What's happening
This bill creates a new class C felony for assaulting a school employee on school grounds in New York.
Why it matters
Increases the legal consequences for assaulting school employees on school grounds. by making it a class C felony, which carries more severe penalties than many existing assault charges and signals a strong stance on school safety.
Expands protections specifically to all school employees. , not just teachers or administrators, potentially including custodians, aides, and other staff, aiming to create a safer environment for everyone working in schools.
Narrows the existing law. by removing language that previously included assaults on school employees in a broader assault statute, instead establishing a distinct and harsher charge for these cases, which could lead to higher rates of felony prosecutions for incidents that occur on school property.
May impact school discipline and law enforcement practices. , as more incidents on school grounds could be escalated to felony charges, affecting students, parents, and school staff interactions with the criminal justice system.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Felony Assaults on School Staff
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to codes
- Referred to codes
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
418
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by Sen. LANZA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to the offense of assault on a school employee
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 120.00-a to read as follows: § 120.00-a Assault on a school employee.
A person is guilty of assault on a school employee when, acting at a place the person knows, or reasonably should know, is on school grounds as defined in subdivision fourteen of section 220.00 of this part, and with intent to cause physical injury to an employee of a school or public school district, he or she causes such injury to such employee.
Assault on a school employee is a class C felony.
§ 2. Subdivision 10 of section 120.05 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 268 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows:
10. Acting at a place the person knows, or reasonably should know, is on school grounds and with intent to cause physical injury, he or she[:
(a) causes such injury to an employee of a school or public school district; or
(b)], not being a student of such school or public school district, causes physical injury to another, and such other person is a student of such school who is attending or present for educational purposes. For purposes of this subdivision the term "school grounds" shall have the meaning set forth in subdivision fourteen of section 220.00 of this [chapter] part; or
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05310-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to the offense of assault on a school employee
Purpose
Establishes the class E felony offense of assault on a school employee
Summary of specific provisions
Section one is amended to add a new section 120.00-a of the penal law to establish that assault on a school employee, acting at a place the person knows is on school grounds and with intent to cause physical injury to an employee of a school, he or she causes such injury to such employee is a c felony.
Section two provides that the act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
Justification
Students physically harming teachers is unacceptable and disrupts the learning environment for students who are there to learn and dedicated teachers who want to teach their students. Our teachers need to be protected against violent and disruptive students. This bill is intended to act as a deterrent to keep our teachers safe and to promote a healthy learning environment for our students and faculty.
Prior legislative history
2018: S.5343-C - Died on Third Reading Calendar 2017: S.5343 - Died on Third Reading Calendar
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.