Digital Scholarship and Initiatives

In data released by NC Child, it was announced that only Robeson, Graham and Macon counties used corporal punishment in the 2015-2016 school year, and there was a 50 percent reduction in usage.

Only 35 children were paddled in Robeson County, compared to 88 the previous year. The punishment, which is meant to be a last resort, has decreased each year since the 2010-2011 school year. While a district representative said they did not think the board had encouraged schools to refrain from the practice, they did note that there are alternative ways to punish.

Tom Vitaglione, a senior fellow at NC Child who called corporal punishment an “outmoded practice,” said there are more than 80 studies that show it is an “ineffective form of discipline.”

North Carolina is among 19 states that allow schools to use the form of discipline; however, each county can decide whether to permit it or not.