A school district in Missouri has reinstated corporal punishment after parents reportedly called for their kids to be spanked with a wooden paddle.
Cassville R-IV School District, located near the Arkansas border in the US, has implemented corporal punishment as a ‘last resort’ going into the 2022-23 school year.
Superintendent Merlyn Johnson said parents began asking “why can’t you paddle [my students]?” and requesting they reinstate the outdated punishment
“There had been a conversation with parents and there had been requests from parents for us to look into it,” he told the Springfield News-Leader.
“We’ve had people actually thank us for it.”
The punishment would only be administered in front of a witness and will not cause “bodily injury or harm.”
“It shall be used only when all other alternative means of discipline have failed,” the policy reads. “It should never be inflicted in the presence of other students.”
Older students whose parents opt-in could receive up to three spanks per punishment, while younger scholars will receive one to two spanks. Staff members will be able to employ “reasonable physical force.”
In the US, corporal punishment is legal in 19 states.
Corporal punishment was banned in schools in Australia in 1997 under the Education Act 2004.
