What To Do If Your Child is Assaulted at School: Can You Sue the Parent?

You may be able to sue the parents of the student who assaulted your child in school. You may also have grounds to sue the school.

We send our kids off to school each day expecting they will be kept safe and free from undue harm. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.

Approximately one out of every five kids will be involved in a fight during a typical year.¹

If your child was assaulted at school, you have a right to seek justice and compensation from the violent student’s parents as well as the negligent school.

Who’s Liable When a Child is Assaulted at School?

When a school is aware of a student’s violent nature and fails to prevent them from committing future violence, the school may be liable when the violent student harms your child. School staff must take every reasonable step to maintain a safe environment for students in elementary school, middle school, and high school.

The school’s role in looking after your child is important. Each school has a legal “duty of care,” or obligation to do everything within reason to protect students from undue harm. The school’s duty includes exercising good judgment and using reasonable force when necessary to stop student-on-student violence.

Through the legal doctrine of in loco parentis (a Latin term meaning “in place of the parent”), schools and their teachers assume the role of parents in the areas of supervision and discipline.

A school’s legal duty of care begins the minute a student steps onto a school bus and continues throughout the school day, during extracurricular activities, and when students are off school property for school-sponsored activities.

The school’s duty of care ends when the student steps off the school bus at the end of the day, leaves with a parent, or in the case of high-school students, leaves on their own.

The Other Parents’ Legal Obligation

In most states, parents are liable, meaning responsible, for their children’s actions. This liability means parents must compensate the injured student for damages.

Parental liability can exist at the same time as school liability. An injured student can pursue a civil lawsuit against the school and the other child’s parents, individually and collectively.

Before anyone can assess parental liability, the injured student must prove the assault was unprovoked and not the result of self-defense. The law does not recognize verbal abuse as grounds for physical assault. The adage “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me” is a legal truism.

The only time when throwing the first blow is legally acceptable is when the aggressor’s words threatened the other student with imminent bodily injury, or there was an imminent threat of bodily harm to a third person nearby.

The Injured Child’s Damages

When a school breaches its duty of care, the breach constitutes negligence. When a school’s negligence results in injuries to a student, the student can receive compensation for their damages.

Damages can include the student’s:

  • Medical, dental, and therapy bills
  • Out-of-pocket expenses (for medications, crutches, slings, etc.)
  • Lost wages (for a working teenager, or when a parent must take off work to care for the child)
  • Pain, suffering, and emotional distress.

Parental Claims for Compensation

Depending on the severity of the child’s injuries, compensation may be available for the parent’s lost wages, out-of-pocket expenses, and vehicle mileage related to their child’s injuries.

Compensation for pain and suffering is not usually available to parents, but your child’s attorney may be able to pursue a claim for loss of consortium, that is, the parent’s loss of their child’s help, comfort, and companionship because of the child’s injuries.

What the School Should Be Doing

A school’s duty of care requires teachers and other qualified school personnel to intervene before or during a school fight. The duty to intervene begins when a school knows or should know a student is prone to violence.

Fights are a dangerous form of bullying that can result in physical injury, social and emotional distress, permanent disability, and even death.

“Boys will be boys” and “girls will be girls” are common refrains teachers and school administrators use in the face of criticism over incidents of student-on-student assaultive behavior. Those old excuses aren’t acceptable. Assaults in school can leave a child bloodied and battered with black eyes, lost teeth, cuts, bruises, and emotional scars.

Stopping an Assault Before It Starts

When a school is aware of a student’s tendency toward violence, the school should act before another child is injured.

The school can intervene with a potentially dangerous student by:

  • Reprimanding the student for aggressive behavior
  • Notifying the aggressive student’s parents of a zero-tolerance policy of violence in school
  • Taking corrective action against the aggressive student
  • Removing the student from school to protect other students

The duty to intervene, like the school’s general duty of care, begins when the student steps onto the school bus and ends when the child returns home. The school should protect your child on the bus, during school events at home or away, and on the school grounds, not only in the school building.

However, the school is not automatically responsible for every fight that breaks out at school.

Case Example: School Could Not Foresee Student Fight

Cheyanne Conklin’s father was monitoring his daughter’s social media when he saw an entry that worried him. The post indicated another student, Cassidy Edwards was going to fight his daughter in school the next day.

Conklin’s father immediately notified the school. The next morning, the school social worker conducted a mediation with Conklin and Edwards. Both girls remained calm and denied any intention to fight physically. Edwards had no prior record of violence or fighting.

Conklin was allowed to return to class, while Edwards first met with the school resource officer to discuss the criminal consequences of attacking another student, then met with the school’s assistant principal to discuss the disciplinary repercussions of fighting.

Edwards assured all three adults she had no intention of fighting with Conklin and insisted she never said she wanted to fight Conklin.

Later that day, Conklin was walking in the school hall when Edwards attacked her from behind. Edwards pulled her down by her hair and repeatedly punched Conklin in the head. The fight was quickly stopped by nearby teachers.

Conklin’s father filed a lawsuit against the school district, claiming the school’s negligent supervision caused his daughter’s injuries.

Both the district court and the state’s supreme court ruled in favor of the school district.

The courts found the school had taken reasonable precautions in response to rumors of a threat against Conklin and could not have foreseen Edward’s sudden attack. The school “cannot be held liable for every thoughtless or careless act by which one pupil may injure another.’”

Breaking up Fights in Progress

Even in the best of circumstances, school fights can erupt. A punch can be thrown in a split second. When a teacher sees a fight, they have a duty to break it up physically. The teacher has the power to use reasonable force to end the fight as quickly as possible to avoid further injuries.

School districts traditionally indemnify (insure) teachers for injuries they may cause to students while breaking up an altercation.

