Where is paddling legal in schools

Students who are hit with a paddle — which in some cases can be a modified and flattened version of a baseball bat — can receive cuts, splinters, bruising, and in some cases muscle and tissue damage. More serious injuries including hematomas, whiplash, and hemorrhaging can also occur. According to the Center for Effective Discipline, some children have even died as a result of the injuries they sustained from a school-sanctioned paddling.

Shockingly, despite the negative consequences that result from corporal punishment, some want to see it remain — and even strengthened - in public schools. As has been widely reported , students of color are suspended more often than their peers, are expelled more often than their peers, and are punished for infractions that white students are not.

This unfortunate trend extends to corporal punishment as well : while African-American students comprise just over 17 percent of the national student population, they account for over 35 percent of all students subjected to corporal punishments.

This news report tells why some students are more likely to be victims of corporal punishment than others. In Mississippi, where corporal punishment is still allowed and approximately half the student population is African-American, 64 percent of students who are paddled are black. Despite these shocking misuses of such a harsh disciplinary procedure, instances of paddling are sharply down over the last several years.

From to , the number of school-sanctioned uses of the paddle dropped by 33 percent in the state. Although there is no federal ban on corporal punishment — the Supreme Court ruled in in Ingraham v. Two-dozen Democrats have proposed a bill that would ban corporal punishment nationwide. To enforce the ban, federal education money would be withheld from states that do not comply with the ban as a way to strong-arm them into compliance.

New Jersey was the first state to ban corporal punishment in Nevertheless, it remains a startling fact that in the 21st-century children can still be physically punished by an adult while at school.

Schools in Denver and Seattle announced they will be forced to close this week due to staffing shortages. Although it varies which counties and districts allow it, some educators do it regardless of local or state laws. Black and disabled children are disproportionately beaten more than others.

Related Stories. Your Email. Today, a considerable body of research suggests the practice can lead to significant and lifelong harms. National groups including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association have urged educators and parents to refrain from relying on corporal punishment, arguing that it does not bring about improvements in student behavior, but instead could cause emotional, behavioral and academic problems.

Among them is a study in the peer-reviewed Journal of Pediatrics , which found that children who are spanked are far more likely to abuse intimate partners later in life. In the s, about 4 percent of U. During that time, lawmakers have increasingly put limits on its use. Even in states where the practice remains legal, school districts have imposed their own bans and in Mississippi, the state which outranks all others in striking students, lawmakers prohibited educators from spanking children with disabilities in In fact, 96 percent of public schools in the U.

But holdouts remain, and several offered passionate rebuttals to critics who hope to do away with physical discipline in schools. Among them is Ted Roush, the superintendent of the Suwannee County school district in northern Florida. Louisiana state Rep. Danny McCormick, a Republican, offered a similar perspective. While students of color and those with disabilities are disproporionately subjected to corporal punishment at school compared to their white and nondisabled classmates, one recent report suggests that the roots of corporal pushment in southern schools run deep — with ties to lynching.

The report , published this year in the journal Social Problems, found that in places where lynching was once routine, schools are more likely to rely on corporal punishment today — especially against Black students. Though previous federal efforts have failed to ban corporal punishment in schools and the U. In Louisiana, state Sen. Franklin Foil, a Republican, recognizes that some in his state continue to support corporal punishment in classrooms.

So when he proposed legislation to regulate its use in , he focused on children with disabilities after parents with negative experiences brought the issue to his attention. It was a smart political strategy.

While his bill passed, legislation to ban the practice outright failed, albeit by a much larger margin, 34 in favor to 61 against , than the same effort earlier this month. Though he supports a complete ban, he acknowledges it faces steep obstacles, including from school administrators who believe that state lawmakers should stay out of their business. As research on the deleterious effects of corporal punishment builds, Jackson believes that even more educators will turn away from the practice altogether.

By Mark Keierleber May 19, Get essential education news and commentary delivered straight to your inbox.