Parents Divided Over Missouri School District's Policy On Paddle Punishment, Twitter Chimes In

Parents in Missouri are divided over the recent announcement of the Cassville School District that school principals will now be allowed to discipline students through paddling under a new policy.

While parents can opt out of the corporal punishment system, some parents and many users on Twitter believe the policy just isn't the right way to go about disciplining students.

According to the school district's student handbook for the school year 2022-2023, misbehaving students can be swatted on the buttocks using a paddle if parents "opt-in" on the discipline method.

"Corporal punishment shall be administered only by swatting buttocks with a paddle," the handbook reads.

The handbook also clarified that this punishment option "shall be used only when all other alternative means of discipline have failed."

Several other disciplinary actions were listed, including out-of-school suspension (OSS), search and seizure of students or student property in cases where they violate school policies, and investigation on threats or acts of violence.

School district Superintendent Merlyn Johnson said paddling as a form of corporal punishment was a result of a parent survey conducted in 2021, The Hill reported.

Johnson explained Wednesday that corporal punishment "was just another option that we could use before we get to that point of suspension," as parents who responded to the survey said they didn't want their kids suspended.

They have "had people actually thank us for it," Johnson said, according to a Wednesday report by the Springfield News-Leader. "Majority of people that I've run into have been supportive," he added.

However, some parents are against the new policy and said there should still be other options besides paddling.

Speaking with local KRBK on Wednesday, Miranda Waltrip, who has three children studying in Cassville schools, said she was shocked when she learned about the policy.

"I do not think it is appropriate," the mother said. For Waltrip, counseling services are the most appropriate method for disciplining students.

Kimberly Richardson told KY3 News that she supports the other methods of disciplining Cassville students. "Like in school suspension that would be fine with me," adding that suspensions "are just way better than corporal punishment."

Parent Dylan Burns told the outlet that he doesn't find corporal punishment wrong since parents have the right to either opt in or opt out of the method.

Amid divisive debates on the Missouri school district's paddling policy, users on Twitter shared their thoughts on the matter.

In a thread of user replies on The Hill's Twitter post about the policy, one user said paddling was another term for "child abuse." Another argued that even if he was paddled as a student, he "turned out just fine," adding that "kids have it way too easy now."

One parent said "anybody paddling my kids will get either a lawsuit or a black eye," while another argued that corporal punishment would reduce the number of troublesome kids who "grow up to be even worse."

However, in a 2002 report by psychology experts published by the American Psychological Association (APA), researchers found that "the more often or more harshly a child was hit, the more likely they are to be aggressive or to have mental health problems."

The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) has also stated that while corporal punishment is legal in 19 states in the country, it "recommends non-violent methods of addressing inappropriate behavior in schools."

The AACAP's stance on corporal punishment has not changed since it last updated its discipline-related statement in 2014.