Louisiana Lawmaker Makes Another Attempt to Ban Corporal Punishment In Public Schools
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Louisiana lawmakers will once again decide whether to continue allowing corporal punishment in public schools.
A will be offered to the Louisiana Legislature, said Rep. Stephanie Hilferty, R-New Orleans, who authored the same proposal last year. It .
鈥淲e don鈥檛 hit prisoners in the prison system, and we don鈥檛 hit juveniles in the juvenile detention system,鈥� Hilferty said. 鈥淎nd yet, this is how in some instances students are being disciplined in the school system.鈥�
Rep. Danny McCormick, R-Oil City, who voted against the bill, said on the House floor last year that the state telling schools how to discipline students could create a slippery slope that leads to telling parents how to discipline their children at home.
When asked if the same resistance would come up again this year, Hilferty said her bill 鈥渄oes nothing to affect a parent鈥檚 ability to鈥� appropriately spank their child in the home.鈥�
鈥淭his is really, if anything, giving parents more control, given that they鈥檒l have a better understanding of how their child鈥檚 being disciplined within the school system,鈥� she said.
The American Academy of Pediatrics supports the bill 鈥渂ecause of some of the harmful effects that (corporal punishment) has on children,鈥� she said.
In arguing for her bill to the Louisiana House Education Committee last year, Hilferty told mebers that research from the pediatricians group found children disciplined through corporal punishment become more aggresive and hampered brain development.
Students subjected to corporal punishment also score lower on IQ tests, and such discipline is considered a traumatic experience that is likely to have longterm implications, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
鈥淲e鈥檙e moving forward with this鈥� hopefully with better success on the House floor,鈥� Hilferty said.
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