Spanking, paddling stops in St. Landry Parish schools
Corporal punishment will no longer be used on students for misbehavior in St. Landry Parish after the school board voted unanimously to abolish it Thursday.
“We are no longer going to use corporal punishment in our school system,” Superintendent Patrick Jenkins told board members after they voted to enter the exclusion of corporal punishment into the district policy manual.
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During the committee meeting last week when the corporal punishment policy change was introduced and discussed, Jenkins told board members that he is not in favor of “hitting or paddling any student” who is in school.
“There are a lot of different reasons why we should move away from (corporal punishment). Part of that reason is for the employees,” Jenkins told committee members.
Board member Mary Ellen Donatto noted during the committee meeting and again on Thursday that in her opinion, “corporal punishment is something that should never have a place in our schools.”
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During an interview following the meeting Thursday night, Jenkins said he believes the idea of using corporal punishment is something that is inappropriate for 21st century schools.
“In my day (in St. Landry public schools), it was accepted and some of us got (forms of corporal punishment) pretty good,” Jenkins said. “Today, (corporal punishment) is something that we are trying to move away from.”
District employees according to the policy, may use still “reasonable and appropriate physical force in defenses against physical attack by a student or in cases where restraining students from attacking other students or preventing certain acts of misconduct are necessary.
According to the Louisiana School Board Association website, Louisiana is one of 15 states that allows corporal punishment in school districts.
Before the board’s vote on Thursday night, St. Landry was one of an estimated 38 statewide parishes where some form of corporal punishment was district policy for all students except those students who have special needs or who were designated as gifted or talented students.
In May the Louisiana Legislature passed HB 649 by a 70-28 vote outlawing the use of physical force that causes pain and discomfort to students who are disciplined. The House bill also includes a provision that corporal punishment can be enforced if students’ parents or legal guardians provide written consent for the use of corporal punishment on a specified document.
Jenkins said he is encouraged that state lawmakers are “slowly but surely” trending away from using corporal punishment in state schools.
Prior to the board’s decision on Thursday night, the St. Landry School District allowed what the policy manual described as “reasonable corporal punishment of unruly students,” so long as the corporal punishment was administered with “extreme care, tact and caution,” by a school official.
This article originally appeared on Opelousas Daily World: Spanking, paddling outlawed in St. Landry Parish schools
