Corporal Punishment Remains Prevalent in U.S.

What's the story?

• A Cassville, Missouri, school district's decision to bring back corporal punishment gained international attention recently.
• The practice of corporal punishment, which includes spanking, paddling, and hitting, ended in Missouri in 2001, and its re-emergence has drawn criticism from activists, educators, and students.
• Cassville now allows parents to consent to corporal punishment against their children by "certified personnel" after all other disciplinary tools have been exhausted. 

The big picture of corporal punishment

• Missouri is now one of 19 states where corporal punishment remains legal in schools. 
• Black children and children with disabilities are more likely to be the victims of corporal punishment. The majority of states where corporal punishment remains legal are in the rural South in districts with a disproportionately Black, low-income student base. 
• A Brookings Institution study found that three Southern states — Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi — account for 71% of all corporal punishment incidents against Black children. The study also found that in Georgia, Black children are 50% more likely to be beaten than their white classmates. 
• Federal data showed that over 70,000 children experienced corporal punishment in public schools during the 2017-2018 school year. Research published in 2016 estimated a much higher number, stating that over 160,000 children were subject to corporal punishment during the 2011-2012 school year.
• Private schools across 48 states allow corporal punishment but are not required to report their statistics. Because of this, the amount of students who have experienced violence in these schools is unknown.

Where is corporal punishment legal in the world?

• In 2016, corporal punishment was allowed in 69 countries. It is banned in Canada, the U.K., Europe, South America, East Asia, and much of the industrialized world.  
• Corporal punishment is more common in Republican-leaning regions where evangelical, socially conservative values might influence the perspective of using violence as a practical discipline tool. 
• In the U.S., it remains legal in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming.
• Educators in Mississippi can legally hit kindergarteners with wooden paddles if they speak out of turn. In 2018, 69,000 children were punished by public school staff, with over 30% of those cases recorded in Mississippi.
• Earlier this year, the Oklahoma House voted against a bill prohibiting corporal punishment against students with disabilities. 
• In 2021, Reps. Donald McEachin (D-VA), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), and Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) introduced the Protecting Our Students in Schools Act intending to make the practice illegal in the entire country. There has been no progress on the bill since 2021.

What do supporters say?

• Rep. Jim Olsen (R-OK), who opposed legislation that would ban corporal punishment, quoted the bible in its defense:

"He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him."

What do critics say?

• Critics have pointed to decades of data showing that corporal punishment is ineffective long term and can exacerbate children's behavioral problems and learning difficulties. Physical discipline has also been linked to mental health issues and increased aggression. 
• Ellen Reddy, executive director of a non-profit in Mississippi, said:

"Schools are the only public institution where you can legally hit a child. It's not OK whether the child is white, Black or Latino. The violence needs to stop."

• Sarah Font, a sociology professor at Pennsylvania State University, told The Guardian:

"Corporal punishment in schools has been on the decline for such a long time. There's increased awareness of how ineffective it is as a discipline strategy and the potential for harm."

• Associate professor Stacey Patton from Morgan State University said the practice is rooted in a legacy of racism:

"[It is a] continuation of that racialized coercion and violence against Black bodies."

• Patton continued:

"It's historical trauma, it's internalized racism. These are adults who are powerless to change these larger systems in their lives so they turn to the easy target, the most vulnerable among them, and they take out all that rage and frustration out on to their children." 

Do you agree with corporal punishment, or should it be outlawed?

—Emma Kansiz 

(Photo Credit: Wikipedia)