Cultural enrichment fun: South Texas ISD returns spanking to use in schools

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As part of a new policy approved by the board Tuesday, the paddle, likely to be wood, will be used to administer corporal punishment when a student misbehaves at school.

Corporal punishment is defined as the deliberate infliction of physical pain by hitting, paddling, spanking, slapping, or any other physical force used as a means of discipline.

Three Rivers Independent School District trustees voted 6-0 on the motion, with one trustee absent. The policy states only a campus’ behavior coordinator or principal can administer the disciplinary measure at their discretion. Three Rivers ISD students, whose parents have provided written and verbal consent, will receive one paddling for his or her infraction when they misbehave at school.

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Parents will be able to decide, upon registering their children for the upcoming school year, whether they want to opt in or out.

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“If the parent is not comfortable with it, that’s the end of the discussion,” Three Rivers ISD Superintendent Mary Springs said.

Texas is among 19 states in the U.S. that sanction the use of corporal punishment in schools, according to reports. In November 2016, then Department of Education secretary John B. King Jr. sent a letter to state leaders urging them to end the use of corporal punishment in schools, citing the practice is linked to harmful short-term and long-term outcomes for students.

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I looked at one of those studies. It specifically points out that they did not control for family income level, and oversamples minorities.

Three Rivers Elementary School’s campus behavior coordinator, Andrew Amaro, pitched the idea to district leaders earlier this year. Amaro, a Three Rivers native, said he hopes the new disciplinary measure will have a more immediate effect on students than do ISS (In School Suspension) or detention.

Prior to Tuesday, the district had a policy prohibiting the use of corporal punishment. It’s unclear what year the board adopted that policy, but Amaro recalls being disciplined with a paddle during his time as a Three Rivers ISD student.

“I believe it worked,” Amaro said. “It was an immediate response for me. I knew that if I got in trouble with a teacher and I was disrespectful, whatever the infraction was, I knew I was going to get a swat by the principal.”

Amaro said students will be paddled for minor infractions, such as being disobedient to teachers or not following rules in the classroom.

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