By The Law
This clause of the U.S. Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.
Eighth Amendment
Gershoff ET, Font SA. Corporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools: Prevalence, Disparities in Use, and Status in State and Federal Policy. Soc Policy Rep. 2016;30:1.
On average, how many students receive corporal punishment in schools per year in the U.S.?
160,000
Gershoff, E. T., & Font, S. A. (2016). Corporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools: Prevalence, Disparities in Use, and Status in State and Federal Policy. Social policy report, 30, 1.
What year did New York State ban corporal punishment?
1985.
Gershoff, E., & Font, S. (2016). Corporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools: Prevalence, Disparities in Use, and Status in State and Federal Policy. Retrieved November 15, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5766273/
Which U.S. state was the first to ban corporal punishment in public schools and in what year?
New Jersey, 1867.
Gershoff, E., & Font, S. (2016). Corporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools: Prevalence, Disparities in Use, and Status in State and Federal Policy. Retrieved November 15, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5766273/
This landmark 1977 U.S. Supreme Court case which ruled that corporal punishment is constitutional, allowing states to decide whether to allow it or not.
Ingraham v. White
Gershoff ET, Font SA. Corporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools: Prevalence, Disparities in Use, and Status in State and Federal Policy. Soc Policy Rep. 2016;30:1.
Which gender is disproportionately likely to be corporally punished?
Boys are three times as likely as girls to be corporally punished.
Gershoff, E., & Font, S. (2016). Corporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools: Prevalence, Disparities in Use, and Status in State and Federal Policy. Retrieved November 15, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5766273/
Which of the Chancellor’s regulations outlines the policies regarding corporal punishment in the NYCDOE?
A-420. This Regulation defines and prohibits the use of corporal punishment against students and sets forth the procedures for reporting and investigating allegations of corporal punishment.
https://www.schools.nyc.gov/docs/default-source/default-document-library/a-420-english
These 19 U.S States allow public school teachers to use corporal punishment to discipline students from pre K- 12th grade (Name 3)
Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming
Center for Effective Discipline. Discipline and the Law: State laws. 2015 Retrieved from: http://www.gundersenhealth.org/ncptc/center-for-effective-discipline/discipline-and-the-law/state-laws.
This legal doctrine holds that educators assume custody of students in school because they are unable to be protected/cared for by their parents. This also applies to the disciplining of the child.
In loco parentis
Gershoff ET, Font SA. Corporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools: Prevalence, Disparities in Use, and Status in State and Federal Policy. Soc Policy Rep. 2016;30:1.
Which race is disproportionately likely to be corporally punished?
Black children are at a much greater risk of being subject to corporal punishment. An analysis of one Florida school district found that Black children were significantly more likely to receive corporal punishment than non-Black children even after accounting for the severity and frequency of misbehavior.
Gershoff, E., & Font, S. (2016). Corporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools: Prevalence, Disparities in Use, and Status in State and Federal Policy. Retrieved November 15, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5766273/
According to the Chancellor’s regulations, how many days does a school have to complete an investigation when making a determination on a corporal punishment accusation?
In 1783, this nation became the first to outlaw Corporal Punishment in Schools.
Poland in 1783
Gershoff E. T. (2017). School corporal punishment in global perspective: prevalence, outcomes, and efforts at intervention. Psychology, health & medicine, 22(sup1), 224–239. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2016.1271955
Which Supreme Court case decision prompted the reconsideration of the interpretation of “cruel and unusual punishment” in the Eighth Amendment, and how it must reflect “the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society?”
Trop v. Dulles, 1958.
Gershoff, E., & Font, S. (2016). Corporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools: Prevalence, Disparities in Use, and Status in State and Federal Policy. Retrieved November 15, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5766273/
Which U.S. state had the highest total number of students receiving corporal punishment in the 2011-2012 school year?
Mississippi schools corporally punish the greatest proportion of their children: 7% of all students, and the largest total number of children: 32,157. 1 in every 14 children is subject to corporal punishment in a single school year.
Gershoff, E., & Font, S. (2016). Corporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools: Prevalence, Disparities in Use, and Status in State and Federal Policy. Retrieved November 15, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5766273/
In the NYCDOE, who is responsible for investigating alleged incidents of corporal punishment?
The Office of Special Investigations (OSI) investigates allegations of improper and unlawful behavior, including corporal punishment and verbal abuse against students, to help ensure a safe and secure learning environment for New York City’s students, staff members, and parents.
This international organization has defined corporal punishment as “any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort”
The U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child
Gershoff E. T. (2017). School corporal punishment in global perspective: prevalence, outcomes, and efforts at intervention. Psychology, health & medicine, 22(sup1), 224–239. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2016.1271955
Which Supreme Court case attempted, unsuccessfully, to overturn the Ingraham decision in 1977?
Serafin v. School of Excellence in Education, 2007.
In this case, Jessica Serafin, an 18-year-old female high school student, had left campus to buy breakfast but returned before the school bell rang; she was accused of violating the school’s closed-campus policy and received corporal punishment as a result of her alleged infraction. The principal hit her repeatedly with a 4-ft-long piece of wood on the buttocks, hips, legs, and hand; the blows left her buttocks bleeding and her hand swollen—injuries for which she was treated in a hospital emergency room. Ms. Serafin sued the high school, arguing that, as a legal adult, her rights to due process and equal protection were violated; she lost the initial suit and turned to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which rejected her appeal. Ms. Serafin then appealed to the Supreme Court but it denied her petition without comment (Case No. 07-9760), thus leaving the Ingraham decision in place and school corporal punishment still legal in the U.S.
Gershoff, E., & Font, S. (2016). Corporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools: Prevalence, Disparities in Use, and Status in State and Federal Policy. Retrieved November 15, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5766273/
While many states have banned corporal punishment in public schools, 48 states allow corporal punishment in a private school setting. Which two states do not?
New Jersey and Iowa.
Gershoff, E. T., & Font, S. A. (2016). Corporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools: Prevalence, Disparities in Use, and Status in State and Federal Policy. Social policy report, 30, 1.
In NYS, when can a teacher use physical force against a student?
to protect oneself from physical injury;
to protect another pupil or teacher or any other person from physical injury;
to protect the property of the school or of others; or
to restrain or remove a pupil whose behavior is interfering with the orderly exercise and performance of school district functions, powers or duties, if that pupil has refused to comply with a request to refrain from further disruptive acts; provided that alternative procedures and methods not involving the use of physical force cannot reasonably be employed.
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/sss/ssae/schoolsafety/CorplPunish/CorporalPunishment.html
According to this Board of Education, it is recommended that schools use a “wooden paddle approximately 24 inches in length, 3 inches wide and ½ inch thick” that does not have holes, cracks, splinters, tape, or other foreign material.”
Board of Education in Pickens County, Alabama.
Gershoff, E. T., & Font, S. A. (2016). Corporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools: Prevalence, Disparities in Use, and Status in State and Federal Policy. Social policy report, 30, 1.