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Stop Beating Students with Disabilities in Schools(Originally published in Huffington Post.) In the 2006 – 2007 school year, nearly quarter of a million school children were subjected to corporal punishment in public schools. Impairing Education, a report released yesterday by the ACLU and Human Rights Watch, finds that students with disabilities — who have a right to appropriate, inclusive educational programs that give them the opportunity to thrive — are nonetheless subjected to this violent discipline at disproportionately high rates. Corporal punishment — from paddling to beating to throwing children into walls or floors — is routine in public schools in many parts of the United States. Impairing Education documents many such cases. No student should be subjected to these abusive forms of discipline, but students with disabilities, who already face extra challenges, can be particularly vulnerable to physical or psychological harm from these punishments. Anna M.’s son, who has autism, was seven years old when he was punished in school. She told me about an experience at his elementary school: I’m in the front office ... They bring [my son] into the room. His nose is beet red. He lifts up his shirt sleeve, I get a glimpse of scratches all up his arm. I got overwhelmed, I couldn’t focus ... I wanted to get my son to the doctor. I get him home and I take off his clothes. He was marked, top of his arms, under his arms, down his torso. He had a busted lip, which I hadn’t noticed at first. He said, “they made me wash the blood off before I saw you.”Corporal punishment causes pain, humiliation, and in some cases deep bruising or other serious injury; it also can have long-lasting psychological consequences. Students with disabilities may see their underlying conditions worsened as a result. Furthermore, it creates a violent, degrading school environment in which all students — and particularly students with disabilities — may struggle to succeed. Anna M.’s son has changed after he was restrained and beaten. He now struggles with anger, has had nightmares, is reluctant to leave his mother’s side and fears running into the person that administered his punishment. Anna said, “I was afraid for his life, to be honest. He was 52 pounds, or maybe even less, at this point.” The use of corporal punishment on children with disabilities violates the right to freedom from cruel, degrading treatment and violence guaranteed to them under international human rights law. Children with disabilities have the right to an inclusive education, yet corporal punishment impinges on this right and creates barriers to their success. There are positive, nonviolent approaches to school discipline that have been proven to lead to safe environments in which children can learn. Positive behavioral supports teach children why what they did was wrong and gives them the tools necessary to improve their behavior. The staff in our schools must be trained on how to discipline children effectively and humanely. No child should be hit, especially the most vulnerable. Tags: children's rights, corporal punishment, Human Rights Program
Ohio Bans Corporal PunishmentWhen Ohio's children return to school in just a few weeks, they'll finally have long-overdue protection from corporal punishment (or "paddling") in their public schools. Last Wednesday, the Ohio legislature passed a ban on corporal punishment as part of the state's biennial budget. With Gov. Ted Strickland's signature, Ohio became the 30th state to ban corporal punishment. You can send Gov. Strickland a message supporting this move here: Corporal punishment is still legal in 20 states. It typically takes the form of students beaten with a wooden "paddle" or board about 1 ½ feet long, 6 inches wide, and 1 inch thick. The ACLU has interviewed students who were beaten for a wide range of misbehavior, from being late, to fighting. Students can be seriously injured by this punishment. You can see more in our report, A Violent Education. Now that corporal punishment has been banned in Ohio, children there will be able to learn in safe, secure environments. Corporal punishment is ineffective and abusive; it discourages children from learning and has been linked to higher drop-out rates. Better methods of disciplining children, including Positive Behavior Intervention and Support, provide safe, secure schools where children can learn. The ACLU congratulates Ohio in this important move for securing a better future for its children. Tags: children's rights, corporal punishment, Human Rights Program
Stop Beating Children in Schools(Originally posted on Daily Kos.) With state legislatures back in session, we're renewing the fight to take corporal punishment out of public schools. There's a bill pending in Ohio to do just that. Here's our letter supporting this crucial step to protect Ohio's kids. In recent months we've also seen bills introduced in other states limiting corporal punishment, making it harder for schools to beat children. Click here to find out if paddling is legal and prevalent in your state. While we hope all states will follow suit, paddling can also be banned school district by school district. More and more districts are adopting discipline policies that throw out the paddle and support effective learning instead. For instance, in recent months, the school districts in Marfa and Aldine in Texas and Muskogee, Oklahoma, have debated banning or limiting corporal punishment, like many other small districts. Meanwhile, Jackson Public School (JPS) District, one of the biggest districts in Mississippi, recently upheld its ban on paddling. Click here to see our letters to JPS. What can you do? We've put together a "toolkit" for parents that we published with the Our Children, the National PTA magazine. Parents and PTAs can take the lead in campaigns to change school policies. Even if you don't live in a school district that paddles kids, you can help. Parents can write letters to their state legislatures, objecting to laws that permit schools to paddle, and advocating for safe, nonviolent discipline in schools. New funding from the federal stimulus package can also help. The Department of Education can allocate funding to school districts that want to implement positive behavior discipline systems that teach kids why what they did was wrong and what they can do better. Positive behavior systems are much more effective than paddling; they produce safe, secure classrooms where kids can effectively learn. The Southern Poverty Law Center has more on using federal money for positive behavior. What’s more, the right to dignity — one of the founding principles of human rights — protects children from abusive or discriminatory school discipline practices. U.S. schools should implement effective, positive discipline systems, so that children’s human rights are protected and so that every student can maximize his or her potential. To learn more about the ACLU’s work to end corporal punishment, visit: www.aclu.org/corporalpunishment Tags: children's rights, corporal punishment, Human Rights Program
End Abusive, Discriminatory Discipline in Schools: Give All Students a Chance to ThriveMinority students in schools across the U.S. are not getting a fair chance – in part because they are more likely to be subjected to abusive, degrading disciplinary tactics ranging from overpolicing to corporal punishment. Facing these and other obstacles, minority students are more likely to drop out of school and end up in the criminal justice system. The ACLU has been fighting this trend in the U.S. The ACLU had the chance to raise this issue in an international setting: at the first United Nations Forum on Minority Issues, which opened yesterday in Geneva. The Forum was established by Independent Expert Gay McDougall (herself an American who has spent years fighting for racial justice) to examine conditions for minority students in schools across the world. This year, the Forum focuses on access to education for minority students, understanding that all children need a fair, equal start in life in order to thrive and contribute to their societies later. Dennis Parker, director of the Racial Justice Program at the ACLU and an established expert on minority access to education in the U.S., was asked to speak at the Forum. Dennis spoke yesterday about abusive discipline practices faced by minority students. For instance, some policies are outwardly discriminatory: African American, Latino, Native American and other students of color are subjected to different punishment than white students for engaging in the same behavior. Other policies appear race-neutral but are felt more harshly by minority students. For example, corporal punishment, still widely used in a number of states in the U.S., appears to be inflicted disproportionately against students of color, is counter to international legal standards and adversely affects the learning environment for all children whether or not they are recipients of the actual punishment. International human rights standards such as those discussed at the Forum can help minority children in the U.S. get a fair chance at a decent education. Human rights law prohibits discrimination in all levels of education. What's more, the right to dignity – one of the founding principles of human rights – protects children from abusive or discriminatory school discipline practices. U.S. schools – and indeed, all schools worldwide – should implement effective, positive discipline systems, so that children's human rights are protected and so that every student can maximize his or her potential. For more information, read the ACLU's submission to the Forum on Minority Access to Education in the United States. Tags: children's rights, corporal punishment, Human Rights Program |
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