蜜桃影视

Get essential education news and commentary delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up here for 蜜桃影视鈥檚 daily newsletter.

When a Florida elementary school principal was caught on video spanking a 6-year-old girl with a wooden paddle last month, it sparked national outrage and a criminal investigation. But for those who believed the principal should face arrest, a state prosecutor鈥檚 memo stung like a slap to the face.

Florida is that allows corporal punishment in schools, but it鈥檚 prohibited in Hendry County, where the little girl was beaten, and state law requires educators to follow local rules. That was not enough, however, for state prosecutors to hold Principal Melissa Carter responsible for any wrongdoing. In , they instead questioned the credibility of the girl鈥檚 mother, an undocumented immigrant who filmed the campus incident and. Officials concluded the mother consented to the beating and at no point spoke up to 鈥渞aise any objection.鈥�

That the prohibition in her own school district did not protect the Florida first-grader from being hit is just one example of how corporal punishment persists even in places where the practice is explicitly outlawed. About a dozen school districts in states where corporal punishment is banned reported using it on students more than 300 times during the 2017-18 school year, according to an analysis by 蜜桃影视 of the most recent civil rights data from the U.S. Department of Education. And in Louisiana, a state where paddling is permitted except on students with disabilities, data show that special education students were hit nearly 100 times in 2017-18. Years of data have shown that students of color and those with disabilities are disproportionately subjected to corporal punishment, a practice that goes on despite a substantial body of research showing its harmful effects on youth development.

To state Sen. Annette Taddeo, a Democrat who has worked for several years to ban corporal punishment in Florida schools, the Hendry County video is proof that physical punishment continues under the radar in her state. Yet without a statewide ban, she said it鈥檚 鈥渧ery, very difficult for prosecutors to have a case鈥� when educators dole out corporal punishment to students in violation of local rules.

鈥淭his is a major problem when, even in areas where supposedly it鈥檚 not supposed to happen, it鈥檚 still happening,鈥� Taddeo told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淲hen the school boards say 鈥榃e don鈥檛 want this in our counties,鈥� we as parents think 鈥極K, that takes care of it.鈥� It does not.鈥�

Districts in six states and the District of Columbia reported instances of corporal punishment in 2017-18 despite laws prohibiting its use. Of them, Chicago Public Schools accounted for the lion鈥檚 share, with children in the nation鈥檚 third-largest school district struck 226 times in school that year.

In a statement, Chicago Public Schools spokesman James Gherardi didn鈥檛 refute the numbers but said that officials have worked in recent years to 鈥渂etter prevent instances of abuse and hold accountable any adult who has harmed students, as well as those who have fallen short of their duty to keep students safe.鈥� He said the district reports all corporal punishment allegations to the U.S. Department of Education. Since 2019, all educators who face such accusations 鈥渁re immediately removed from the classroom and thoroughly investigated.鈥�

In September, the Chicago district after lawsuits accused educators of using physical force on two children with disabilities. Both educators were charged with felony aggravated battery. At the time, the students鈥� attorney said the incidents are part of a district culture where children with disabilities are 鈥渞outinely subjected to physical and emotional abuse鈥� at school.

Nationally, educators used corporal punishment on K-12 students nearly 100,000 times during the 2017-18 school year, according to the federal Civil Rights Data Collection. While educators鈥� use of corporal punishment has declined significantly in recent years, the practice remains prevelant almost exclusively in southern states where it is allowed. Mississippi was the national leader, with educators there subjecting students to corporal punishment nearly 28,000 times in one year.

The national numbers are likely a significant undercount, said Miriam Rollin, a director at the National Center for Youth Law. Every school district in the country self-reports its data to the federal government and they鈥檝e long been accused of on the use of restraint and seclusion and other forms of harsh discipline. The same is likely true with corporal punishment, she said.

鈥業t鈥檚 barbaric鈥�

Corporal punishment is as using physical pain through hitting, paddling, spanking or other forms of physical force as a means of discipline. Florida law as the 鈥渕oderate use of physical force鈥� to maintain school rules. Meanwhile, as 鈥渧iolent school discipline鈥� through means that are 鈥済enerally assaultive acts.鈥�

In Louisiana, where educators are generally allowed to strike students, state and federal data show that children with disabilities continue to be subjected to corporal punishment despite a 2017 state law that banned its use on youth with special needs. In fact, state data show that Louisiana educators continued to use corporal punishment on children with disabilities as recently as last year.

Ted Beasley, the Louisiana Department of Education spokesman, said he was aware that districts continue to subject children with disabilities to corporal punishment despite the ban. But ultimately, it鈥檚 up to the very school districts that use physical discipline to investigate 鈥渋nstances of improper corporal punishment,鈥� he said in an email. He said that parents could file formal complaints with the department if they believe their children were subjected to corporal punishment in violation of federal special education law that affords students with disabilities additional protections, but none have taken that step.

蜜桃影视 reached out to more than a dozen Louisiana districts that reported multiple instances of corporal punishment on children with disabilities since the statewide ban went into effect, but most didn鈥檛 respond or declined requests for comment. A few offered explanations.

