On the first day of elementary school each year, our teacher displayed her paddle, which was wooden with a short, solid handle. The paddle portion had holes drilled through its core. Most school years, someone (always a boy, in my recollection), wound up being paddled. Times have changed for most students. But because a handful of schools in North Carolina still employ corporal punishment, questions continue to arise regarding when such punishment crosses the line between permissible school discipline and unlawful assault. Which schools paddle children? Until 1991, local boards of education in North Carolina were prohibited from barring corporal punishment in public schools. Since that time, local boards of education have been authorized to decide whether to allow such punishment in their districts. G.S. 115C-390.4. Public school districts that permit corporal punishment must adopt policies that require: Corporal punishment to be administered outside the presence of other students; Only a teacher, principal or assistant principal be allowed administer corporal punishment; Another teacher, principal or assistant principal be present for the punishment; The witness be informed beforehand and in the student’s presence of the reason for the punishment; The school to notify the student’s parent that corporal punishment has been administered; The person who administered the punishment to provide the student’s parent with a written explanation of the reasons and the name of the witness; The school to maintain records of each time corporal punishment was used and why; That no excessive force, which includes force that results in injury to [...]
Faculty Coordinators
