Spanking
Parents or guardians would have to give written permission before a child could be spanked as part of a corporal punishment regime under a bill the House passed 91-24 Monday night.
Click here to read and for more info on H442.
The measure now goes to the Senate.
Many North Carolina school districts, including Guilford County, have policies that forbid corporal punishment. But state law still allows the practices and in some counties a child can be spanked without notifying parents.
“This is not about whether you believe in corporal punishment or not,” said Rep. Laura Wiley, a High Point Republican. “This bill is about giving parents the choice to opt out of corporal punishment as a form of discipline. We owe that to these parents.”
Click here to listen to Wiley's full comments.
But some members, including Greensboro Rep. John Blust, said that the state moved away from more stringent forms of punishment at it peril.
“I do think the practical application of the bill will be to diminish and ultimately end the use of corporal punishment,” Blust said, adding that he was a “beneficiary” of the practice. “I think over time I had it taught to me, and reinforced, a certain respect for authority that I think is missing” in some students.
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