. (a) A battery is punishable by a fine not exceeding two
thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail not
exceeding six months, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(b) When a battery is committed against the person of a peace
officer, custodial officer, firefighter, emergency medical
technician, lifeguard, process server, traffic officer, code
enforcement officer, or animal control officer engaged in the
performance of his or her duties, whether on or off duty, including
when the peace officer is in a police uniform and is concurrently
performing the duties required of him or her as a peace officer while
also employed in a private capacity as a part-time or casual private
security guard or patrolman, or a nonsworn employee of a probation
department engaged in the performance of his or her duties, whether
on or off duty, or a physician or nurse engaged in rendering
emergency medical care outside a hospital, clinic, or other health
care facility, and the person committing the offense knows or
reasonably should know that the victim is a peace officer, custodial
officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician, lifeguard,
process server, traffic officer, code enforcement officer, or animal
control officer engaged in the performance of his or her duties,
nonsworn employee of a probation department, or a physician or nurse
engaged in rendering emergency medical care, the battery is
punishable by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or
by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both
that fine and imprisonment.
(c) (1) When a battery is committed against a custodial officer,
firefighter, emergency medical technician, lifeguard, process server,
traffic officer, or animal control officer engaged in the
performance of his or her duties, whether on or off duty, or a
nonsworn employee of a probation department engaged in the
performance of his or her duties, whether on or off duty, or a
physician or nurse engaged in rendering emergency medical care
outside a hospital, clinic, or other health care facility, and the
person committing the offense knows or reasonably should know that
the victim is a nonsworn employee of a probation department,
custodial officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician,
lifeguard, process server, traffic officer, or animal control officer
engaged in the performance of his or her duties, or a physician or
nurse engaged in rendering emergency medical care, and an injury is
inflicted on that victim, the battery is punishable by a fine of not
more than two thousand dollars ($2,000), by imprisonment in a county
jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment,
or by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, or two or three
years.
(2) When the battery specified in paragraph (1) is committed
against a peace officer engaged in the performance of his or her
duties, whether on or off duty, including when the peace officer is
in a police uniform and is concurrently performing the duties
required of him or her as a peace officer while also employed in a
private capacity as a part-time or casual private security guard or
patrolman and the person committing the offense knows or reasonably
should know that the victim is a peace officer engaged in the
performance of his or her duties, the battery is punishable by a fine
of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by imprisonment
in a county jail not exceeding one year or in the state prison for 16
months, or two or three years, or by both that fine and
imprisonment.
(d) When a battery is committed against any person and serious
bodily injury is inflicted on the person, the battery is punishable
by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year or
imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years.
(e) (1) When a battery is committed against a spouse, a person
with whom the defendant is cohabiting, a person who is the parent of
the defendant's child, former spouse, fiance, or fiancee, or a person
with whom the defendant currently has, or has previously had, a
dating or engagement relationship, the battery is punishable by a
fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment
in a county jail for a period of not more than one year, or by both
that fine and imprisonment. If probation is granted, or the execution
or imposition of the sentence is suspended, it shall be a condition
thereof that the defendant participate in, for no less than one year,
and successfully complete, a batterer's treatment program, as
defined in Section 1203.097, or if none is available, another
appropriate counseling program designated by the court. However, this
provision shall not be construed as requiring a city, a county, or a
city and county to provide a new program or higher level of service
as contemplated by Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
(2) Upon conviction of a violation of this subdivision, if
probation is granted, the conditions of probation may include, in
lieu of a fine, one or both of the following requirements:
(A) That the defendant make payments to a battered women's
shelter, up to a maximum of five thousand dollars ($5,000).
(B) That the defendant reimburse the victim for reasonable costs
of counseling and other reasonable expenses that the court finds are
the direct result of the defendant's offense.
For any order to pay a fine, make payments to a battered women's
shelter, or pay restitution as a condition of probation under this
subdivision, the court shall make a determination of the defendant's
ability to pay. In no event shall any order to make payments to a
battered women's shelter be made if it would impair the ability of
the defendant to pay direct restitution to the victim or
court-ordered child support. Where the injury to a married person is
caused in whole or in part by the criminal acts of his or her spouse
in violation of this section, the community property may not be used
to discharge the liability of the offending spouse for restitution to
the injured spouse, required by Section 1203.04, as operative on or
before August 2, 1995, or Section 1202.4, or to a shelter for costs
with regard to the injured spouse and dependents, required by this
section, until all separate property of the offending spouse is
exhausted.
(3) Upon conviction of a violation of this subdivision, if
probation is granted or the execution or imposition of the sentence
is suspended and the person has been previously convicted of a
violation of this subdivision and sentenced under paragraph (1), the
person shall be imprisoned for not less than 48 hours in addition to
the conditions in paragraph (1). However, the court, upon a showing
of good cause, may elect not to impose the mandatory minimum
imprisonment as required by this subdivision and may, under these
circumstances, grant probation or order the suspension of the
execution or imposition of the sentence.
