Student Assaults Against School Employees: Key Considerations for School Leaders

Recent national research found that violence and aggression against educators returned to or exceeded pre-pandemic levels after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. States including Kentucky and Louisiana have also enacted laws establishing stronger consequences for students who assault school employees.

An assault against a school employee can also trigger a series of decisions for school leaders. Depending on the circumstances, an incident may involve school discipline, behavioral or mental health intervention, disability accommodations, a response from school-based law enforcement, or criminal charges.

The response may also involve coordination among administrators, school-based law enforcement officers, school resource officers (SROs), special education staff, school mental health professionals, and others. This article examines several of the issues districts may need to consider when responding to student assaults against school employees.

Texas Incident Highlights the Challenges

A 2023 incident in Texas illustrates many of the issues districts may face when responding to assaults against school employees.

According to The New York Times, an assistant principal at Judson High School in Texas accused a 15-year-old sophomore of pushing her in a hallway. A district police officer confronted the student and attempted to arrest him. The encounter escalated into a physical struggle, and the student was ultimately charged with assault and resisting arrest. The assault charge was later reduced to making a threat.

The student also had an individualized education program (IEP). Records reviewed by The Times showed that part of the plan advised school employees to avoid “power struggles” and allow him to cool down if he became upset. The newspaper reported that it was unclear whether the plan, which had been finalized days earlier, was provided to the officer.

The officer later told reporters that after reviewing surveillance footage of the initial interaction, it appeared the student “might have brushed past” the assistant principal. He said he would not have considered that an assault and, had he seen the footage beforehand, would have turned the matter over to a school administrator rather than press criminal charges.

School Policing Requires Specialized Training

According to The New York Times, the responding officer had completed the 20 hours of school-specific training required by Texas. However, the newspaper noted that Texas' requirement is half of the minimum training recommended by the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO).

NASRO recommends a minimum of 40 hours of foundational training for school resource officers, other law enforcement officers, and school safety professionals working in K-12 schools. The curriculum includes school-based policing, de-escalation, behavioral threat assessment, supporting students with disabilities and behavioral health challenges, emergency operations planning, and other topics unique to the school environment.

Responding to a Student Assault Involves Multiple Decisions

When a student assaults a school employee, school leaders are often required to make several decisions at once. Those decisions may involve student discipline, employee safety, disability accommodations, law enforcement, family communication, and behavioral or mental health interventions.

In some cases, school leaders may also need to determine whether an incident should remain a school disciplinary matter or be referred to law enforcement, depending on state law, district policy, and the circumstances of the incident.

Some decisions are dictated by state law or district policy. Others depend on the student's age, the severity of the incident, whether the behavior appears intentional, and whether the student receives special education services or other supports.

Response Can Have Long-Term Implications

Research suggests that how schools respond to student misconduct can influence educational and life outcomes long after the immediate incident has ended.

A 2024 peer-reviewed study by researchers at Boston University examined the long-term effects of attending middle schools with different suspension rates. Students assigned to schools with higher suspension rates were 17% more likely to be arrested as adults, 20% more likely to be incarcerated, 15% more likely to drop out of high school, and 11% less likely to enroll in a four-year college. The researchers also found little evidence that stricter disciplinary environments produced broader academic or behavioral benefits for students who were not suspended.

Other research has found that exclusionary discipline is not experienced equally across student populations. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has reported that students with disabilities are suspended at approximately twice the rate of students without disabilities, while students of color, particularly those with disabilities, experience disproportionately high rates of exclusionary discipline. Studies have also documented racial disparities in school-based arrests and referrals to law enforcement, suggesting that how schools respond to student misconduct can have different impacts across student groups.

Holding students accountable and providing appropriate supports are not mutually exclusive. Research suggests schools may need to consider discipline, law enforcement involvement, and behavioral interventions together when responding to serious incidents.

Prevention Begins Before an Assault Occurs

Many districts have expanded their use of behavioral threat assessment teams, multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), school-based mental health services, de-escalation strategies, and other early intervention practices designed to identify concerning behavior and provide interventions before it escalates into violence.

National research also indicates that many educators believe additional training is needed to respond effectively when challenging behaviors occur. In a 2024 study led by researchers from DePaul University and the American Psychological Association, more than half of school personnel identified a need for additional training in trauma-informed practices, de-escalation strategies, restorative practices, social-emotional learning, behavioral management, behavioral threat assessment, and staff team building.

According to recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics, elementary school teachers report higher rates of threats and physical attacks by students than secondary teachers. During the 2020–21 school year, 8% of elementary teachers reported being threatened with injury by a student, compared with 4% of secondary teachers. Seven percent reported being physically attacked, compared with 1% of secondary teachers. The findings highlight that efforts to prevent violence against educators may need to begin well before students reach high school.

A Coordinated Response Is Essential

As states continue strengthening consequences for assaults against educators, districts may also want to review their procedures for responding to serious incidents. That review may include not only disciplinary policies, but also how administrators, school-based law enforcement, special education staff, school mental health professionals, and others coordinate their response.

As part of that review, districts may want to consider questions such as:

• Do school-based law enforcement officers receive specialized training for the K-12 environment?
• How are relevant IEP accommodations or behavioral support plans communicated to those responding to an incident?
• When should school administrators handle student misconduct, and when should law enforcement become involved?
• What procedures are in place to support employees following an assault?
• What behavioral, mental health, and early intervention supports are available to reduce the likelihood of future incidents?

No two incidents are exactly alike, but reviewing these questions in advance may help districts prepare for situations involving student assaults against school employees.