*A Missouri school district intends to reinstate spanking this school year.
The new policy was approved by the Cassville School School District in June and allows parents to opt in or out of the use of corporal punishment as a last resort. Parents must give written permission to the disciplinary measure, USA Today reports.
Johnson described Cassville as a “very traditional community in southwest Missouri,” where parents support corporal punishment in the district.
“Parents have said ‘why can’t you paddle my student?’ and we’re like ‘We can’t paddle your student, our policy does not support that,'” superintendent Merlyn Johnson said. “There had been conversation with parents and there had been requests from parents for us to look into it.”
OTHER NEWS: Two-Thirds Of American Teachers Report Feeling Burned Out | VIDEO
Johnson added, “We’ve had people actually thank us for it,” he said. “Surprisingly, those on social media would probably be appalled to hear us say these things but the majority of people that I’ve run into have been supportive.”
Johnson said, “We respect the decision of every parent, whatever decision they make.”
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1977 that school corporal punishment was constitutional, leaving each state to decide to permit it. Per USA Today, “Missouri is one of the 19 states, mostly in the South, where corporal punishment is still allowed,” the outlet writes.
Additional states that allow it include Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Oklahoma. Others are Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Wyoming, per the report.
In June, the Cassville school board approved the use of corporal punishment but only “when all other alternative means of discipline have failed and then only in reasonable form and upon the recommendation of the principal.”
The policy states: “When it becomes necessary to use corporal punishment, it shall be administered so that there can be no chance of bodily injury or harm. Striking a student on the head or face is not permitted.”
The only corporal punishment allowed is “swatting the buttocks with a paddle.”
Johnson said the principal will do the swatting in the presence of a witness and never in front of other students. Younger students will receive 1-2 swattings while older kids could receive up to three.
“We understand that it is a bit of a shock factor,” he said. “So if there is one kid or a few kids out there that know…there might be a different type of discipline, it might change their behavior.”
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
