Kenneth Glad
Physical discipline is now uncommon in many classrooms, but policies remain far from uniform. What happens after serious misconduct can still depend heavily on location.
For families in parts of the United States where schools still use corporal punishment, disciplinary decisions can involve choices that carry consequences well beyond the classroom. That was the situation Tessa Davis faced in Arkansas after her kindergarten-age son was involved in a school incident.
According to NPR, administrators offered the family two options: a three-day suspension or a paddling. Davis said she could not afford to miss that much work to stay home with him, making the decision partly a financial one.
She later said she believed the paddling made her son more anxious about returning to school. “I just think he always struggled going to school then after that, for sure,” she said.
The experience also prompted a wider change at home. Her family stopped using physical punishment and no longer allowed schools to use it on him.
Davis’ family is far from alone, although school paddling is now mostly confined to a handful of states. Federal civil-rights data recorded nearly 32,000 incidents in the 2021-22 school year, with NPR finding that eight states accounted for almost all of the reports.
Different rules across state lines
No federal law bans corporal punishment in public schools, so much of the decision-making is left to states and local education authorities. An analysis of state law by NPR identified 15 states with laws permitting schools to use it, though individual districts may adopt stricter rules.
Thirty states explicitly ban corporal punishment in public schools, as does Washington, D.C. The remaining states have more complicated legal frameworks, including some where other laws are interpreted as prohibitions and others with no explicit statewide ban.
Research cited by NPR has linked corporal punishment to outcomes including greater aggression and anxiety. Developmental psychologist Joan Durrant said it can also harm relationships and encourage children to hide misconduct rather than address it openly. “It really fuels dishonesty,” she said. “You learn how to lie. You learn to avoid punishment.”
Oklahoma keeps local choice
Oklahoma psychologist Randy Randleman supports keeping paddling available for some cases involving deliberate misconduct, while describing it as a last resort rather than a routine disciplinary response.
At Warner Public Schools, corporal punishment remains an option when parents have authorized it. Elementary principal Alan Gordon told NPR that students face other disciplinary measures before paddling is considered. “I think that the responsible use of discipline can change kids’ lives,” he said.
The result is a system with substantial local variation. For students and families, the rules surrounding physical punishment can change simply by crossing a state line.
Source: NPR
