Bill would outlaw corporal punishment in schools
HARRISBURG – A leading state lawmaker wants to take the paddle out of teachers’ hands. State Rep. Mike Veon of Beaver County is introducing legislation that would forbid corporal punishment in Pennsylvania public schools. The Pennsylvania School Code permits physical reprimands in the state’s 501 school districts.
“This is about freeing Pennsylvania school children from the threat of child abuse under protection of the law,” said Veon, the second-ranking Democrat in the House.
Veon said he plans to introduce the legislation next week. He’s lobbied for banning corporal punishment since 1994, but his previous bills haven’t been adopted by the Legislature.
But a ban is starting to gain support among state education officials.
A committee of the State Board of Education recently recommended banning corporal punishment. The board’s Council of Basic Education will consider the proposed ban Wednesday. If the council approves, it will recommend that the full board adopt the ban July 18. The regulations also would need the approval of the state House and Senate education committees, an independent regulatory review panel and the state attorney general’s office before they could take effect, most likely by late fall.
But even if officials endorsed a ban, schools could legally continue to use corporal punishment if they choose. The Legislature needs to get involved to specifically ban the practice, said Veon.
Pennsylvania is among 23 states that allow spanking and other physical punishments in school. Although the state gives local school districts discretion over using it, few specifically use or permit corporal punishment.
An anonymous survey conducted by the National Center for the Study of Corporal Punishment & Alternatives found that in Fayette County, three school districts use corporal punishment and three others allow it, but don’t actually use it.
Corporal punishment is not effective, according to Irwin Hyman, director of the center and a psychology professor at Temple University in Philadelphia. Instead of suppressing behavior, it causes aggression, embarrassment and low academic performance, and its use can lead to lawsuits and costly settlements, he said.
“In some cases, it can be legalized child abuse because teachers are the only adults in society allowed to hit our children with wooden paddles in the name of discipline under the law,” said Hyman, a psychology professor. “It’s inherently stupid because child abuse laws say you can’t hit kids with wooden instruments. They leave bruises.”
In order for the ban to become law, the House and Senate must both approve Veon’s bill. The governor must sign it into law.
“I am willing to bet it’s inevitable we will ban corporal punishment in Pennsylvania,” Veon said.
“Old habits die hard,” he added, explaining why it’s taken so long. “It’s an issue that has transcended politics and the Legislature, and I think it’s really a cultural issue we’re trying to change by legislation. Sometimes those types of changes take longer to get through the Legislature.”