COLUMBIA --
Impassioned testimony by a Charleston teacher recuperating from a
brutal student assault helped convince members of the Senate
Judiciary Committee to approve a teacher protection bill Tuesday.
Sponsored by Sens. John Kuhn, R-Charleston; Scott Richardson,
R-Hilton Head; Wes Hayes, R-Rock Hill; and others, the bill
increases penalties against students convicted of assaulting
teachers and other school employees.
Kuhn said students who assault teachers are almost always charged
with misdemeanors and often given suspended sentences regardless of
the severity of the assault.
"A few years ago, we passed a law that made assault and assault
and battery against a teacher misdemeanors, and what has happened is
the resource officers who are the police in the schools are charging
all the kids under that," he said.
The bill would make a simple assault without battery of a school
employee punishable by a fine ranging from $500 to $1,000 or 30 days
in jail. For assault and battery, a student could be fined from
$1,000 to $3,000 and/or imprisoned from 30 days to one year. Assault
and battery of a high and aggravated nature, already a felony, would
be punishable by a $3,000 to $5,000 fine and five to 15 years in
prison. The bill would forbid judges from imposing anything less
than the minimum sentences.
Message to teachers, students
"We're trying to do three things," Kuhn said. "We're trying to
send a message to students that the criminal courts are not going to
tolerate assaulting a teacher. We're trying to send a message to
teachers that we support them 100 percent, and we're trying to take
the classroom back, make a safe environment for learning."
Kuhn called North Charleston High School history teacher Rick
Burkhart to testify. Named one of the country's top 20 teachers by
USA Today in 2000 and designated the Miliken Teacher of the Year
four years ago, Burkhart suffered nerve damage when a tall,
260-pound 16-year-old student beat him in the school hallway the
morning of Feb. 12.
"It was around 7 a.m., and I had just stopped in at the office
when I heard an unbelievable commotion in the halls," the teacher
told senators. "When I went out there, I saw that a student had his
mother pushed up against the wall, his hand on her neck, and his
fist drawn back to hit her. I stepped in between them."
The student grabbed Burk-hart behind the head and began pummeling
the teacher, who walks with a cane due to previous health
problems.
Another North Charleston High administrator, Don Austell,
testified the injuries inflicted on his colleague shocked him.
"It took four adults to control this young man," Austell said of
the beating.
Days later, when Burkhart and his wife appeared in court for what
they thought was a bond hearing, they learned the prosecutor had
made a plea agreement with the student. The student received one
year's probation, was sentenced to 25 hours of community service and
compelled to undergo a mental health evaluation.
Burkhart will not be able to return to work this year because he
grows dizzy when he stands for more than a few minutes, he said.
In addition to the increased penalties, the Senate bill
emphasizes legal rights that teachers already possess, including the
right to sue in civil court students who attack them and to take out
a warrant on a student who has attacked them.
Don Rucker, director of regional services for the Palmetto State
Teachers Association, said his organization strongly supports the
measure.
The bill now goes to the full Senate for consideration.
Contact Karen Addy at (803) 256-3800 and kaddy@heraldonline.com
