How many states allow paddling in schools

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. Stay informed. Invest in independent journalism. And help The 74 make an impact. Donate now and help us reach our NewsMatch goal. Donate Now! Florida attorney Brent Probinsky. Tags Chicago Florida Louisiana. Sign-Up for T74 Newsletter Submit. The Protecting Our Students in Schools Act would ban corporal punishment nationwide in all public schools.

The legislative text mentions several specific examples such as striking, spanking, paddling, chemical sprays, electroshock weapons, and stun guns. The practice would still be allowed on a national level in private schools, which only two states currently ban on a state level: Iowa and New Jersey. It was introduced in the House on September 30 as bill number H. Supporters argue the practice of corporal punishment belongs to another century, with potentially damaging consequences to students on the receiving end.

McEachin said in a press release. McEachin continued. While the decision has never been overturned and remains legal precedent, many legal scholars doubt the decision would be upheld if decided today. At the time, only two states — Massachusetts and New Jersey — banned corporal punishment in public schools, but today more than half the states do.

The bill has attracted six cosponsors, all Democrats. In , the US Supreme Court found that the Eighth Amendment - which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment - did not apply to school students, meaning that teachers could use physical punishment without parental permission.

There is no federal ban on corporal punishment. Though the practice has steadily declined over time, more than , children were physically punished at US public schools during the school year - the most recent year for which national data is available - according to the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights.

And critics of corporal punishment are quick to note that such discipline is not evenly distributed. Experts have found that black students, boys and disabled students are disproportionately the subjects of sanctioned violence in school.

Since , the American Academy of Pediatrics has called for a ban in schools. And in , the organisation warned that parents should also avoid all physical and verbal abuse of children, calling it "minimally effective in the short-term and not effective in the long-term".

Though the practice has steadily fallen out of favour in the US, 63 other countries allow corporal punishment in schools, according to the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children. Australia, India, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia all join the US in allowing corporal punishment in some or all schools. In the UK, corporal punishment in state-funded schools has been outlawed since Privately funded schools came a little bit later: in England and Wales, in Scotland and in Northern Ireland.

The ban is widely credited to two Scottish mothers - Grace Campbell and Jane Cosans - who won a landmark case at the European Court of Human Rights to stop corporal punishment in Scottish schools.

A few years later, Canada followed suit. Parents whose children have been subjected to physical punishments at school commonly report this and other mental health-related side effects, including emotional trauma, anxiety, disengagement, and a reluctance to learn. The physical impacts of corporal punishment also cannot be overlooked. 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.