Data show that children with disabilities were subjected to corporal punishment at Caddo Parish Public Schools in Shreveport during both the 2017-18 and 2019-20 school years. Mary Nash-Wood, the district spokeswoman, acknowledged that some school leaders 鈥渇ought tooth and nail鈥� against a corporal punishment ban and that two educators faced unspecified 鈥渄isciplinary action鈥� for 鈥渁dministering impermissible corporal punishment鈥� on students with disabilities in violation of state law.

She said the district has since banned the use of corporal punishment on all students, including those without disabilities, and has trained educators to use restorative justice and recognize the effects of childhood trauma. The effort required extensive work 鈥渢o change a mindset around corporal punishment and discipline to focus on why a child may be acting out rather than moving to punishment,鈥� she said in an email.

The Vernon Parish School District in Leesville reported 21 instances of corporal punishment on children with disabilities during the 2017-18 and 2019-20 school years, according to the state and federal data. But Assistant Superintendent Mike Kay denied that any of the instances ran afoul of the state law. Instead, he said that the students were classified as needing special education services in the months after they were hit in school, but that distinction wasn鈥檛 apparent in the data.

Meanwhile in Florida, where individual districts are allowed to craft their own corporal punishment policies, the practice is used almost exclusively in the state鈥檚 rural, northernmost counties. During the 2017-18 school year, 19 of the state鈥檚 countywide school districts reported using physical punishment on kids more than 1,800 times.

But Taddeo, the state senator, suspects the practice persists elsewhere. On several occasions, the state鈥檚 decentralized approach has allowed educators to avoid criminal charges after hitting kids in violation of local rules, she said. In 2014, for example, a teacher鈥檚 aide in Broward County was arrested and accused of hitting a 10-year-old boy with autism for misbehaving in class. District policy prohibits corporal punishment in Broward County schools and an education committee found probable cause of alleged battery, yet her only punishment was a letter of reprimand, .

Criminal charges against the aide were ultimately dropped and prosecutors wrote that they 鈥渃ould not in good faith鈥� disregard state law permitting corporal punishment in schools despite the local rules. Five years later, the same teacher鈥檚 aide faced accusations that she cursed at and belittled children with disabilities.

鈥淚t鈥檚 against the law to impose corporal punishment on your cat or your dog or your horse, but you can do it to a little child. So it needs to end. It鈥檚 barbaric and it opens the door to abuse.鈥� 鈥�Brent Probinsky, Florida attorney

The most recent incident in Hendry County offers another example, said Bacardi Jackson, a managing attorney at the Southern Poverty Law Center. Though prosecutors concluded that the young girl鈥檚 mother consented to the paddling, that detail should be irrelevant in Hendry County where local rules prohibit educators from hitting kids, she said.

The principal 鈥渟hould have known the law that applies to her own school,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he bottom line for us is this was illegal, it should not have happened to this girl.鈥�

Attorney Brent Probinsky, who represents the girl鈥檚 mother, maintains that the paddling amounted to felony aggravated battery but prosecutors鈥� 鈥渇lawed legal analysis鈥� let Hendry County educators off the hook for what he called 鈥渁 very brutal and savage punishment.鈥� Hendry County school district officials declined to comment.

鈥淚t would be an aggravated battery if you hit an adult with that paddle [and] the fact that she hit a little first-grader makes it even worse,鈥� Probinsky said, adding that the practice should be banned from schools in Florida and nationwide. 鈥淚t鈥檚 against the law to impose corporal punishment on prisoners. It鈥檚 against the law to impose corporal punishment on children in youth detention facilities. It鈥檚 against the law to impose corporal punishment on your cat or your dog or your horse, but you can do it to a little child. So it needs to end. It鈥檚 barbaric and it opens the door to abuse.鈥�

For Rollin of the National Center for Youth Law, the mere fact that the principal had a wooden paddle on hand in a county that bans corporal punishment raises additional red flags.

鈥淐learly it was going on鈥� beyond the one incident caught on video, she said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 just happen to have a paddle laying around the office when you鈥檝e never used it before.鈥�

鈥楢 good ol鈥� fashioned spanking鈥�

To its detractors, corporal punishment in schools is an antiquated and damaging vestige of the past. And in many parts of the country, it is. New Jersey became the first state to ban the practice in schools 鈥� in 1867 鈥� and all but 19 have since followed suit, most recently .

Today, a considerable body of research suggests the practice can lead to significant and lifelong harms. National groups including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association have urged educators and parents to refrain from relying on corporal punishment, arguing that it does not bring about improvements in student behavior, but instead could cause emotional, behavioral and academic problems. Among them is , which found that children who are spanked are far more likely to abuse intimate partners later in life.

