North Carolina § 115C-390 - 3. Reasonable force.

§ 115C-390. 3. Reasonable force.

School personnel may use physical restraint only in accordance with G.S. 115C-391.1. School personnel may use reasonable force to control behavior or to remove a person from the scene in those situations when necessary for any of the following reasons: To correct students. To quell a disturbance threatening injury to others. To obtain possession of weapons or other dangerous objects on the person, or within the control, of a student. For self-defense. For the protection of persons or property. To maintain order on educational property, in the classroom, or at a school-related activity on or off educational property. Notwithstanding any other law, no officer, member, or employee of the State Board of Education, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, or of a local board of education, individually or collectively, shall be civilly liable for using reasonable force in conformity with State law, State or local rules, or State or local policies regarding the control, discipline, suspension, and expulsion of students. Furthermore, the burden of proof is on the claimant to show that the amount of force used was not reasonable. No school employee shall be reprimanded or dismissed for acting or failing to act to stop or intervene in an altercation between students if the employee's actions are consistent with local board policies. Local boards of education shall adopt policies, pursuant to their authority under G.S. 115C-47(18), which provide guidelines for an employee's response if the employee has personal knowledge or actual notice of an altercation between students. History (2011-282, s. 2; 2012-149, s. 10; 2016-126, 4th Ex. Sess., s. 23.) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2011-282, s. 17, made this section effective June 23, 2011, and applicable beginning with the 2011-2012 school year. Session Laws 2012-149, s. 12, made subsection (d) of this section effective July 1, 2012, and applicable beginning with the 2012-2013 school year. Session Laws 2012-149, preamble, provides: "Whereas, the General Assembly of North Carolina finds that a safe and civil environment in school is necessary in order for students to learn and achieve high academic standards; and "Whereas, bullying and harassment, like other disruptive or violent behaviors, disrupt both a student's ability to learn and a school's ability to educate its students in a safe environment; and "Whereas, bullying and harassing behaviors create a climate that fosters violence in our schools; and "Whereas, it is essential to enact a law that seeks to protect the health and welfare of North Carolina students and improve the learning environment for North Carolina students; and "Whereas, to do so, State and national data and anecdotal evidence have established the need to identify the most vulnerable targets and potential victims of bullying and harassment; and "Whereas, the sole purpose of this law is to protect all children from bullying and harassment, and no other legislative purpose is intended nor should any other intent be construed from passage of this law; Now, therefore." Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2012-149, s. 10, effective July 12, 2012, added subsection (d). For applicability, see editor's note. Session Laws 2016-126, 4th Ex. Sess., s. 23, effective January 1, 2017, substituted "officer, member, or employee of the State Board of Education, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, or of a local board of education, individually or collectively" for "officer or employee of the State Board of Education or of a local board of education" in subsection (c). Legal Periodicals. - For survey on corporal punishment, see 70 N.C.L. Rev. 2058 (1992). For article, "Recent Development: Long-Term Suspension and the Right to an Education: An Alternative Approach," see 90 N.C.L. Rev. 293 (2011).