With state legislatures back in session, we're renewing the fight to take corporal punishment out of public schools. There's a bill pending in Ohio to do just that. .
In recent months we've also seen bills introduced in other states limiting corporal punishment, making it harder for schools to beat children. .
While we hope all states will follow suit, paddling can also be banned school district by school district. More and more districts are adopting discipline policies that throw out the paddle and support effective learning instead. For instance, in recent months, the school districts in Marfa and Aldine in Texas and Muskogee, Oklahoma, have debated banning or limiting corporal punishment, like many other small districts. Meanwhile, Jackson Public School (JPS) District, one of the biggest districts in Mississippi, recently upheld its ban on paddling. .
What can you do? We've put together a "toolkit" for parents that we published with the Our Children, the National PTA magazine. Parents and PTAs can take the lead in campaigns to change school policies. Even if you don't live in a school district that paddles kids, you can help. Parents can write letters to their state legislatures, objecting to laws that permit schools to paddle, and advocating for safe, nonviolent discipline in schools.
New funding from the federal stimulus package can also help. The Department of Education can allocate funding to school districts that want to implement positive behavior discipline systems that teach kids why what they did was wrong and what they can do better. are ; they produce safe, secure classrooms where kids can effectively learn. The .
What鈥檚 more, the right to dignity 鈥� one of the founding principles of human rights 鈥� protects children from abusive or discriminatory school discipline practices. U.S. schools should implement effective, positive discipline systems, so that children鈥檚 human rights are protected and so that every student can maximize his or her potential.
To learn more about the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 work to end corporal punishment, visit: www.aclu.org/corporalpunishment
