The bill would amend the Penal Code by making the assault of an employee of a public or private primary or secondary school while the employee is engaged in performing duties within the scope of employment or in retaliation for or on account of the employee’s performance of a duty within the scope of employment punishable as a felony of the third degree.  Such behavior would currently be punishable as a Class A misdemeanor.  The bill would also enhance the punishment for the offense of aggravated assault from a felony of the second degree to a felony of the first degree if the offense is committed against a person the actor knows is an employee of a public or private primary or secondary school while the employee is engaged in performing duties within the scope of employment or in retaliation for or on account of the employee’s duty or employment. 

A first degree felony is punishable by imprisonment in the institutional division for life or for any term of not more than 99 years or less than 5 years, or in addition to imprisonment, a fine not to exceed $10,000.

Increasing the penalty for any criminal offense is expected to result in increased demands upon correctional resources.  The impact of the bill on correctional populations would depend on how many persons would be prosecuted under the provision of the bill, and the extent to which punishment would be enhanced under the proposed statute compared to existing statute.  For this analysis it is assumed that the number of offenders convicted under this statute would not result in a significant impact on the programs and workload of state corrections agencies or on the demand for resources and services of those agencies.