Corporal Punishment
and its Prevalence in
Schools Today.
An analytical report on Corporal punishment, its lack
thereof, its return, or if it really ever left.
Letter Of Transmittal
From: Bernie Gonzalez, UTEP
student
To: Whom it may concern
Subject: Prevalence of Corporal
Punishment
The intent behind this analytical
report is to bring to light how
frequently corporal punishment is still
being used today. This is, for the most
part, refraining from the effects, pros,
or cons, but bringing its popularity
into focus. CP, or corporal
punishment, is essentially backed by
the federal government but only
practiced by the states that have not
already banned it locally. The schools
that do decide to practice CP make
sure that they stay within their means
so that what they are doing is goal
oriented and not reckless.
The arbitrarily named “no CP
revolution” seemed to have been
started by Massachusetts in 1972 by
being the first state to abolish it. Since
then its been a constant tug of war,
mainly between federal and local
government. “The US Supreme
Court ruled in 1977 that spanking or
paddling by school officials or
teachers is lawful, where it has not
been explicitly outlawed by local
authorities. That decision still stands.”
Nevertheless, the majority of
the research yields that the main
problem with corporal punishment is
that all of the “guidelines and
regulations” are “blurry” per se. It
now seems that these next few
research questions could be a suitable
foundation for clarity.
 Should we allow corporal
punishment in schools, while
having its existence remain
within the schools discretion?
 If it does exist, show we limit
which faculty members are
allowed to perform the
punishment?
 A child can only undergo
punishment certain number
of times, after this point, then
sacrificing their education,
such as suspension or
expulsion, will be considered.
 How should we limit the
number of times a student
can undergo said
punishment? What are the
steps if corporal punishment
doesn’t work? At what point
is sacrificing school “worth
it”?
Executive Summary
Introduction:
Just like chivalry, corporal
punishment is not dead, not in the
home, but to maintain focus, nor in
the schools. But just how “popular” is
it?
Purpose:
From an unbiased perspective, inform
just how often corporal punishment is
being used and how it is being
monitored.
Scope:
Any and all interested in broadening
their horizons, knowledge, and
understanding about corporal
punishment so that they may make
educated decisions about how they
feel, think, and act.
 Should we allow corporal
punishment in schools, while
having its existence remain
within the schools discretion?
 If it does exist, show we limit
which faculty members are
allowed to perform the
punishment?
 A child can only undergo
punishment certain number of
times, after this point, then
sacrificing their education,
such as suspension or
expulsion, will be considered.
 How should we limit the
number of times a student can
undergo said punishment?
What are the steps if corporal
punishment doesn’t work? At
what point is sacrificing school
“worth it”?
Methods:
Analyze past and present accounts,
whether or not they produced the data
with the intent of being “studied”.
Table of Contents
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover Page
Letter of Transmittal . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Executive Summary . . . .. . . . . . . . . 2
Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Study Focus One: Should we allow
corporal punishment in schools, while
having its existence remain within the
schools discretion? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Study Focus Two: If it does exist,
show we limit which faculty members
are allowed to perform the
punishment? . . . . . . . . . . . .
Study Focus Three: A child can only
undergo punishment certain number
of times, after this point, then
sacrificing their education, such as
suspension or expulsion, will be
considered . . . . . . . . . . .
Study Focus Four: How should we
limit the number of times a student
can undergo said punishment? What
are the steps if corporal punishment
doesn’t work? At what point is
sacrificing school “worth it”?. . . . . .
Study Focus One: One: Should we allow corporal
punishment in schools, while having its existence remain
within the schools discretion?
With the states that have not
banned it, that is essentially what is
happening. However, it is ultimately
up to the parents if they are to allow
their children to be subjected to said
punishment.
“But in 2011, laws were
introduced in both Texas and North
Carolina giving parents the right
to exempt their sons or daughtersfrom
any CP provisions, typically by filling
out an official form provided for the
purpose. It is not yet known what
effect, if any, these new laws are
having on the incidence of paddling in
Texas: many school districts had
already adopted such a policy
anyway. In North Carolina the
number of districts retaining CP was
already very small.”
Despite the “US Supreme Court
ruling in 1975 (Baker vs Owen) held
that schools could spank students
against the wishes of their parents,
subject to various criteria being met”,
there are not any report of schools
doing so due to fear of the effects on
enrollment. A mother in North
Carolina granted the school her son
attended permission to punish him
and regretted her decision as soon as
her son came home from school
bearing the evidence of
“overindulging”.
“Tina Morgan did not object to
corporal punishment until she saw the
bruises when her son, Travis, 12, was
paddled in Robeson County, N.C.”
While on the other end of the
spectrum, Anthony Price, a school
principal in Texas, empathetically
admits to the room for error or
overindulgence but feels that the risk
could be worth the reward. “I’m a big
fan,” Mr. Price said. “I know it can be
abused. But if used properly, along
with other punishments, a few pops
can help turn a school around. It’s had
a huge effect here.” Naturally, “here”
referring to the school that he is the
head of in Everman, Texas.
