The Cassville School District in Missouri has reinstated spanking and paddling as a last resort for straightening up misbehaving children, with their parents' consent.
The school board approved the reinstatement of corporal punishment in June 2022 and informed the parents of the policy changes prompted after a survey showed that parents wanted more discipline for their children.
District Superintendent Merlyn Johnson told The Hill that parents want other options besides suspending erring students.
"This was just another option we could use before we get to that point of suspension," Johnson said.
Parents may opt in or out of the policy
The superintendent said the school district is not anticipating the use of spanking or paddling with a wooden board. Parents will have to express their consent or objection to the form of punishment at any time. Consent forms were distributed during the school's open house on Wednesday, August 24.
Johnson told Springfield News Ledger that he'd had conversations with parents about corporal punishment, but he told them the school district had stopped this practice in 2001. However, based on these conversations, the superintendent said he had to look into bringing it back because of the parents' request.
The school district cites that the only form of corporal punishment allowed is "swatting on the buttocks" using a wooden board with one to three swings and never on the head or face. The spanking will be done in the presence of another school staff, upon the approval of the head of the school. The child will not be spanked in front of other students as well.
Johnson is aware of the potential furor this decision will trigger on social media, but he said that the majority in the school community have been supportive of the reinstated policy. He added that some parents had thanked them for bringing this disciplinary tactic back.
missouri is fucking insane i miss when the schools were out and they were not bringing back corporal punishment/spanking kids with paddles and banning art like we’re not even a month into the school year can you chill.
— uncle o’grimacey 🦦 (@britellfilms) August 25, 2022
Grotesque. Let’s not do the work at home as parents to address behavioral issues. Let’s give permission to other adults to hit your kids. It’s 2022 America https://t.co/dgt1EbySqL
— Lesley-Ann Brandt (@LesleyAnnBrandt) August 25, 2022
Hurt people, hurt people. Let's break that cycle. No child should be hit or intentionally have pain inflicted upon them.
— ariotwhenshesaid (@ariotwhensasaid) August 26, 2022
All behavior is a form of communication. @POTUS Fund education so the children can have staff who are qualified. And end this. https://t.co/CBwpLGxhCT
Parents speak up against physical punishment
However, not all parents agree. Mom Miranda Waltrip, whose three kids are under the Cassville School District, believes troubled kids should undergo counseling than be subjected to corporal punishment. She told Ozarks First that children act out for many reasons and need to be heard, not asked to submit, which is what spanking does.
Another mother, Kimberly Richardson, said the suspension is better than corporal punishment, but dad Dylan Burns saw no issues with the policy. However, Burns said parents still need to sit down with their children and choose the best option for discipline.
In the U.S., corporal punishment is still legal in 19 states, including Missouri. Mississippi has the highest rate of spanking among students as of 2018, with over 20,000 incidents, followed by Texas (14,000) and Alabama (9,000). Missouri had 2,500 instances.
However, the American Academy of Pediatrics said that the practice should be stopped as it is a human rights violation. However, the U.S. Supreme Court noted corporate punishment is constitutional and left it up to the state governments to implement and enforce spanking or paddling.
Related Article: Spanking Children Worsens Bad Behavior, New Study Finds
