JEFFERSON CITY—This week, Sen. Joseph Keaveny, D-St. Louis, filed Senate Bill 241, which would prohibit the use of corporal punishment in all public Missouri schools. If signed into law, the legislation would end the use of spanking or paddling by educators as a form of punishment.
Currently, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education requires each school district’s written discipline policy to include a portion dedicated to corporal punishment. The local school board is responsible for determining if and how it will be used, and whether a parent will be notified or can opt for an alternate type of discipline.
Senator Keaveny noted that corporal punishment is a fairly archaic form of discipline that most states have already done away with. Missouri is one of only 19 that still allow it; of those, Missouri ranked ninth on a list of states where corporal punishment was used the most.
“Times are changing, and as a state, we need to change with them. Thirty, forty years ago, corporal punishment was culturally accepted. Many viewed it as a deterrent. But, modern studies, and first-person accounts from administrators and teachers alike, have debunked that belief. It’s not an effective form of discipline. Also, most parents are no longer comfortable with the idea of a non-family member, much less a public employee, administering this type of punishment,” said Sen. Keaveny. “Children should feel safe at school, and shouldn’t fear physical harm from those tasked with protecting and educating them.”
Senate Bill 241 would prohibit the use of corporal punishment in all public schools in Missouri. The measure would also require school districts’ discipline policy to prohibit the use of corporal punishment and spanking.
Last year, Sen. Keaveny sponsored similar legislation. During the committee hearing on that bill, numerous students and teachers testified in support of the measure.
“It’s a sad reality, but we now live in a world where we routinely have to discuss ways to protect our students from the types of violent atrocities that have taken place in this country over the last decade,” said Sen. Keaveny. “As we work to make children feel safer at school from physical harm, I believe it’s important we end a practice that many feel is no longer acceptable or even effective.”
For more information on Senate Bill 241, or any other measures filed by Sen. Keaveny, visit his official Missouri Senate website at www.senate.mo.gov/keaveny.
