Education secretary urges schools to end corporal punishment

Education Secretary John King Jr. is urging state leaders to end the use of corporal punishment in schools.   

{mosads}In a letter to state governors and chief state school officials Monday, King called corporal punishment a practice that is “harmful, ineffective and often disproportionately applied to students of color and students with disabilities.”

Though banned in 28 states, 22 states still allow corporal punishment.

Citing the Department’s Civil Rights Data Collection, King said more than 110,000 students were subjected to corporal punishment during the 2013-2014 school year and 40,000 of those students were black.

The CRDC found that black boys were 1.8 times as likely as white boys to be subject to corporal punishment, while black girls were 2.9 times as likely as white girls to receive this form of punishment.

“It is difficult for a school to be considered safe or supportive if its students are fearful of being physically punished by the adults who are charged with supporting their learning and their future,” King wrote.