A school district in southwestern Missouri has decided to bring back spanking as a form of discipline for students, but only if their parents agree.
Classes resumed Tuesday in the Cassville School District for the first time since the school board approved in June to return to corporal punishment in this district of 1,900 students, located regarding 60 miles southwest of Springfield. The district abandoned this practice in 2001.
The policy states that corporal punishment will be used only when other forms of discipline, such as suspensions, have failed and only with the permission of the superintendent.
District spokeswoman Mindi Artherton was out of the office Friday and a woman who answered the phone at her office suggested she read the policy. She said the staff had already done interviews. “Right now we will focus on educating our students,” she added, before hanging up.
Anonymous survey sent to parents
Superintendent Merlyn Johnson told The Springfield News-Leader that the decision to revive corporal punishment came following an anonymous survey sent to parents, students and school employees found they were concerned regarding student behavior and discipline.
Johnson said many parents have complained that the district doesn’t use corporal punishment. “We’ve had people thank us for it,” he said. “Surprisingly, those on social media would probably be horrified to hear us say these things, but most people I’ve come across have been supportive.”
“No bodily injury or damage”
The policy also says that a district witness must be present and that discipline will not be used in front of other students.
“When it is necessary to use corporal punishment, it will be administered in such a way that there is no possibility of bodily injury or harm,” the policy says. “You are not allowed to hit a student in the head or face.”
Missouri is one of 19 states that allows corporal punishment in schools. Periodic efforts to ban corporal punishment in schools have failed to gain traction in the state Legislature.
A spokeswoman for the Missouri department of K-12 education said the state does not track school districts that allow corporal punishment because those decisions are made at the local level and approved by school boards.
FEW (AP, Archyde.com)
