School Board of the City of Virginia Beach
Policy 4-41

PERSONNEL

Personnel Protection from Assault/Other Acts

Employees who have suffered an assault in connection with their employment shall immediately make a written report of the circumstances thereof to their principal or immediate superior and shall make supplemental written reports attaching copies of any summons, complaint, process, information, indictment, notice or demand served upon them in connection with such assaults within five (5) days after they have been served therewith, and reporting the final disposition of any such proceedings.

Such reports shall be forwarded to the Virginia Department of Education through the superintendent's office as mandated by the legal reference to this policy. Copies of these reports shall be submitted to the school board.

In the event civil or criminal proceedings are brought against the employee, the board will comply with any reasonable request by the employee for information in the board's possession not privileged by law or school board policies and/or regulations and relevant to the incident reported.

If criminal or civil proceedings are brought against an employee alleging that the employee committed an assault in connection with his/her employment, such employee, after making the reports described above, may request the board' s assistance in the preparation of the employee's defense. Upon receipt of such request, the board will instruct its attorney to consult with the employee's legal counsel in the preparation of the employee's defense, insofar as the interests of the employee and the division are not conflicting. Nothing in this policy shall prejudice any action that the board might otherwise take regarding the employee's employment status.

Legal Reference:

Code of Va., § 22.1-280.1. Reports of certain acts to school authorities. - A. Any attempted or actual physical injury, including "unlawful woundings," maimings, and homicides, other than involuntary manslaughter, committed by a student on school personnel shall be reported to the principal or his designee. Similar reports shall be made to the principal or his designee on all incidents involving (i) the death, shooting, stabbing, cutting, or wounding of any person (ii) any conduct involving alcohol, marijuana, a controlled substance, imitation controlled substance , or an anabolic steroid on a school bus, on school property or at a school-sponsored activity; (iii) any threats against school personnel while on a school bus, on school property or at a school-sponsored activity; or (iv) the illegal carrying of a fire arm onto school property. The principal or his designee shall semiannually submit a report of all such incidents to the superintendent of the school division. The division superintendent shall annually report all such incidents to the Department of Education for the purpose of recording the frequency of such incidents on forms which shall be provided by the Department. A division superintendent who knowingly fails to comply or secure compliance with the reporting requirements of this section shall be subject to the sanctions authorized in § 22.1-65.

B.A statement providing a procedure and the purpose for the requirements of subsection A shall be included in the policy manual of all school divisions.

The Board of Education shall promulgate regulations to implement this section including, but not limited to, the reporting date and the format of the reports. (1994)

Code of Va., § 65.2-301. Victims of sexual assault.

 

Adopted by School Board:  January 19, 1982
Amended by School Board:  August 21, 1990
Amended by School Board:  July 16, 1991
Amended by School Board:  July 13, 1993 (Effective August 14, 1993)