It is still legal to hit children in school in 19 American states

Corporal punishment is particularly common in Mississippi

FILE -- The paddle that is used at Everman Middle School in Everman, Texas, Sept. 6, 2006. Tens of thousands of children continue to be physically punished at school, and efforts to end the practice entirely have stalled. (Mark Graham/The New York Times)Credit: New York Times / Redux / eyevineFor further information please contact eyevinetel: +44 (0) 20 8709 8709e-mail: info@eyevine.comwww.eyevine.com — Image: Eyevine

Jan 19th 2023|WASHINGTON, DC

According to this year’s student handbook, wearing “sagging pants” or being too touchy with a crush in the hallway is enough to get a teenager paddled by the school principal in Union County, Mississippi. A first-time dress code infraction, public display of affection, repeated tardiness or failure to hand in homework three times in nine weeks makes children eligible for corporal punishment. Beatings in the state’s schools are not uncommon. In 2018, the year for which the latest numbers are available, 69,000 American children were hit by public-school staff—30% of them in Mississippi. Though intentionally wounding a pet cat is punishable by six months in prison, teachers in Mississippi can legally strike kindergarteners with wooden paddles for speaking out of turn.

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Batty”