Raleigh, N.C. –Action for Children North Carolina sent a letter on November 8 to the members of the State Board of Education asking that the Board take a position on the administration of corporal punishment in the public schools. “We have received no response”, said Tom Vitaglione, a senior fellow with the advocacy organization, “and can only hope that the Board will put the issue on the agenda of its upcoming meeting”.
“It is not appropriate for the Board to say that corporal punishment is a ‘local issue’ “, said Barbara Bradley, the organization’s president. “Hitting a student is a very serious act. The Board should be on record whether or not it believes that corporal punishment is an effective method of discipline that improves educational outcomes.”
Action for Children contends that, whatever the reason that the State Board has not taken a position on corporal punishment in the past, it should be easier to do so now. The organization recently released a report indicating that 91 of the 115 local school districts in the state have banned the use of corporal punishment. Of the remaining 24, less than half actually hit students. In addition, the General Assembly has recently given parents the right to exempt their children from being hit by school personnel.
“Corporal punishment is clearly on the wane in North Carolina”, said Vitaglione. “We rely on the State Board to recommend ways to improve educational outcomes. It is time for the State Board to recommend whether or not it believes that corporal punishment is one of those ways. Our students and their parents deserve the Board’s attention to this issue.”
Below is the letter sent to State School board members.
November 8, 2011
To: State Board of Education Members
From: Tom Vitaglione
Subject: Corporal Punishment
Clay County Public Schools recently became the 91st local district in North Carolina to ban corporal punishment. In fact, 22 districts have banned the practice in the past four months. The remaining 24 districts are relatively small, and include about 10% of the students in our state.
Because corporal punishment is obviously on the wane, we are once again asking the State Board to do something it has not yet done: take a position on the practice of corporal punishment in the public schools. It is true that the State Board has never recommended its use, and that the State Board has recommended only Positive Behavioral Support as an effective method of discipline. With regard to corporal punishment, the State Board is on record saying only that “it is a local decision”.
The State Board of Education is responsible for making recommendations to improve educational outcomes. Ninety-one local boards have reviewed the studies, have consulted with school staff, and have come to the conclusion that corporal punishment is not an effective form of discipline in terms of academic performance.
We are now requesting that the State Board commit to the same study and consultation process. We realize that state law prohibits the State Board from adopting policies in this regard, but that should not prevent the State Board from making an evidence-based recommendation regarding this issue.
We thank you for your service to the children of our state, and hope for a favorable reply.
For more information visit www.ncchild.org.