All citizens of the United States of America are governed by the laws outlined in the Constitution. The school system is no different. It too falls under the direct jurisdiction of the U.S. government. When questions arise about the Constitutional rights of students, teachers, and/or a school district, the legal system is consulted. Issues that can’t be resolved at the lower levels of the judicial system are sent to the Supreme Court.
Most school related cases that make it to the Supreme Court deal with the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Fourteenth Amendment declares that no state shall deprive a person of life, liberty, or property without due process. The first part of this amendment has to do with due process and the second half is known as the equal protection clause. Corporal punishment cases are often tied to the Fourteenth Amendment.
One of the most controversial issues in classroom discipline is corporal punishment. Corporal punishment is any type of physical punishment that causes discomfort to a student. It can be spanking, paddling, whipping, slapping, striking, grabbing, pulling out of the classroom, or even forcing a child to stay in a difficult posture. Even the continuation of a strenuous physical activity such as running laps can be considered corporal punishment. Recent surveys indicate that hundreds of thousands of children are spanked or paddled each year, and thousands sustain injuries that require medical attention (Ornstein, Levine, and Gutek, 2011). The Bible Belt states use paddling more often than other states across the nation (Gursky, 1992). Some states have even abolished corporal punishment all together. For the states that still use it, strict guidelines have been put in place to try to prevent student injuries and law suits.
Ingraham v. Wright (1977) was a Supreme Court case that presented questions concerning the use of corporal punishment in public schools. It addresses the following issues: First, whether the paddling of students as a means of maintaining school discipline constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment; and second to the extent that paddling is constitutionally permissible.
James Ingraham, a 14 year old eight grade student at Drew Junior High School, and Roosevelt Andrews, a ninth grader at the same school, filed a law suit against the school district, Willie J. Wright (principal of Drew Junior High School), Lemmie Deliford (an assistant principal), Solomon Barnes (an assistant principal), and Edward L. Whigham (superintendent of the Dade County School System). Ingraham was accused of failing to leave the school auditorium promptly when told to do so by a teacher. He was then taken to the principal’s office and told to bend over in order to receive five swats with a paddle. Wright refused. He was then held down by Lemmie Deliford, an assistant principal, and Solomon Barnes, an assistant principal. Instead of the original five swats, Wright received twenty swats. Wright sustained a hematoma as a result and was forced to seek medical attention. While corporal punishment was permitted in the school district, James suffered bruises that kept him out of school for 10 days (Jacobs, 2007). Andrews was also paddled several times for minor infractions. On two separate occasions, he was struck on his arms, once depriving him of the full use of his arm for a week. The parents of these students sued the school district.
The Supreme Court ruled against Wright. It stated that physical discipline at school did not violate the Constitution. The justices stated that the Eighth Amendment was originally designed to protect those convicted of crimes and not schoolchildren.
The Courts did, however, direct teachers and principals to be cautious and use restraint when deciding whether to administer corporal punishment to students (Jacobs, 2007). The justices warned that school authorities might be held liable for damages sustained by a child during paddling.
A perfect example of teachers using excessive corporal punishment is the Miera v. Garcia (1987). In 1982, Garcia was a nine-year-old student at the Penasco Elementary School in Penasco, New Mexico. A teacher held Garcia upside down by her ankles while Miera, the school principal, struck Garcia with a wooden paddle. As a result of the beating, Garcia was left
bleeding and with a permanent scar. Sadly, Garcia was the victim of another beating at the hands of the same principal three months later that also left her injured. Her parents sued. The Supreme Court declined to even hear the case and let stand the lower-court’s ruling that “grossly
excessive” corporal punishment may constitute a violation of students’ due-process rights (Ornstein, Levine, and Gutek, 2011).
Ingraham v. Wright (1977) left the question of corporal punishment up to each individual state and local school district (Jacobs, 2007). Although several states still allow corporal punishment, most educators are hesitant to use it because of fear of litigation.
Resources:
Gursky, D. (1992, February). Spare the child. Teacher Magazine, 3 (5), 16-19.
Ornstein, A.C., Levine, D.U., &Gutek.; (2011). Foundations of education. Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth.
Reference:
- www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20080915monday.html
- school.familyeducation.com/classroom-discipline/resource/38377.html
- voices.yahoo.com/just-exactly-bible-belt-5890.html
