Corporal Punishment in the State of Louisiana: A Descriptive Study of Policies and Practices

Abstract

Louisiana is currently one of the 19 states in the United States that still allow the use of corporal punishment in public schools. The research questions that drove this study explored Louisiana-published court cases involving corporal punishment in public schools, district policies regarding the use of corporal punishment, reported instances of corporal punishment in public schools, and potential relationships between whether or not a district allows corporal punishment and its enrollment size.

As a result of this study, it was discovered that Louisiana has an unusually large body of published court cases involving corporal punishment in public schools. Of those cases, three categories were defined including: cases filed by an employee, cases filed by a parent on behalf of a student, and criminal cases regarding excessive amounts of corporal punishment. It was concluded that the courts will generally uphold a School Board's decision in regards to disciplining teachers for excessive corporal punishment. Furthermore, School Boards and teachers also won a majority of the cases that were filed by a parent on behalf of a student.

After examining Louisiana district's policy regarding the use of corporal punishment in public schools, it was concluded that the majority of Louisiana's public school students attend schools that allow the use of corporal punishment. From the number of instances recorded it was discovered that the majority of Louisiana districts that still use corporal punishment are experiencing a decline in the number of instances recorded. Finally, corporal punishment is still being practiced is some of the largest districts according to student enrollment. A chi-square test was performed and a statistical significance between a district's policy regarding corporal punishment and its size was not found.

In conclusion, this study revealed that Louisiana is still one of the 19 predominately Southern states that still allow corporal punishment in public schools. In order for Louisiana to join the other states in abolishing corporal punishment, it is important that Louisiana School Board members and others who are involved in deciding whether or not corporal punishment is allowed know where Louisiana currently stands on this issue.