The Battle Over the Paddle

One day in the spring of 2016, Kemyriah Patie, a first-grader at Fair Elementary School in Louisville, Mississippi, was accused of saying something inappropriate to another student. 

Three teachers administered the punishment. Two held Kemyriah down while a third used a wooden paddle to strike her repeatedly on the backside and legs. Her mother, Shawanda Patie, found out about it after school that day. When she saw bruises all over the backs of her daughter’s legs, she took her to the emergency room. 

“I was in an outrage,” Patie says.  “My baby couldn’t walk right for a week and a half.”

Physical punishment—also called corporal punishment—is legal in schools in 22 states today (see map, below). While its use is declining, it still happens more than many people realize. According to the U.S. Department of Education, about 110,000 students were physically punished—usually paddled—in school during the ­2013-14 year, the most recent school year for which data is available. 

While the supporters of corporal punishment say it’s an effective way to discipline students who act out, critics have sought to end the practice. They say it’s cruel and sends kids the wrong message about the use of violence.

It was a spring day in 2016. Kemyriah Patie, a first-grader at Fair Elementary School in Louisville, Mississippi, was accused of saying something improper to another student.

Three teachers gave out the punishment. Two held Kemyriah down. A third used a wooden paddle to strike her repeatedly on the backside and legs. Kemyriah’s mother, Shawanda Patie, found out about it after school that day. When she saw bruises all over the backs of her daughter’s legs, she took her to the emergency room.

“I was in an outrage,” Patie says. “My baby couldn’t walk right for a week and a half.”

Physical punishment is also called corporal punishment. It is legal in schools in 22 states today (see map, below). Its use is declining, but it still happens more than many people realize. According to the U.S. Department of Education, about 110,000 students were physically punished in school during the 2013-14 year. That is the most recent school year for which data is available. The students were usually paddled.

Supporters of corporal punishment say it is an effective way to discipline students who act out. But critics have looked for ways to end the practice. They say it is cruel and sends kids the wrong message about the use of violence.

Corporal punishment in schools has been hotly debated for decades, with even the U.S. Supreme Court weighing in. In 1977, the Court ruled that paddling and other forms of physical discipline in schools do not violate the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits “cruel and unusual punishments.” 

Despite that ruling, the following two decades saw a sharp decline in the use of corporal punishment. Between 1974 and 1994, 25 states banned its use in schools. In the states that still permit paddling as a form of school discipline, which are mostly in the South, many individual school districts have banned it. 

Corporal punishment in schools has been hotly debated for decades. Even the U.S. Supreme Court has weighed in. In 1977, the Court ruled that paddling and other forms of physical discipline in schools do not violate the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Amendment bans “cruel and unusual punishments.”

Despite that ruling, the following two decades saw a sharp decline in the use of corporal punishment. Between 1974 and 1994, 25 states banned its use in schools. The states that still allow paddling as a form of discipline are mostly in the South. But many individual school districts in those states have banned it.

In 2016, six states—Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, and Texas—considered laws banning corporal punishment in schools, but none of those bills passed. Last year, Oklahoma and Louisiana banned corporal punishment for students with disabilities, and Tennessee is considering doing the same. Lawmakers in Arizona, meanwhile, are considering a bill that would ban all corporal punishment in schools. 

Still, many parents and school officials continue to support the practice. Kimberly Zacher of Dexter, Georgia, wasn’t bothered a bit when her 13-year-old daughter, Kaley, was paddled in school a few years ago for repeatedly failing to do her homework. 

Zacher says: “We want her to know that if she does wrong, there’s a consequence for those actions.”

In 2016, six states considered laws banning corporal punishment in schools. The states were Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, and Texas. However, none of those bills passed. Last year, Oklahoma and Louisiana banned corporal punishment for students with disabilities. Tennessee is considering doing the same. Meanwhile, lawmakers in Arizona are considering a bill that would ban all corporal punishment in schools.

Still, many parents and school officials continue to support the practice. Kimberly Zacher of Dexter, Georgia, was not bothered a bit when her 13-year-old daughter, Kaley, was paddled in school. Kaley was paddled a few years ago for repeatedly failing to do her homework.

“We want her to know that if she does wrong, there’s a consequence for those actions,” says Zacher.

But many experts who study the effects of corporal punishment on children say that it can cause kids to fear school, while at the same time teaching them that violence is OK.

What’s more, national data on corporal punishment in schools shows that paddling is not always used equally, explains Elizabeth Gershoff, a psychologist at the University of Texas at Austin. For example, boys are more likely than girls to be paddled, and black students are more likely than white students to be paddled. Also, students with disabilities—including physical, behavioral, and learning challenges—are much more likely to be paddled than students without disabilities. 

“The extent of the disparities by gender, race, and particularly disability status were quite surprising and very troubling,” says Gershoff. 

The typical paddle is about 24 inches long, 4 inches wide, and a half-inch thick. “If an adult hit another adult with an object of that size,” Gershoff says, “it would be considered assault with a weapon.”

But many experts who study the effects of corporal punishment on children say that it can cause kids to fear school. They say it also teaches them that violence is OK.

Also, national data on corporal punishment in schools shows that paddling is not always used equally, explains Elizabeth Gershoff. She is a psychologist at the University of Texas at Austin. For example, boys are more likely than girls to be paddled. Black students are more likely than white students to be paddled. Also, students with disabilities are much more likely to be paddled than students without disabilities. This includes students with physical, behavioral, and learning challenges.

“The extent of the disparities by gender, race, and particularly disability status were quite surprising and very troubling,” says Gershoff.

The typical paddle is about 24 inches long, 4 inches wide, and a half-inch thick. “If an adult hit another adult with an object of that size,” Gershoff says, “it would be considered assault with a weapon.”

That’s not how it’s viewed at Robbinsville High School, a small rural school in Robbinsville, North Carolina. There, students can choose a paddling instead of an in-school suspension so they don’t miss class. The principal, David Matheson, always calls parents first to get their permission.

Matheson says he’s seen the research that says corporal punishment can be harmful, but he still thinks it can be an effective disciplinary tool. 

“I think if more schools did it, we’d have a whole lot better society,” Matheson told National Public Radio. “I do, I believe that.” 

That is not how it is viewed at Robbinsville High School, a small rural school in Robbinsville, North Carolina. There, students can choose a paddling instead of an in-school suspension so they do not miss class. The principal, David Matheson, always calls parents first to get their permission.

Matheson says he has seen the research that says corporal punishment can be harmful. However, he still thinks it can be an effective disciplinary tool.

“I think if more schools did it, we’d have a whole lot better society,” Matheson told National Public Radio. “I do, I believe that.”