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Topics: US News
Lisa McLoughlin
A school district in Missouri has reinstated corporal punishment in its classrooms, allowing students to be punished with a paddle under a new policy.
The state's Cassville school district approved the policy in June and informed parents it was bringing back spanking after a survey sent to parents last year revealed they wanted additional discipline other than suspension.
Merlyn Johnson, Cassville school superintendent, has claimed that some are grateful for reinstating the disciplinary measure that was last permitted in the Barry County district in 2001.
He told the Springfield News-Leader his “plan, when I came to Cassville, wasn’t to be known as the guy who brought corporal punishment back to Cassville.
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“I didn’t want that to be my legacy and I still don’t. But it is something that has happened on my watch and I’m okay with it.”
Spanking is only meant to be used as a ‘last resort’ if other disciplinary measures don’t work and written permission from parents is required, with every family being asked to either opt in or out.
The punishment will only be used in “reasonable form and upon the recommendation of the principal”.
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Mr Johnson told the publication that Cassville is a “very traditional community in southwest Missouri” and that “parents have said ‘why can’t you paddle my student?’ and we’re like ‘We can’t paddle your student; our policy does not support that’.
“There had been conversations with parents and there had been requests from parents for us to look into it.”
He claimed: “We’ve had people actually thank us for it. Surprisingly, those on social media would probably be appalled to hear us say these things but the majority of people that I’ve run into have been supportive.”
“This will only be for those parents who wish to be part of it. We respect the decision of every parent, whatever decision they make.”
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Mr Johnson added that he’s unclear how many parents will opt-in, but forms were sent out during an open house earlier this week.
He also insisted that the punishment will only be administered by a principal and in the presence of a witness, never in the presence of other students.
Alongside spanking, two other measures were also introduced by the school board, including a Success Academy for those struggling in traditional classroom environments and a ban on electronics, including phones, air pods and other Bluetooth headphones, and smartwatches.
The Supreme Court ruled in 1977 that corporal punishment in schools was constitutional, allowing each state to make its own decision whether to enforce it or not.
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Currently, there are 19 states across the US that permit it, most of them are located in the South.
Aside from Missouri, it’s still legal in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming.
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