OPELOUSAS, La. (AP) — A Louisiana school system is banning paddling students, saying the time to use corporal punishment in the classroom is long past.
The St. Landry Parish School Board voted unanimously Thursday to specifically prohibit corporal punishment in the district's police manual, the Daily World of Opelousas reported.
District employees can use “reasonable and appropriate physical force" to prevent of defend a student or others being attacked, the district said.
Louisiana is one of 15 states that allows corporal punishment in school districts, according to the Louisiana School Board Association.
Nearly 40 parishes across the state still allow paddling in schools.
In May the Louisiana House approved a bill outlawing physical force that causes pain or discomfort to children, but it also allows corporal punishment if parents or guardians provide written permission. It remains in the Senate.
St. Landry School Board to consider eliminating corporal punishment
Paddling students was accepted back when he was in school, but ideas on the best way to discipline children have changed. said St. Landry Parish School Board Superintendent Patrick Jenkins.
“Today, (corporal punishment) is something that we are trying to move away from," Jenkins said.
