If you’re a teacher reading this because you were just served with an assault and battery charge, and the student who assaulted you is the one who filed it, you’re not alone, and you’re not crazy for feeling like something is deeply unfair here.

We’ve been seeing more of these cases. A student swings, a teacher blocks or restrains, and somehow the teacher ends up in a courtroom. Sometimes it’s a “he said, she said” problem. Sometimes the facts get misrepresented before anyone asks the teacher what actually happened.

Beyond Assault: When Teachers Face Criminal Negligence Charges

Teachers can also face criminal negligence charges, and those cases often come down to a misunderstanding rather than real wrongdoing. In one case, a teacher was blamed after a child left school property during recess. What the charge didn’t reflect: the school was understaffed that day, and the teacher had never been given full information about the student’s special needs. Once the full picture came out, it was clear the incident wasn’t the result of the teacher’s negligence.

Virginia Law Protects Teachers Who Use Reasonable Force in the Classroom

Virginia law recognizes that teachers sometimes have to put hands on a situation. Under Virginia Code § 18.2-57, “assault and battery” does not include reasonable physical contact by school employees to maintain order, break up a disturbance, defend themselves or others, or stop a student from hurting himself. The law even directs courts to give deference to the reasonable judgments teachers make in the moment.

But here’s the catch: that protection doesn’t stop you from being charged. It’s a defense you have to raise, and prove, in court. And an assault and battery charge in Virginia is a Class 1 misdemeanor carrying up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine.

The School’s Attorney is Not Your Attorney

Here’s what surprises most teachers: the school board’s attorney represents the school board. Not you. That attorney’s job is to protect the district’s interests, its policies and its liability exposure. Those interests do not always line up with yours, and in a criminal case they often pull in the opposite direction.

Think about what that means in practice. If the school’s lawyer sits in on your meeting with administrators or advises you during an internal investigation, they are gathering information to protect the district, not to build your defense. Anything you say in that meeting can end up in a report that gets handed to a prosecutor. The attorney has no duty to warn you about that risk, because their client is the school board, not you.

This becomes even more important once criminal charges are involved. A school board’s attorney generally cannot represent you in a criminal proceeding even if they wanted to. Representing both the district and an individual employee facing charges creates a conflict of interest, since the board may need to distance itself from you to limit its own liability. In some cases the district’s own response, a termination, a report to the Virginia Department of Education, an internal finding of policy violation, can become evidence used against you in the criminal case.

That is why you need your own lawyer, someone whose only obligation is to you. Not the school board, not the superintendent, not the state licensing board. A defense attorney working solely on your behalf can advise you on what to say and what not to say in every meeting, protect your teaching license and your record, and build a defense strategy aimed at keeping the case from ending your career, not just resolving the district’s paperwork. Your freedom, your license and your future are worth having someone in your corner whose loyalty is not divided.

Protect Yourself First. Call a Criminal Defense Attorney Before Anyone Else

Don’t discuss the incident with colleagues, administrators, or on social media. Don’t sign any statement. Call a criminal defense attorney first, before you talk to investigators.

My firm’s mission is helping people pursue happiness by protecting their freedom, and teachers wrongly accused of hurting the students they serve are exactly who that mission is for. If you’re a teacher, coach, or school employee facing a charge like this, or you just want to understand your rights before something ever happens, reach out.

Contact Peters Law Firm at (804) 572-8265

This blog post is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is different. Contact an attorney to discuss the specific facts of your situation.