If, while stepping in to end a fight, a teacher injures a student, the school will defend the teacher, absorbing all legal costs for lawsuits parents file and any insurance settlements or court-awarded judgments against the teacher. So long as the teacher is acting appropriately, within the scope of their employment, the school protects the teacher.

If the teacher is physically unable to stop the fight, they should seek immediate help from other teachers and staff. It is never appropriate for school personnel to just stand back and watch a student get beat up.

School Assault Laws and Regulations

To guide teachers and school administrators in exercising their duty of care toward students, each state has laws and regulations. These set out the policies and protocol the department of education and school staff must follow when dealing with student behavior, including student violence and sexual harassment.

Find your State Education Codes here.

Calling the Police for Assaults at School

Assault and battery is a crime, even when the fight is between two students. Depending upon the severity of a student’s injuries, schools can decide whether to call the police to make an arrest or not. This discretionary power is a double-edged sword.

On the one hand, if the school doesn’t notify law enforcement about a violent student, they may breach their duty of care to protect the other students. On the other hand, having a student arrested for a minor assault can seriously affect the student’s future. An arrest record, even for a minor assault, can have far-reaching consequences.

Another problem often faced by schools is figuring out who threw the first punch. Most school fights begin with pushing and shoving. Is the student who first shoved the other student guilty of assault? What if the other student responds with a punch?

In some locations, the school defers to the injured student’s parents. The school will ask the injured student, with the advice and counsel of their parents, whether they want to file a police report and press charges against the attacker.

In other locations, the school will involve local law enforcement in every incident of school violence.

Sexual assaults in school should always be reported to law enforcement and immediate action taken to isolate the attacker from other students.

Arrest and Prosecution for Fighting

Depending on the circumstances of the fight, when the police arrive they may arrest everyone involved. Underage students will remain in custody until the authorities decide what happens next, usually in discussion with the parents.

Fights involving weapons, severe injuries, or the intent to inflict severe injuries, can lead to arrest and criminal prosecution, particularly if there are reliable witnesses.

Older students may be charged as an adult for aggravated assault and battery, or the student who started the fight may be placed in the juvenile justice system.

Whether or not the student who hurt your child is arrested, you still have the right to pursue the at-fault child and their parents for compensation.

Evidence to Support a Child Assault Case

If you’re considering a personal injury claim against the school or the parents of the student who assaulted your child, you must gather evidence to support your claim.

To establish the school’s liability, you need evidence the school:

  • Failed to prevent the assault by expelling or admonishing a violent student
  • Failed to physically intervene during the assault to minimize injuries to your child

Education Codes: Start by reading the part of your state’s education code dealing with school disciplinary powers over students with violent behavior. Knowing what the school should have done will help you while gathering evidence.

School Records: Student records are confidential, so you can’t review a student’s record to see whether the school previously admonished or disciplined them for fighting.

Even without seeing a student’s records, your child and their friends can likely tell you whether the violent student previously attacked other students or teachers, and what type of disciplinary action the school took.

The school’s failure to effectively deal with a violent or abusive student enhances their liability, making your case against the school that much stronger.

The school will not disclose student records or other evidence without a subpoena. Your personal injury attorney can ensure the school preserves evidence relating to the assault.  

Photographs and Videos: Photographs and videos are very helpful to a claim. Take pictures of your child’s injuries as soon as possible, and continue to take pictures during their recovery. Tell your child’s attorney if you know of any kids who took videos of the incident with your child.

Videos of your child’s attacker striking or abusing other kids will also be helpful. Work with the attorney to collect images, posts, and videos from social media that will support your child’s claim.

School Surveillance Footage: Schools often use cameras for security in common areas of the school property.  Find out if there was a surveillance camera near the area where your child was attacked.

Let the school know you expect all footage taken the day of the fight to be preserved as evidence. The school won’t voluntarily hand it over to you, but your child’s attorney can subpoena copies.

Witness Statements: There are usually multiple witnesses to fights in school. Their written statements can be invaluable. Identify parents of students who may have witnessed the fight and give their contact information to your attorney.

Damages: You need proof of all costs related to your child’s injuries, including medical bills, receipts for out-of-pocket expenses, and verification of your child’s lost wages. Get copies of your child’s medical, dental, and therapy records. They are all crucial in supporting the amount of compensation that fairly represents your child’s damages.

Winning a Child Injury Lawsuit

If your child’s injuries are minor, soft tissue injuries like bumps and bruises, cuts and minor swelling, you might risk handling the claim yourself. So long as your child is fully recovered and you are only seeking enough money to cover a few medical bills, the school may be willing to pay the claim quickly.

However, if your child suffered serious physical, emotional, or mental health injuries from a fight at school, you’ll need a skilled personal injury attorney to protect your child’s interest.

  • Private Schools: If your child was attacked at a private school, contact the administrator and ask for the school’s insurance information.  You or your child’s attorney can negotiate directly with the insurance company.
  • Public Schools: Just like any other branch of government, public schools are protected by special immunities from litigation. There are complicated rules for filing injury claims against government entities. Any mistake on your part can end the claim.

Injury claims for minors are always complicated. Underage children cannot file an injury claim or lawsuit on their own.

Most states have specific rules for settling child injury claims, especially when it comes to large amounts of money. As an 18-year-old, a child can settle their claim without court approval, even if the attack occurred while they were a minor.

Your child may be entitled to compensation from the school, the student who caused the fight, and the at-fault student’s parents. The school may be on the hook for civil rights violations as well as negligence if your child was singled out for abuse.

You’ll need an experienced attorney to get the full amount of available compensation for your child.

Most injury lawyers offer a free consultation to injured children and their parents. There’s no obligation, and it costs nothing to seek reliable legal advice on how to best protect your child’s interests.

School Fights and Assault Questions