It's still not uncommon for school officials, especially in the South, to
get out the paddle and discipline a student with corporal punishment.
The practice is legal in 19 states, almost all of them states with large rural populations, according to the Center for Effective Discipline, a nonprofit based in
Columbus, Ohio, that provides educational information on corporal
punishment and alternatives to its use, Alyssa Morones
reports for Education Week.
In 2006, the last year data was available from a survey by the U.S. Department of Education, 223,190 school children were subjected to physical punishment, most of them boys, and a high percentage African American. Overall, 119,339 were white and 79,613 were black. In many if not most of the 19 states, individual districts have adopted policies against corporal punishment; for example, 99 districts in North Carolina don't use it. (Center for Effective Discipline graphic)
The 2006 survey looked at 60,000 schools, finding that 35.6 percent of the students paddled were African American but only 17.1 of students in the survey were, Morones writes. Overall, 78.3 percent of the punishments involved boys. The U.S. Supreme Court has left the decision about corporal punishment up to states, and the number that allow paddling has continually decreased, down from 22 in 2004. "North Carolina schools used corporal punishment 891 times during the
2010-11 school year, according to Action for Children North Carolina. By
the following school year, that number was down to 404."
During the 2005-06 school year, according to the Center for Effective Discipline, 7.5 percent of students in Mississippi, 38,124, were paddled. In Alabama, it was 34,097, or 4.6 percent. The next closest state, Arkansas, had 22,575, or 4.7 percent. The only state where practice was legal but no paddlings were reported was Wyoming. Information from each state is here.
While many districts are shying away from the practice, Marion County, in Central Florida near the Gulf coast, recently reinstated it. "The code now allows corporal punishment, administered with a paddle, to be used, though only at the elementary level and only for a 'level two' offense, such as hitting or hurting another child or other aggressive behavior like throwing a desk," Morones writes. "Parents also can opt their children out of the punishment and are called before it is administered." Carol Ely, a school board member who voted in favor of corporal punishment, told Morones, "When students receive out-of-school suspension, they miss out on instruction time, and the teacher is not obligated in any way to help that student catch up. In elementary school, that's like a vacation. That's not a punishment." (Read more)
In 2006, the last year data was available from a survey by the U.S. Department of Education, 223,190 school children were subjected to physical punishment, most of them boys, and a high percentage African American. Overall, 119,339 were white and 79,613 were black. In many if not most of the 19 states, individual districts have adopted policies against corporal punishment; for example, 99 districts in North Carolina don't use it. (Center for Effective Discipline graphic)
During the 2005-06 school year, according to the Center for Effective Discipline, 7.5 percent of students in Mississippi, 38,124, were paddled. In Alabama, it was 34,097, or 4.6 percent. The next closest state, Arkansas, had 22,575, or 4.7 percent. The only state where practice was legal but no paddlings were reported was Wyoming. Information from each state is here.
While many districts are shying away from the practice, Marion County, in Central Florida near the Gulf coast, recently reinstated it. "The code now allows corporal punishment, administered with a paddle, to be used, though only at the elementary level and only for a 'level two' offense, such as hitting or hurting another child or other aggressive behavior like throwing a desk," Morones writes. "Parents also can opt their children out of the punishment and are called before it is administered." Carol Ely, a school board member who voted in favor of corporal punishment, told Morones, "When students receive out-of-school suspension, they miss out on instruction time, and the teacher is not obligated in any way to help that student catch up. In elementary school, that's like a vacation. That's not a punishment." (Read more)
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