I. PC 241.6: Assault on a School Employee

Legal Definition:

PC 241.6: “When an assault is committed against a school employee engaged in the performance of his or her duties, or in retaliation for an act performed in the course of his or her duties, whether on or off-campus, during the school day or at any other time, and the person committing the offense knows or reasonably should know the victim is a school employee, the assault is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment…”

For a person to be convicted of a violation of PC 241.6 the prosecution must show that:

1. You committed an assault on a school employee;
2. At the time of the offense, the school employee was engaged in the performance of his or her duties;

OR

3. Acted in retaliation for an act performed in the course of the school employee’s duties

AND

4. You knew or reasonably should have known that the school police officer was engaged in the performance of his or her duties.

II. What does this mean?

As used in the section, “school employee” means any person employed as a permanent or probationary certificated or classified employee of a school district on a part-time or full-time basis, including a substitute teacher. “School employee,” as used in this section, also includes a student teacher or a school board member.

The difference between this charge and simple Assault under PC 240, is that your possible jail time is doubled. The purpose of this charge is to protect school employees, such as teachers and staff. The school employees don’t also have to be currently working at the time of the assault, this also penalizes retaliation. For example, waiting in the parking lot to attached a school employee when they are off the clock, won’t change your situation or charges.

An assault is an attempted battery. You do not need to make contact with another to commit an assault. If you raise your fist and swing at another person, then only stopping your fist right before their face, then you have committed an Assault.

III. Penalties

An assault on a school police officer under PC 241.6 is a misdemeanor-only offense. A misdemeanor conviction can cause you to be imprisoned in a County Jail for up to 1 year. You would have to serve at least 50% of that time in custody.

PC 241.6 is a not strike offense under the Three Strikes Law and is not a charge requiring Sex Registration under PC 290. You would likely face a loss, suspension, or revocation of your professional license. You could also face immigration consequences if you are a non-US Citizen living in the United States, since this may be considered an aggravated felony under Federal Law.

IV. Common Defenses

1. Statute of Limitations
2. Insufficient Evidence
3. Violation of Rights
4. False Allegations

In order to be found guilty, the elements of the crime must be met. This charge can be fought by your Ontario Criminal Defense Attorney by arguing that you either did not commit an assault or that you did not know you were committing an assault against a school employee who was working in the performance of their own duties. Failing to show the elements of the crime would mean there is insufficient evidence to prove you guilty of this charge.

False accusations are not technically considered a “defense” in criminal law. In essence, the defense of false accusations comes from a person who falsely blames you for a crime you did not commit. So in essence, there is a witness that is blaming you for the crime, and you are claiming you are innocent. In many other defenses under California law, you are guilty of the crime, but there is a technical defense that prevents a conviction, different than here. A school employee may not like you based on whatever reasons, skipping class, getting in trouble, etc. Here, you’d argue that the allegations are false, and you are being falsely accused of the crime.

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