15 states have laws that allow corporal punishment in schools. Here's where, and why
Fifteen US states still permit corporal punishment in public schools, leaving the decision to local districts and parents. Psychologists warn of the negative psychological impacts, yet no federal law exists to ban the practice.
Why it matters
The persistence of corporal punishment in schools highlights a significant gap in child protection standards across the United States.
Deanna Staffo for NPR One day, about eight years ago, when Tessa Davis' son was in kindergarten, she got a call from his school outside Little Rock, Ark. She said the school told her he had grabbed a girl's jacket in the cafeteria and twisted it – they thought he was trying to choke her.
Given his past misbehavior, Davis said, the school gave her two options: He could either be suspended for three days or a school administrator could paddle him. NPR is only identifying her son by his first initial, C, because this story details his behavioral struggles and how he's been disciplined in school.
Davis said she couldn't afford to miss three days of work to stay home with C.
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