BRISTOL, Tenn. – The Board of Education voted Monday night to officially ban corporal punishment in the city’s schools.
In a 3-1 vote, board members approved a recommendation by Director of Schools Gary Lilly to prohibit students from being paddled as a form of discipline. The new policy will take effect immediately.
Board member Kelly Buskell cast the only vote opposing Lilly’s recommendation. Buskell made no comment Monday night to explain his vote, but previously said that although he didn’t support corporal punishment, there was no need to officially ban it.
Board President Gwen Ellis joined fellow members Mary Brown and Nelson Pyle in approving the ban.
Tony Turner, a fifth board member, was absent from Monday’s meeting.
The vote ended weeks of discussion by Bristol officials regarding the district’s use of corporal punishment, even though Tennessee is among 20 states that legally allow it.
Lilly advised the board to ban paddling because he said it made school principals and other district officials vulnerable to possible legal action, particularly to accusations of improperly touching students. Lilly also suggested that Bristol had other, better means to effectively discipline students who misbehave – without resorting to corporal punishment.
In recent interviews, officials for groups that want a nationwide ban on corporal punishment praised Bristol for moving to ban paddling.
David Fathi, director of the U.S. Program for Human Rights Watch in Washington, D.C., said the school board would “be on the right side of history” by dropping corporal punishment.
“Hitting children with sticks to make them behave is out of the Dark Ages,” Fathi said recently. “At best, it’s ineffective. At worst, it’s very harmful. So it’s very good that Bristol has signaled it wants to end this antiquated practice.”
Fathi, whose group teamed with the American Civil Liberties Union last year on a national study examining the use of corporal punishment, said it is particularly important that Bristol and other Tennessee school districts take steps to ban it.
“In our study, we ranked Tennessee as the state where students with disabilities are more likely to receive physical punishment,” Fathi said. “It’s a pretty disturbing pattern, and an equally disturbing disparity.”
Nadine Block, executive director for the Center for Effective Discipline in Columbus, Ohio, said it is encouraging that Bristol joined a nationwide trend among schools to move away from corporal punishment. “There’s no research to support corporal punishment in schools,” Block said in a recent interview. “Fortunately, the world is changing for the better on this issue. It’s just been happening a little slower in some places.”
rbrown@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2512
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