Rights for teachers with abusive students8*

[Alaina ABC]

Jurisdiction

Washington

I am a teacher who has a student with significant behavior problems and is not in special education. He charges, shoves, punches and slaps me on a regular basis. He has also purposefully grabbed my breasts to try and get a rise out of me. He usually gets suspended for the day and returns the next just to do the same thing again. My principal says that because he is a kindergartner that is 6 years old he will not be suspended for longer than a day or expelled. Even though he is 6, he has managed to shove me so hard that has has sprained my wrist. I did need to seek medical attention. Do I have any rights such as saying I will not return to work until my work environment is made safe?

I am a teacher who has a student with significant behavior problems and is not in special education. He charges, shoves, punches and slaps me on a regular basis. He has also purposefully grabbed my breasts to try and get a rise out of me. He usually gets suspended for the day and returns the next just to do the same thing again. My principal says that because he is a kindergartner that is 6 years old he will not be suspended for longer than a day or expelled. Even though he is 6, he has managed to shove me so hard that has has sprained my wrist. I did need to seek medical attention. Do I have any rights such as saying I will not return to work until my work environment is made safe?

 

[KatDini]

What did your union rep say when you approached him/her/it with your concerns?

 

[Alaina ABC]

What did your union rep say when you approached him/her/it with your concerns?

He said that I have a right to not be treated like that. He sent a letter to my principal asking for an enforceable discipline plan to be set up and signed before he returned back to school. However, this has not happened yet and he is still in my room. Also, I have a lot of documentation on his unsafe behaviors this year and last year.
If I hired my own lawyer, could I possibly sue for negligence in upholding their duty to protect their staff or something?

 

[army judge]

He said that I have a right to not be treated like that. He sent a letter to my principal asking for an enforceable discipline plan to be set up and signed before he returned back to school. However, this has not happened yet and he is still in my room. Also, I have a lot of documentation on his unsafe behaviors this year and last year.
If I hired my own lawyer, could I possibly sue for negligence in upholding their duty to protect their staff or something?

Talk to a couple local lawyers and see what you can learn.

In Texas, you could have the little beast arrested for sexual assault, or battery.

Talk to the police, and see what you can learn.

 

[ElleMD]

Trust me when I say I am not unsympathetic. Unfortunately, most education policy is written by those with no classroom experience who have apparently never even seen an actual child. Getting a young child suspended or expelled is very nearly impossible in any state. Suing the child for assault is going to be a non-starter for a wide variety of reasons, even if it is totally justified. Have you met with the parents? Referred the child to Child Find or other school services? This kid sounds like a candidate for intervention of some kind but what exists in your district varies.

Other options include filing a WC claim for every incident that causes any degree of injury.

Whether you can take leave depends upon your contract and district policies but it does not entirely solve the problem. Satan Junior will just assault someone else and there is no guarantee when you return next year, even if he is in another class, he won't seek you out anyway.