Committee backs bill to strengthen penalties for attacks on school staff, but prosecutors urge narrow definitions
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Summary
HB 133, carried by Rep. Newell, was reported as amended after testimony from teachers describing serious assaults and from prosecutors who urged narrowing language so enhanced penalties remain provable and constitutional. The bill creates new offenses and juvenile-confinement provisions but sponsors agreed to further work with district attorneys on definitions.
Representative Newell opened HB 133 and asked the committee to adopt a large amendment set that would add aggravated battery and second‑degree battery to the school‑teacher protection statute, specify a six‑month confinement floor without probation for certain juvenile adjudications, require evaluations for students with suspected developmental disabilities, and redefine the injury threshold to "serious bodily injury" in several places.
"As a former school teacher . . . I wanted to bring this bill as a way to protect our teachers," Newell said, describing several incidents and asking members to support the amendment.
Teachers who testified said classroom attacks have had long‑term personal and career impacts. "My father was at the hospital. He had been assaulted by a student in his middle school," Kimberly McDaniel testified, recounting stitches and later follow‑up care. Nikkita Drummond Clark, a teacher who said she was forced to retire after a classroom assault, described months of recovery and ongoing fear.
District attorneys, while supportive of stronger tools, warned that several amendment choices could make cases harder to prove. Zach Daniels, executive director of the Louisiana District Attorneys Association, said replacing a requirement of "medical attention" with a "serious bodily injury" threshold could unintentionally raise the prosecutorial burden and reduce enforceability. He asked the author to work with prosecutors and suggested addressing drafting issues on the floor after reviewing the engrossed bill.
Representative Newell said she would work with prosecutors and committee staff to tighten definitions and asked the committee to report the bill as amended. Vice Chair LaFleur moved to report HB 133 as amended; seeing no objection, the committee reported the measure favorably. The transcript records no roll‑call vote count.
Next steps: Author and DA representatives will continue working to refine definitions, particularly the scope of "serious bodily injury" and juvenile‑transfer language, before floor debate.