In the 1970s, at school while less than 1 percent of youth were subjected to the practice in recent years. During that time, lawmakers have increasingly put limits on its use.Even in states where the practice remains legal, school districts have imposed their own bans and in Mississippi, the state which outranks all others in striking students, lawmakers prohibited educators from spanking children with disabilities in 2019. In fact, to discipline kids, according to a 2019 report by the Southern Poverty Law Center. That students in just 4 percent of schools can still get hit in class makes it feel 鈥渆ven more unfair,鈥� Jackson said.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a firm belief among most of our folks that kids, when they get out of line, there鈥檚 a direct connection between the rear end and the brain.鈥� 鈥�Ted Roush, Suwannee County school district superintendent

But holdouts remain, and several offered passionate rebuttals to critics who hope to do away with physical discipline in schools. Among them is Ted Roush, the superintendent of the Suwannee County school district in northern Florida. His 6,000-student district was among Florida鈥檚 most frequent users of corporal punishment in 2017-18, with 230 instances recorded in the federal data. Roush said that people in more conservative and rural regions of the Bible Belt like Suwannee County are 鈥渁 little more old school in the way they address issues.鈥� By giving students 鈥渁 couple of swats鈥� with a paddle, he said that educators avoid 鈥渕ore severe disciplinary actions鈥� like suspensions that remove children from classrooms and away from learning.

Students 鈥渄o respond to a good ol鈥� fashioned spanking, especially when they鈥檙e younger,鈥� he said, adding that on some occasions parents drive down to the school to swat misbehaving children themselves.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a firm belief among most of our folks that kids, when they get out of line, there鈥檚 a direct connection between the rear end and the brain,鈥� he said.

Louisiana state Rep. Danny McCormick, a Republican, offered a similar perspective. He said he supports a 2017 state law that bans corporal punishment on children with disabilities because 鈥淜ids with special needs have a different mindset than kids without special needs, so to speak.鈥� But when by a 48-49 vote, he was among the legislators who blocked the bill.

A Louisiana native, McCormick said he was subjected to corporal punishment on a few occasions at school when he was growing up during a time when physical discipline 鈥渨as just common practice, no big deal.鈥� But such punishment 鈥渨as always administered with love,鈥� he said, and had a 鈥減ositive effect鈥� on him.

He cited parental rights as being central to his opposition of a statewide corporal punishment ban 鈥渋f the parent gives permission for the school to do it.鈥�

鈥淭he parents, I support them making the decisions about how their child is disciplined at school,鈥� he added.

鈥榁estiges of slavery鈥�

While students of color and those with disabilities are at school compared to their white and nondisabled classmates, one recent report suggests that the roots of corporal pushment in southern schools run deep 鈥� with ties to lynching.

The , published this year in the journal Social Problems, found that in places where lynching was once routine, schools are more likely to rely on corporal punishment today 鈥� especially against Black students. The South has a 鈥渄istinct history of racialized violence for social control purposes,鈥� researchers noted, where the whipping of enslaved Black Americans wasn鈥檛 merely a form of punishment but 鈥渁n explicitly racialized socialization strategy intended to 鈥榠mpose upon the slaves that they were slaves.鈥欌�� Researchers theorized that the legacy of lynching in southern states 鈥渕ay increase the likelihood of violent school discipline,鈥� especially toward Black youth 鈥� a reality that could be the result of 鈥渆xplicit and implicit biases.鈥�

To Jackson of the Southern Poverty Law Center, corporal punishment in schools is 鈥渃learly one of the many vestiges of slavery.鈥�

鈥淎s is lynching itself a vestige of slavery, so too is beating and whipping people,鈥� she said. Corporal punishment is used in schools on students who educators 鈥渂elieve are either less than deserving of grace or people who you believe need to be controlled, people who you believe need to be kept in line as opposed to being nurtured or educated.鈥�

Though previous federal efforts have failed to ban corporal punishment in schools and the U.S. Supreme Court in 1977, Rollin, of the National Center for Youth Law, said the Biden administration could combat its continued use through the Education Department鈥檚 Office for Civil Rights. Given corporal punishment鈥檚 disparate impact on students of color and those with disabilities, she urged the office to investigate districts for discrimination.

In Louisiana, state Sen. Franklin Foil, a Republican, recognizes that some in his state continue to support corporal punishment in classrooms. So when he proposed legislation to regulate its use in 2017, he focused on children with disabilities after parents with negative experiences brought the issue to his attention. It was a smart political strategy. While his bill passed, legislation to ban the practice outright failed, albeit by a much larger margin, , than the same effort earlier this month. Though he supports a complete ban, he acknowledges it faces steep obstacles, including from school administrators who believe that state lawmakers should stay out of their business.

Foil said he wasn鈥檛 aware that Louisiana children with disabilities continued to be subjected to corporal punishment in violation of the law he spearheaded until 蜜桃影视 brought the data to his attention.

As research on the deleterious effects of corporal punishment builds, Jackson believes that even more educators will turn away from the practice altogether. Soon, she hopes it鈥檒l become nothing more than a passage in the history books.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a reason we don鈥檛 go to the Colosseum and watch lions ripping people open,鈥� she said. 鈥淎t some point, we have to evolve.鈥�

Did you use this article in your work?

We鈥檇 love to hear how 蜜桃影视鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.