Discipline

Talking Points from the SRCD Brief

• Corporal punishment is legal in 19 U.S. states, affecting over 160,000 children annually. Data from 36,942 schools shows that Black children, boys, and children with disabilities are disproportionately subjected to this punishment, which typically involves striking a child’s buttocks with a large wooden paddle. 
• In 1977, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that school corporal punishment is constitutional, allowing states to decide whether to permit it. As a result, schools remain one of the last public institutions where corporal punishment is still legal. 
• Corporal punishment violates the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC); with Somalia’s recent ratification, the United States is the only country that has not ratified the CRC. Most countries have banned corporal punishment. 
• Most Americans (77%) oppose the use of corporal punishment in schools. While some states allow districts to define it, others provide a statewide definition. In Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi, half of students attend schools where corporal punishment is permitted. States that have removed corporal punishment from schools have not seen increases in juvenile crime. 
• There are significant disparities in the administration of corporal punishment by race, gender, and disability status. Children with disabilities are more than 50% more likely to be punished than their nondisabled peers. Boys are five times more likely to receive corporal punishment than girls in at least 20% of districts. In Alabama and Mississippi, Black children are at least 51% more likely to be corporally punished than White children in over half of districts, with some districts seeing a 500% higher likelihood for Black children.