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Texas School District Approves Paddling As A Form Of Punishment

By Jennifer Deutschmann
Published on: 11:22 PST, Jul 21, 2017

A Texas school district has voted to use paddling as a form of punishment when students misbehave. According to reports, trustees for the Three Rivers Independent School District endorsed the new policy in a unanimous vote of 6-0. Although corporal punishment remains a point of heated controversy, Texas is one of 15 states that allows school administrators to physically punish children.

The controversial policy was introduced by Three Rivers Elementary School behavioral coordinator Andrew Amaro. As reported by USA Today, Amaro believes corporal punishment is a good idea because it worked on him when he was a student.

“I believe it worked… It was an immediate response for me. I knew that if I got in trouble with a teacher and I was disrespectful, whatever the infraction was, I knew I was going to get a swat by the principal.”

The Texas school district’s new policy will allow the behavior coordinator or principal to paddle students for a number of minor infractions — including misbehaving and disrupting the class. However, parents will have an opportunity to opt out.

Three Rivers School District Superintendent Mary Springs said parents and guardians will be provided with a permission form during registration. If the form is not signed, their children will not be subjected to corporal punishment.

In addition to referring to the permission form, school administrators will be required to get verbal permission from a parent or guardian before paddling a student.

Superintendent Springs said the Three Rivers School District will review the number of disciplinary referrals before and after the policy is implemented to determine whether corporal punishment deters behavioral issues.

Although it is allowed in more than a dozen states, corporal punishment, including paddling, remains a point of debate. In November, 2016, Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr., spoke out against corporal punishment in schools in a letter addressed to state governors and school officials.

Citing numerous studies, King said physical punishment has short and long-term consequences — which can include depression and post-traumatic stress. The secretary of education concluded that “School-sponsored corporal punishment is not only ineffective, it is a harmful practice, and one
that disproportionally impacts students of color and students with disabilities.”

In King’s opinion, corporal punishment, including paddling, should be eliminated in public schools. However, the laws are different in each state.

According to Amaro, the new policy will be effective immediately. At this time, it is unclear whether the Three Rivers Independent School District will reevaluate their decision to allow paddling at a later date.

[Featured Image by Prazis Images/Shutterstock]

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