A California charge under Penal Code § 241.6 alleges an assault on a school employee; § 243.6 alleges a battery. The difference begins with attempted force versus harmful or offensive contact, but both sections also require a covered employee, knowledge of that status, and a connection to the employee’s duties or retaliation for them. An injury allegation changes the § 243.6 penalty branch. Read the actual section and count before assuming what must be proved.
First separate the act from the person’s role
Section 240 defines assault as an unlawful attempt, coupled with present ability, to commit a violent injury. Actual touching is not required. Section 242 defines battery as a willful, unlawful use of force or violence on another person; a harmful or offensive touching can be enough without a visible injury. The current 2026 CALCRIM instructions 904 and 949 distinguish those act elements and treat a battery injury allegation as an additional branch, rather than an element of every § 243.6 charge.
For the underlying distinction between conduct allegations, see the firm’s guides to assault and battery.
The school provisions add more than the fact that the event happened at a school. Section 245.5(d) defines a school employee to include specified permanent or probationary certificated or classified school-district employees, substitutes, student teachers and school board members. The prosecutor must also address whether the accused knew or reasonably should have known the person held that status. Compare the person’s actual position, assignment, identifying information and what the accused could see or hear. A student, parent, contractor or visitor is not automatically within this definition merely by being on campus.
Duty conduct and retaliation are different routes
Both § 241.6 and § 243.6 reach conduct while the employee performs duties or retaliation for an act performed in the course of duties. The statute expressly says “whether on or off campus, during the schoolday or at any other time”—an excerpt from § 241.6, not a rule that every off-campus disagreement qualifies. For an alleged on-duty event, compare schedules, assigned tasks, witness accounts and the sequence of contact. For a retaliation theory, identify the earlier duty-related act and the evidence connecting it to the alleged assault or battery. The current CALCRIM instructions use separate alternatives for these routes.
Each section excludes conduct arising during an otherwise lawful labor dispute. That is a specific statutory boundary, not a general exemption for anyone employed by or arguing with a school. Preserve the actual labor activity and the charging facts if it is raised.
Check the injury allegation and the filed penalty branch
Without the injury alternative, each school-employee provision permits up to one year in county jail, a fine up to $2,000, or both. Section 243.6 also says, “if an injury is inflicted on the victim,” the battery may be punished under its separate alternative: up to one year in county jail, a fine up to $2,000, or a 16-month, two-year or three-year term under Penal Code § 1170(h). Current § 243(f)(5) defines that injury as physical injury requiring professional medical treatment; receiving treatment alone does not settle whether the statutory requirement is met. Do not treat a report’s word “injured” as proof of the felony alternative or assume an executed § 1170(h) sentence must be served in one facility without checking its exclusions.
If the complaint instead alleges a deadly weapon, firearm, stun gun or force likely to produce great bodily injury against a school employee, § 245.5 contains different branches. The paperwork must identify which section and facts are actually at issue; this guide does not substitute one count for another.
Preserve the complaint, full video interval, witness and role records, duty schedule, messages about any earlier school action, medical chronology and current hearing notice. The Law Offices of David S. Chesley can review the precise allegation and evidence with you. Contact the firm or call (800) 755-5174.