Corporal Punishment – Does Your State Allow It In School?
Anthony Adams, Founder of DetentionSlip.org published (May 5, 2010), this statistic, 223,190 Kids Legally Beaten in US Schools – 2006 -2207 School year. Using simple math, a child is beaten by an educator every 20 seconds of the school day. Every 4 minutes, a child is beaten so severely by an educator that the child is taken for medical attention. These statistics are from the U.S. Department of Education – Office for Civil Rights; Congressional Testimony.
Congress is holding hearings for the first time in over 18 years on the use of Corporal Punishment in U.S. Schools. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (NY) will introduce a bill to institute a federal ban of corporal punishment in all US Schools. [source: US Congressional Hearing]
Twenty U.S. states allow paddling/hitting Pre-school through high school students with a board, wooden paddle, belt or whip. Many states — Alaska, California, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Utah and Washington State — deploys Corporal Punishment in private schools even though it is banned in public schools.
Your support is needed to abolish this legalized child abuse in our schools which promotes more child abuse at home. Thirty states have banned this brutal and archaic practice. July 2009, Ohio Governor Ted Stricklan signed into law a measure to ban physical punishment in schools.
“In l979, Sweden became the first country to end all corporal punishment of children-[at home and school.] In the beginning, the Swedish government decided it was important to educate the public about the bad effects of corporal punishment and to help caretakers learn about effective alternatives. For countries that have not ended all corporal punishment of children, a no-hitting day is an opportunity for concerned organizations and individuals to promote positive discipline of children and to call for an end to corporal punishment.” Mali Nillson, Save the Children Sweden
Worldwide Ban on Physical Punishment:
Every industrialized country in the world now prohibits school corporal punishment, except the U.S. and Australia (Outback regions only). The following list shows the trend towards the elimination of corporal punishment in schools, dating back to the 1700’s
Year Country
Since Foundation** Iceland
1783 Poland
1820 Netherlands
1845 Luxembourg
1860 Italy
1867 Belgium
1870 Austria
1881 France
1890 Finland
1900 Japan
1917 Russia
1923 Turkey
1936 Norway
1949 China
1950 Portugal
1958 Sweden
1967 Denmark
1967 Cyprus
1970 Germany
1970 Switzerland
1982 Ireland
1983 Greece
1986 United Kingdom***
1990 New Zealand
1990 Namibia
1996 South Africa
1998 England*
1998 American Samoa
1999 Zimbabwe
2000 Zambia
2000 Thailand
2000 Trinidad and Tobago
2001 Kenya
2002 Fiji
2004 Canada
2006 South Africa
*This ban solidifies a ban imposed in 1986, extending the ban to ALL private schools.
**Iceland is the only country known to have banned corporal punishment during the country’s foundation. Hence, corporal punishment has never been legal.
*** Includes: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland
More than 200 Texas children died from abuse or neglect in the past fiscal year, up 11% from the previous year and double the number from a decade earlier, according to the state Dept. of Family and Protective Services. The 2004 fatality rate, 3.3 per 100,000 Texas children is 65% higher than the national average of 1.98 per 100,000 from the federal Dept. of Health and Human services.
In fiscal 2003, Texas had 184 child fatalities related to abuse or neglect, in 1994 it was 102. Plano, TX School Board passed a ban on corporal punishment, 2006. Other districts in Texas have remained steadfast. In fiscal 2006 – 2007, 49,197, Texas children were physically punished in school. In fiscal, 2006 – 2007, 223,190 U.S. school children were physically punished.
“It’s important to get it [Corporal Punishment] off the books,” said Nadine Block, Director of the Center for Effective Discipline, a non-profit organization which provides information about effects of physical punishment and alternatives. “Even if corporal punishment is not used in practice, it is important to reflect that in policy, she said. Otherwise, practice could easily change with new administrators” (Dallas Morning News, January 16, 2006). For further information, contact [email protected]
If your state allows paddling in school, I urge you to do what YOU can to pass a bill in your state to prevent legalized child abuse. See photo of paddled Texas school boy at http://www.nospankingzone.org.
