H. B. 2475


(By Delegates C. White, Hubbard, Dempsey
and Davis)

[Introduced January 29, 1999; referred to the
Committee on Education then the Judiciary.]



A BILL to amend and reenact section fifteen, article two, chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to assault or battery of a school employee; and amending the definition of school employee to include off duty school employees who are victims of an assault or battery which is reasonably related to that school employee's employment.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section fifteen, article two, chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON.

§61-2-15. Assault, battery on school employees; penalties.

(a) If any person commits an assault by unlawfully attempting to commit a violent injury to the person of a school employee or by unlawfully committing an act which places a school employee in reasonable apprehension of immediately receiving a violent injury, he or she shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be confined in jail not less than five days nor more than six months and fined not less than fifty dollars nor more than one hundred dollars.
(b) If any person commits a battery by unlawfully and intentionally making physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature with the person of a school employee or by unlawfully and intentionally causing physical harm to a school employee, he or she shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be confined in jail not less than ten days nor more than twelve months and fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars.
(c) For the purposes of this section, "school employee" means a person employed by a county board of education whether employed on a regular full-time basis, an hourly basis or otherwise if, at the time of the commission of any offense provided for in this section, such the person is engaged in the performance of his or her duties, or is commuting to or from his or her place of employment, or is an off duty school employee and the assault or battery is reasonably related to that school employee's employment. For the purposes of this section, a "school employee" shall be deemed to include includes a student teacher.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is provide that an off duty school employee is covered under "the assault or battery of a school employee statute" when a school employee is the victim of an assault or battery which is reasonably related to his or her school employment.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.