(4) The Legislature finds and declares that these specified crimes
merit special consideration when imposing a sentence so as to
display society's condemnation for these crimes of violence upon
victims with whom a close relationship has been formed.
(f) As used in this section:
(1) "Peace officer" means any person defined in Chapter 4.5
(commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2.
(2) "Emergency medical technician" means a person who is either an
EMT-I, EMT-II, or EMT-P (paramedic), and possesses a valid
certificate or license in accordance with the standards of Division
2.5 (commencing with Section 1797) of the Health and Safety Code.
(3) "Nurse" means a person who meets the standards of Division 2.5
(commencing with Section 1797) of the Health and Safety Code.
(4) "Serious bodily injury" means a serious impairment of physical
condition, including, but not limited to, the following: loss of
consciousness; concussion; bone fracture; protracted loss or
impairment of function of any bodily member or organ; a wound
requiring extensive suturing; and serious disfigurement.
(5) "Injury" means any physical injury which requires professional
medical treatment.
(6) "Custodial officer" means any person who has the
responsibilities and duties described in Section 831 and who is
employed by a law enforcement agency of any city or county or who
performs those duties as a volunteer.
(7) "Lifeguard" means a person defined in paragraph (5) of
subdivision (c) of Section 241.
(8) "Traffic officer" means any person employed by a city, county,
or city and county to monitor and enforce state laws and local
ordinances relating to parking and the operation of vehicles.
(9) "Animal control officer" means any person employed by a city,
county, or city and county for purposes of enforcing animal control
laws or regulations.
(10) "Dating relationship" means frequent, intimate associations
primarily characterized by the expectation of affectional or sexual
involvement independent of financial considerations.
(11) (A) "Code enforcement officer" means any person who is not
described in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of
Part 2 and who is employed by any governmental subdivision, public or
quasi-public corporation, public agency, public service corporation,
any town, city, county, or municipal corporation, whether
incorporated or chartered, who has enforcement authority for health,
safety, and welfare requirements, and whose duties include
enforcement of any statute, rules, regulations, or standards, and who
is authorized to issue citations, or file formal complaints.
(B) "Code enforcement officer" also includes any person who is
employed by the Department of Housing and Community Development who
has enforcement authority for health, safety, and welfare
requirements pursuant to the Employee Housing Act (Part 1 (commencing
with Section 17000) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code);
the State Housing Law (Part 1.5 (commencing with Section 17910) of
Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code); the
Mobilehomes-Manufactured Housing Act (Part 2 (commencing with Section
18000) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code); the Mobilehome
Parks Act (Part 2.1 (commencing with Section 18200) of Division 13
of the Health and Safety Code); and the Special Occupancy Parks Act
(Part 2.3 (commencing with Section 18860) of Division 13 of the
Health and Safety Code).
(g) It is the intent of the Legislature by amendments to this
section at the 1981-82 and 1983-84 Regular Sessions to abrogate the
holdings in cases such as People v. Corey, 21 Cal. 3d 738, and
Cervantez v. J.C. Penney Co., 24 Cal. 3d 579, and to reinstate prior
judicial interpretations of this section as they relate to criminal
sanctions for battery on peace officers who are employed, on a
part-time or casual basis, while wearing a police uniform as private
security guards or patrolmen and to allow the exercise of peace
officer powers concurrently with that employment.
243.2. (a) (1) Except as otherwise provided in Section 243.6, when
a battery is committed on school property, park property, or the
grounds of a public or private hospital, against any person, the
battery is punishable by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars
($2,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one
year, or by both the fine and imprisonment.
(2) When a violation of this section is committed by a minor on
school property, the court may, in addition to any other fine,
sentence, or as a condition of probation, order the minor to attend
counseling as deemed appropriate by the court at the expense of the
minor's parents. The court shall take into consideration the ability
of the minor's parents to pay, however, no minor shall be relieved of
attending counseling because of the minor's parents' inability to
pay for the counseling imposed by this section.
(b) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Hospital" means a facility for the diagnosis, care, and
treatment of human illness that is subject to, or specifically
exempted from, the licensure requirements of Chapter 2 (commencing
with Section 1250) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) "Park" means any publicly maintained or operated park. It does
not include any facility when used for professional sports or
commercial events.
(3) "School" means any elementary school, junior high school,
four-year high school, senior high school, adult school or any branch
thereof, opportunity school, continuation high school, regional
occupational center, evening high school, technical school, or
community college.
(c) This section shall not apply to conduct arising during the
course of an otherwise lawful labor dispute.
