Proposal advances to end corporal punishment in Louisiana public schools
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Updated: 8:07 PM CDT Apr 28, 2021
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Updated: 8:07 PM CDT Apr 28, 2021
Louisiana public school students received corporal punishment more than a thousand times in the previous school year, but that form of discipline could soon be headed to the history books. A legislative committee advanced a bill Wednesday that would ban paddling for kindergarten through 12th-grade students.There are 29 public school districts out of 69 in Louisiana that still allow corporal punishment, although parents can refuse to let administrators use that option. State Rep. Stephanie Hilferty (R-New Orleans) is author of the proposal. She cited research from the American Academy of Pediatrics that found children who were spanked became more aggressive. Corporal punishment is not allowed in early education, juvenile detention and adult prison systems, Hilferty told members of the House Education Committee."For some reason, we have determined that through the K-through-12 time period of a child's life that hitting is the way to change their behavior," she said.Supporters of the bill include the state's Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the nonprofit Louisiana Partnership for Children and Families."Corporal punishment amounts to state-sanctioned child abuse," partnership Executive Director Susan East Nelson said.Opposition to the proposal came from the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents. Executive Director Michael Faulk told the committee school districts should still have the final say on whether they want to use corporal punishment. "I understand that there has been abuse. I'm not going to deny that," Faulk said. "But that is wrong. There are people that are doing this right. There are parents that agree to it. There are communities that believe in it."Faulk explained school districts that allow corporal punishment must adhere to written policy that dictates how it is meted out, including the "prescribed thickness" of the "standardized instrument" used to spank students. It describes "where the licks are to be administered" and the number, which he said is not more than three.Hilferty cited Louisiana Department of Education statistics that show 744 students were subject to corporal punishment in the 2019-2020 school year. There were more than 1,000 instances of paddling during the term, indicating some students were paddled more than once, she said. The committee advanced the proposal with a 9-2 vote. Reps. Rick Edmonds (R-Baton Rouge) and Charles Owen (R-Rosepine) opposed the bill. Owen said he spoke with superintendents about "federalism" when discussing his opposition, explaining that issues such as corporal punishment in schools should be handled at a local level.