Study Focus Two: If it does exist, show we limit
which faculty members are allowed to perform the
punishment?
While refraining from stepping
on any legal toes, the schools that do
practice corporal punishment try to be
as clear cut as possible;
“more common now for the
punishment to be delivered privately
in an office, often by the principal or
deputy principal or at least in his or
her presence. It is less likely
nowadays to be done on the spur of
the moment, and more likely to
require formal bureaucratic
procedures and specific
documentation. This affords greater
legal certainty, and also helps guard
against the danger of angry teachers
resorting to random violence.”
A “loophole” worth mentioning is
being a coach. Aside form principals
or vice principals, like previously
mentioned, coaches are allowed to
swat their athletes when deemed
necessary by the coach.
“an "Athletic handbook", separate
from their main student handbook.
This often states not only that sports
coaches may administer CP to team
members, but also that "athletes" are
held to a stricter standard of behavior
than other students. They are thus
more likely to be spanked if they
break either the general school rules
or the extra rules especially laid down
for their team.”
Study Focus Three: A child can only undergo punishment
certain number of times, after this point, then sacrificing
their education, such as suspension or expulsion, will be
considered
Given that the vast majority of the
students are minors, their parents
would be given the choice over them
personally. That way, if sacrificing
the students education is the end
result, it was at the parents will, not
the establishment.
“A matter of choice. To a much
greater extent than in the past,
paddling has become in many schools
an option for either the student or the
parent, or both. Very likely, CP would
not survive in as many places as it
does, were this not so. Older teens,
especially, may be offered a choice
between a spanking and, say,
detention or ISS. Many school
handbooks, particularly at high-school
level, lay down precise equivalences
(either in general or for specific
offenses), such as "three paddle swats
or four days' after-school detention".
To continue to support the paddle of
the absence;
“Much anecdotal evidence suggests
that, in these circumstances, most
teens, and certainly most young
men, opt for the spanking, preferring
to endure a "short sharp shock" of
severe physical pain for a relatively
brief duration, followed by a sore
backside for a day or two, rather than
long, tedious hours of unhealthy
incarceration. In effect, students in
these places may be seen to have
been given "a right to be paddled" as
well as "a right not to be paddled.”
The schools evidently have no
intentions of harming the students in
vain. All of the bases are covered in
their published and accessible
handbooks and go over the limits and
stipulations that they place upon
themselves.
“Handbooks frequently also stipulate
the maximum number of
swats/licks that may be delivered.
Nowadays it often three, sometimes
only two, occasionally four (but five
or six in some Louisiana and
Mississippi districts). This is
normally taken to mean "swats per
paddling incident", but a few school
districts lay down a maximum per
student per day. An unusual variation
on this is to prescribe a larger
number of swats spread over
consecutive days, such as at Elysian
Fields High School in Texas, where
for certain specified offenses the
penalty is "2 days' SAC or 2 swats
for 2 days"; while under a recently
adopted scheme at Jim Ned High
School in Tuscola, Texas, students
who reach step 5 of the "discipline
ladder" will receive no fewer than "9
swats (3 per day for 3 days) or 3 days
of ISS.”
Study Focus Four: How should we limit the number of
times a student can undergo said punishment? What are
the steps if corporal punishment doesn’t work? At what
point is sacrificing school “worth it”?
There are a few schools that utilize
choice words such as “moderate” in
order to describe how hard a student
can be struck. Of course, however, it
varies from state to state and from
school to school.
“How hard can kids be hit? District
and state regulations are different;
some, such as in Elizabeton City
Schools in Tennessee, say that
“bodily injury” is not permitted but
many others don’t. There are
numerous lawsuits in various states in
which families say that their child has
been severely hurt by corporal
punishment.”
In order to elaborate on the how the
schools regulate all of the ins and outs
of CP, here is this excerpt;
“Many US school districts nowadays
lay down more or less detailed rules
for the administration of CP and
publish them in their school
handbooks. These often specify such
things as the offenses for which a
paddling may be meted out, the
permissible dimensions of the paddle,
the part of the body to be targeted
(usually "the buttocks" but sometimes
"the buttocks area", "the lower
posterior" or "the seat of the pants"),
who can administer it and where and
in whose presence, what "due
process" is required (e.g. formally
stating in the presence of the witness
what the student is being punished
for, and inviting the student to state
his or her case), whether prior
parental consent is necessary, and
what happens if the student refuses to
submit to the punishment.”
As an overview, corporal
punishment is to very much in
practice. However, as opposed to
being wildly abused and barbarically
utilized, the schools that do exercise
their right to do so, make sure they are
within the legal and moral realms of
opting into these acts of discipline. Be
it asking permission from the parents
before hand or publically making all
the parents aware by means of their
handbooks, anyone can know exactly
what the school feels about the
subject and what they will more than
likely choose to do.