Making School a Safe Place for All Students

In 19 states across the country, corporal punishment in schools is still legal. Sadly, in many states, children are better protected against physical discipline in detention facilities than they are in their own classrooms. That fact is a startling reminder that for the many children subjected to corporal punishment or the threat of it every day, school does not feel like a safe place.

Most Americans agree that corporal punishment in our schools is unacceptable. A recent poll indicates that only 23 percent of Americans approve of teachers using corporal punishment on our children. And yet, according to the latest available data from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, over 200,000 students are the victims of this practice every year.

Sadly, these numbers do not even tell the whole story. They only reflect data that has been reported to the Department of Education, which some school districts fail to do. In addition, these statistics only include the number of students who are subjected to corporal punishment during the school year, not the total number of times that an individual student has been hit over his or her educational career. In the next few months, the Office of Civil Rights in the Department of Education, as part of its new Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) effort, is expected to release important new data on school discipline issues. And although we will get a better and updated snapshot of school climate data, unfortunately, we understand that it will not indicate the number of incidents of corporal punishment.

No child should be subjected to corporal punishment in school, but what's even worse is that corporal punishment is being disproportionately applied against African-American students and students with disabilities. For example, while African-Americans made up 21.7 percent of public school students in states that allow corporal punishment, they accounted for 35.6 percent of those who were paddled during the 2006-2007 school year.

The ACLU and Human Rights Watch interviewed families, teachers and students across the country who discussed the devastating effect of corporal punishment. One teacher in a rural Mississippi school described how African-American students were punished more severely, in part because there was a belief that there was less risk of visible bruising:

I've heard this said at my school and at other schools: "This child should get less whips, it'll leave marks." Students that are dark-skinned, it takes more to let their skin be bruised.

Aside from the infliction of pain and injury that often results, corporal punishment violates students' human dignity and right to personal physical integrity, both of which are guaranteed under international human rights law. Evidence also suggests that these violent disciplinary methods impact students' academic achievement and long-term well-being. In order to address these acts of violence in our schools, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) introduced "The Ending Corporal Punishment in Schools Act." This bill would end the practice of school personnel striking or beating students in public schools and private schools that serve students who receive federal services.

The measure will also help provide the safe environment all students need to achieve academic success, and it will give educators new tools to improve school climate by encouraging the use of school-wide positive behavior supports -- a process proven to reduce school discipline referrals and improve academic outcomes.

The ACLU thanks Rep. McCarthy for her important leadership on this issue and we hope you will urge your Representative to support H.R. 3027.

 

Comments

[Leeann Archer]

03:00 PM on 10/01/2011

In order for schools to be able to "spank" your child you do have to sign a form. Let parents raise their kids. In our school if you choose to opt out of corporal punishment and your child does something so bad that it would warrant that punishment, you can simply choose to come pick them up rather than have the school spank them. If your child acts right, and is taught respect and manners you should not have to worry with it anyways.

[mdh461]

10:32 AM on 09/28/2011

Ok I agree that students should not be "paddled". Although I have to laugh that when I went to K-8 in a galaxy far far away if you "bullyed" another student, started a fight etc.... you were sent to the principal's office and if you were guilty he brought out a wood paddle with holes in the wood and you got one wack. Well if it happened again you were suspended from school for three days. In 4th grade, we all set in desks with flip up table tops. If our teacher was using the chalk board while teaching, and you were disrupting the class he would turn around and throw the eraser at you. We got onto him though and when we knew this would happen, we would flip up the desk top in defense of the eraser. Times have changed and so have we. I still laugh about all that. Spare the rod spoil the child. The bad old days. And thats just the way things were.

[Joseph Schmoe]

11:15 PM on 09/27/2011

Corporal punishment is wrong, period.
It's wrong in school and wrong at home.
Look to see which minority group practices corporal punishment in the home more than any other group.
Violence begets violence.
Always has. Always will.

[FLECKENSTEIN44]

08:31 PM on 09/27/2011

hmm let see maybe those African American youth caused more problems than their white counterparts so got paddled more?

[acumenguy]

07:14 PM on 09/27/2011

Wow ... I didn't realize some American schools were still stuck in Dickinsion mentalities. "Please, Sir, may I have some more." " MORE!!!? *WHACK* Or mabey "Thank you sir, may I have another?"
WHAT modern day parents knows that their child was paddeled by a heavy-breathing teacher and didn't file a police report?
Really ....? That many, huh ...?
"We going to have to get Mony Python on your a**. "
O.K. Now the country is just plain silly.

[SithRose]

05:22 PM on 09/27/2011

Please attempt to come up with a coherent discipline plan that will A: Not put teachers in danger. B: not be abusive to students. C: Leave an effect on hard to discipline students and NOT give them an impression that there are no permanent consequences for their actions, and D: Pass muster of all the parents protecting their precious darlings who would do nothing wrong.

[imokit]

06:08 AM on 09/28/2011

Studies show that although there is a huge lack of discipline in British schools, things are actually better than they were before corporal punishment was banned.
Detention, telling kids off, talking to them and making them understand what's wrong, showing the respect you expect from the kids back to them, getting parents involved, suspensions, all things a school could use.
Please explain to me how children can learn if they afraid of making mistakes or being hit for angering their teachers. Please explain to a child the difference between an angry teacher hurting someone smaller than them, or a bigger child hurting someone when they get angry.

[SithRose]

11:40 AM on 09/28/2011

Please note that not once in my comment did I actually advocate physical punishment against children in schools. I firmly believe that a solid 70% of the disciplinary problems that we see in our schools are because of the PARENTS failing to teach their children proper respect for adults and proper manners.

I am, however, HIGHLY against suspensions as punishment. It does absolutely no good to remove the child from school as a punishment. The kid doesn't learn while they're suspended.