FILE: JDA
CORPORAL PUNISHMENT
Every teacher is authorized to hold every student to a strict accountability for any disorderly conduct in school or on the playground of the school, or on any school bus going to or returning from school, or during intermission or recess. Teachers shall be supported by the School Board and the administration in their efforts to teach good citizenship by requiring proper conduct. While teachers shall be reasonable in all student-related demands, they need not tolerate disrespectful, boisterous, rough, and violent outbursts of language and temper on the part of the students.
The Cameron Parish School Board shall allow reasonable corporal punishment as a last resort for unruly students in grades pre-kindergarten through third grade. If such punishment is required, it shall be administered with extreme care, tact and caution, and then only by the principal or his/her designated representative in the presence of another adult school employee. At no time shall corporal punishment be administered in the presence of another student.
Corporal punishment means using physical force to discipline a student, with or without an object. Corporal punishment includes hitting, paddling, striking, spanking, slapping, or any other physical force that causes pain or physical discomfort.
Corporal punishment does not include:
The use of reasonable and necessary physical restraint of a student to protect the student, or others, from bodily harm or to obtain possession of a weapon or other dangerous object from a student.
The use of seclusion and restraint as provided in La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:416.21.
No form of corporal punishment shall be administered to a student with an exceptionality, excluding gifted and talented, as defined in La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:1942 or to a student who has been determined to be eligible for services under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and has an Individual Accommodation Plan.
For corporal punishment to be completely defensible and otherwise valid, the following guidelines shall be adhered to:
Except for those acts of misconduct which are extremely anti-social or disruptive in nature, corporal punishment should never be used unless the student is informed beforehand that specific misbehavior could occasion its use; and, subject to this exception, it should never be used as a first line of punishment. Its use should follow specific failures of other corrective measures to affect student behavior modification.
The principal or the designee shall punish corporally only in the presence of a second school employee, who should be informed beforehand of the reasons for the punishment.
In cases where a student protests innocence of the offense or ignorance of the rule, a brief but adequate opportunity shall be provided for the student to explain his side of the situation.
School principals, assistant principals or appropriate designees who have administered corporal punishment shall provide the child's parents or legal guardians, upon request, a written explanation of the reasons and the name of the school employee who was present as a witness. For each incident of corporal punishment, a Corporal Punishment Incidence Checklist shall be completed and maintained in the administrative offices of the school.
In addition to the above, the following guides shall apply to any use of corporal punishment in the schools of the school district:
Parents must authorize in writing on the form provided whether or not they agree to allow corporal punishment to be used in disciplining their child.
Corporal punishment shall be administered in the office of the principal or in such place or places as may be designated by the principal.
Corporal punishment shall not be administered in the visual presence of other students.
Corporal punishment shall be used only by the principal or the designated professional representative.
Corporal punishment shall be restricted to that area of the posterior anatomy below the waist and above the thighs (buttocks). No other part of the anatomy shall be used.
Utmost care, tact and judgment shall be exercised, and all cases of corporal punishment shall be documented by both the person administering the punishment and the witness and kept on file in the principal's office.
The use of corporal punishment shall at all times be reasonable and proper. Considerations in this regard shall include but not be limited to the following:
Age of child;
Size of child;
Sex of child;
Ability of the child to bear the punishment;
Corporal punishment shall not be administered in anger or with malice at any time.
Nothing contained herein shall be interpreted as prohibiting an employee from using physical force, reasonable and appropriate under the circumstances, in defending himself/herself against a physical attack by a student or to restrain a student from attacking another student or employee, or to prevent acts of misconduct which are so anti-social or disruptive in nature as to shock the conscience.
IMPERMISSIBLE CORPORAL PUNISHMENT
Corporal punishment administered other than as outlined hereinabove shall be deemed and defined to be impermissible corporal punishment. Any accusations involving employees using impermissible corporal punishment shall be promptly investigated, in accordance with provisions of policy GAMC, Investigations.
Revised: July, 2007
Revised: November 13, 2017
Ref: U.S. Constitution, Amend. XIII
U.S. Constitution, Amend. XIV, Sec. 1
La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:81.6, 17:223, 17:416, 17:416.1
Baker v. Owen, 96 S.Ct. 210 affirming 395 F.Supp. 294 (M.D.N.C., 1975)
Ingraham v. Wright, 97 S.Ct. 1401, (1977)
Board minutes, 7-9-07, 11-13-17
Cameron Parish School Board