Balancing behavior and bodily autonomy: Rethinking corporal punishment in schools
By Violet Boyd
Recently, corporal punishment has become a heated topic of controversy as graphic videos of authority figures tasing, choking, or otherwise assaulting students circulate on social media. Nonwhite and disabled students are disproportionately targeted by teachers and school police officers for common and minor adolescent misbehaviors. Balancing an orderly classroom with students’ needs is no easy task. However, schools must provide conducive learning environments without infringing upon children’s constitutional rights.
In J.W. v. Paley, the Fifth Circuit failed to distinguish between punishment by school officials and excessive force by school police officers. In November 2016, 17-year-old Jevon Washington, a Texas student diagnosed with intellectual disabilities and emotional disturbance, was tased by Officer Elvin Paley. After punching another student, Washington tried to go to his “chill out” room but found it occupied. When he headed toward the school exit, security guards tried to stop him. Paley instructed them to let Washington go but then fired his taser at him for 15 seconds while he lay facedown, not resisting. As a result of Paley’s “drive stunning” method–pressing the taser directly to the body–Washington urinated, defecated, and vomited on himself. He was then handcuffed and transported to the hospital. The incident deeply traumatized him as he believed he was under arrest, struggled to breathe, and “felt like he was going to die.” Due to intense anxiety and PTSD, he missed several months of school.
In 2019, Washington’s mother sued Officer Paley and the Katy Independent School District, alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and the 4th and 14th Amendments. She argued that Paley had used excessive force and violated her son’s bodily integrity. She also claimed that Paley failed to accommodate Washington’s disability and that he would not have restrained a nondisabled student in the same manner. Ultimately, the Fifth Circuit ruled that Paley intended to assert order over Washington for a legitimate pedagogical purpose, becoming the first binding case to analyze a school police officer’s use of force as corporal punishment. This protection under the court’s relaxed definition of a legitimate educational goal blurred the distinction between school police officers and other school officials. As the Harvard Law Review noted, “In the nonschool context, a police officer’s tasing of a disabled individual would be straightforward grounds for a Section 1983 federal lawsuit against that officer.” This case sets a dangerous precedent for disciplinary action, especially for disabled students.
The landmark 1977 Ingraham v. Wright case also shaped the legal landscape of corporal punishment. After the ruling established that the 8th Amendment does not prevent corporal punishment in public schools, the number of police officers in schools increased. Suspensions, expulsions, and arrests also increased. According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), more than half of all public schools have police officers on campus. This heightened police presence is linked to negative educational outcomes, like decreases in graduation and college enrollment rates. Despite an increasing police presence, many schools lack adequate mental health providers–such as counselors, nurses, social workers, and psychologists–who are proven to improve school safety, attendance rates, academic achievements, and career preparation.
Corporal punishment has been found to be ineffective for disciplining students and profoundly harmful to their physical and mental health. It can take the form of hitting, kicking, shaking, throwing, scratching, pinching, biting, burning, pulling hair, forced ingestion, and forced uncomfortable positions. Research has found that corporal punishment has led to impaired cognitive and socio-emotional development, poor educational outcomes, and increased aggression and perpetration of violence. Additionally, children who have been physically punished tend to exhibit high hormonal reactivity to stress, overloaded biological systems, and changes in brain structure and function. Lastly, despite its widespread acceptability, spanking is also linked to atypical brain function like that of more severe abuse, undermining frequently cited arguments that less severe forms of physical punishment are not harmful.
Although corporal punishment in schools is a serious issue, there are ways it can be addressed. Legal reform, altering norms, providing parent support, and implementing school-based programming can help to eradicate the outdated and abusive practice. Conveying anxiety about a dangerous action, taking away privileges, or using praise to shape behavior are all alternatives to using physical violence for disciplining children.
While order and discipline are both necessary for a productive learning environment, they must not come at the cost of students’ constitutional rights. Lawmakers must protect children and address the racial and disability-based disparities that exist within the current educational disciplinary system.
