Public Administration Commons^™

A Content Analysis Of State Legislative Responses To Educator Assault, Jamie Heider Arkin

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Educators increasingly find themselves having to rely on laws for protection from threats or attacks, and educator assault laws reflect the diverse and unique needs of the individual states. This study sought to determine if the state legislatures in each of the 50 states have created legislation punishing educator assault and to compare, contrast, and analyze any existing statutes by using content analysis methodology. Currently, 37 states possess educator assault legislation. Specific features within each law were examined: its protected recipient, the prohibited action, identification of the aggressor, any limiting or qualifying statements, and the stated penalties. Several trends emerged; …