MS: Spankings Common in Schools

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Here is an excerpt:

The following school districts had the highest number of corporal punishment incidents during the 2008-09 school year.

DeSoto County 4,993

Greenwood 2,886

Scott County 2,793

South Panola 2,376

Lee County 1,707

Harrison County 1,702

Western Line 1,512

Benton County 1,511

Jones County 1,301

New Albany 1,249

Hinds 55

Madison 1,104

Rankin 742

Canton 11

Pearl uses corporal punishment but did not report any cases last year to the state Department of Education.

Clinton and Jackson public schools do not use corporal punishment.

Mississippi has one of the nation's highest rates of corporal punishment.

During the 2008-09 school year, there were 57,953 cases of corporal punishment in 110 of the state's 152 school districts, according to the state Department of Education. The number of incidents is a slight drop from 58,343 cases reported a year earlier but higher than the 47,727 cases reported in 2006-07.

Corporal punishment is "simply a tool in the toolbox," Kent said. "We can call parents, we can fuss at kids, we can detain them, we can suspend them, we can put them in ... detention, and we can paddle them."

Students are paddled for flagrant disrespect toward any one person, Kent said. Paddling could be a punishment for horseplay, tardiness and skipping class, he said.

In most school districts, more serious offenses - such as fighting - have stiffer consequences. Other punishments, including suspension or detention, are often used instead of corporal punishment.

School districts restrict the number of times a child can be hit and the size of the paddle used. Generally, students are hit about three times. Many district policies require an adult to witness the punishment.

"Corporal punishment is not a scientifically based process," Lambright said. There is no study that shows the physical punishment is effective, she said.