Corporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools: Legal Precedents, Current Practices, and Future Policy (Advances in Child and Family Policy and Practice)

This Brief reviews the past, present, and future use of school corporal punishment in the United States, a practice that remains legal in 19 states as it is constitutionally permitted according to the U.S. Supreme Court. As a result of school corporal punishment, nearly 200,000 children are paddled in schools each year. Most Americans are unaware of this fact or the physical injuries sustained by countless school children who are hit with objects by school personnel in the name of discipline. Therefore, __Corporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools__ begins by summarizing the legal basis for school corporal punishment and trends in Americans’ attitudes about it. It then presents trends in the use of school corporal punishment in the United States over time to establish its past and current prevalence. It then discusses what is known about the effects of school corporal punishment on children, though with so little research on this topic, much of the relevant literature is focused on parents’ use of corporal punishment with their children. It also provides results from a policy analysis that examines the effect of state-level school corporal punishment bans on trends in juvenile crime. It concludes by discussing potential legal, policy, and advocacy avenues for abolition of school corporal punishment at the state and federal levels as well as summarizing how school corporal punishment is being used and what its potential implications are for thousands of individual students and for the society at large. As school corporal punishment becomes more and more regulated at the state level, __Corporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools__ serves an essential guide for policymakers and advocates across the country as well as for researchers, scientist-practitioners, and graduate students. This Brief reviews the past, present, and future use of school corporal punishment in the United States, a practice that remains legal in 19 states as it is constitutionally permitted according to the U.S. Supreme Court. As a result of school corporal punishment, nearly 200,000 children are paddled in schools each year. Most Americans are unaware of this fact or the physical injuries sustained by countless school children who are hit with objects by school personnel in the name of discipline. Therefore, ℗lCorporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools begins by summarizing the legal basis for school corporal punishment and trends in Americansĺl attitudes about it. It then presents trends in the use of school corporal punishment in the United States over time to establish its past and current prevalence. It then discusses what is known about the effects of school corporal punishment on children, though with so little research on this topic, much of the relevant literature is focused on parentsĺl use of corporal punishment with their children. It also provides results from a policy analysis that examines the effect of state-level school corporal punishment bans on trends in juvenile crime. It concludes by discussing potential legal, policy, and advocacy avenues for abolition of school corporal punishment at the state and federal levels as well as summarizing how school corporal punishment is being used and what its potential implications are for thousands of individual students and for the society at large. As school corporal punishment becomes more and more regulated at the state level, Corporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools serves an essential guide for policymakers and advocates across the country as well as for researchers, scientist-practitioners, and graduate students Front Matter....Pages i-xxiii Introduction....Pages 1-7 PrevalenceCorporal punishment in schools prevalence, by state of and Attitudes About School Corporal Punishment in the U.S.Bans on School Corporal Punishment in the U.S. ....Pages 9-24 Gender, Race, and Disability Disparities in Who Is Subject to School Corporal Punishment....Pages 25-35 School Corporal Punishment Effects on Children....Pages 37-46 Policy Analysis: School Corporal Punishment Bans and Juvenile Crime....Pages 47-59 The Legal Basis for School Corporal Punishment....Pages 61-68 Legal and Public Policy Strategies to Reduce or Ban School Corporal Punishment....Pages 69-86 Education and Advocacy Efforts to Reduce School Corporal Punishment....Pages 87-98 Conclusion....Pages 99-105 Back Matter....Pages 107-109