15 States Allow School Corporal Punishment

Fifteen U.S. states have laws that allow corporal punishment in public schools. Nearly 32,000 instances were reported for K-12 students in the 2021-22 school year, according to the most recent federal data from the U.S. Department of Education's Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC).

Tessa Davis, a mother from Arkansas, faced this choice when her son, identified as C, was in kindergarten. The school said he had grabbed a girl's jacket. Davis said she was given two options: a three-day suspension or a paddling by a school administrator. She chose the paddling, a decision she said she instantly regretted.

State Laws and Prevalence

An NPR analysis found the legal landscape is fragmented. Thirty states plus Washington, D.C., have laws explicitly banning corporal punishment in all public schools. Fifteen states allow it, though local districts may prohibit it. The remaining states have no explicit ban; some have other laws interpreted as bans.

Federal data shows almost all reported instances occur in eight states, primarily in the South. Arkansas, where Davis's son attended school, has one of the highest rates, second only to Mississippi. The CRDC data indicates about one reported incident per 2,000 students nationally.

Harm and Cultural Connections

Morgan Craven, a policy expert with the Intercultural Development Research Association, advocates for a national ban. She said that in some Southern communities, the practice is rooted in faith-based beliefs or community norms. "There is this belief that corporal punishment … is not harmful at all, but is actually part of the expectation that some communities have for raising children," Craven told NPR.

This creates resistance. "Talking about ending corporal punishment in schools feels like some indictment of the way that they were raised," she said. However, Craven noted many communities in the South are pushing back against using physical violence to discipline children.

Research supports the pushback. The American Psychological Association states corporal punishment may make a child feel like an 'undesirable person,' lowering self-esteem. Child developmental psychologist Joan Durrant said it fuels dishonesty and teaches children that violence is an acceptable way to resolve conflict. An overwhelming amount of research connects the practice to increased aggressive behavior.

A Family's Change of Heart

Davis and her husband, who both grew up with corporal punishment, initially found the choice natural. "The spankings never made the behavior stop, ever," Davis said. "In fact, it made it worse." After the school paddling, which left C scared to return to school, the family changed their approach.

They stopped using corporal punishment at home and no longer allow it at school. Davis now publicly advocates against its use in schools. Her son, now 13, still struggles sometimes with emotions but, according to Davis, is better able to accept consequences that do not involve physical punishment.

Data Gaps and Disparities

The CRDC data, while the best available, has limitations. Not all districts report incidents, and the latest release for the 2023-24 school year is over six months late. The existing data reveals disparities. An Education Department analysis of the 2017-18 school year showed boys were more likely than girls to receive corporal punishment.

A federal analysis of 2020-21 data found white, Black, and Native American or Alaska Native boys all experienced corporal punishment at disproportionately high rates compared to their enrollment levels. A 2021 study in the journal Social Problems found a relationship between a region's history of lynchings and present-day school corporal punishment, noting the link was particularly predictive for Black students.

Despite declining use, the practice persists where state law permits it. The U.S. has no federal law banning corporal punishment in public schools, leaving the decision to states and local districts, many of which still require parental consent.