Last week we took a look at some unique school corporal punishment policies from school in Mississippi. They were unique in that a school paddling was the first and primary punishment for smaller offenses at the middle school and high school level. Today I am going to look at the corporal punishment policies from two high schools in Texas that I also found to be quite unique. The common thread with both of these schools is a policy that clearly will result in a very sore bottom for repeat offenders. Both have policies in place that allow for paddlings administered over a varying amount of consecutive days.
The policy below is for the first school, and I would have to guess that this is a school in which the students are fairly well behaved. Basically, if discipline needs to be handled beyond the classroom level, the student will not only be paddled, they will also receive detention. For the very first office visit, the punishment is a single swat and two days detention. I have always felt that sentencing a student to both is an effective policy as there will always be those students who can handle the pain of a paddling, but hate detention, as well as those that will do anything they can to avoid being paddled. If every student knows that they will receive both no matter what, you can count on better behavior from the student body as a whole.
Where this school paddling policy, as well as the policy for the second school below, gets quite interesting is on step four. This means this is the fourth time a student has been sent to the office for any offense from any class. This school only allows a maximum of 3 swats on any given day; however, this does not mean that you cannot be sentenced to more than 3 swats. Step three in the process is three swats and detention, but on a fourth office referral thing gets a bit more serious. At this point detention becomes two full days of in school suspension and 6 paddle swats, to be administered 3 a day, two days in a row. Even better, on a fifth trip to the office is it 3 days of ISS and 9 swats over three days.
Let’s really consider what this means and the effect it must have on a young lady’s bottom. For her 5th trip to the school office over the course of a school year, she falls into this category. There are a lot of things a high school girl can find herself getting into trouble for, and many of them might indeed be minor. She may have had a few tardies to various classes, ended up in trouble in a class for talking to her neighbor, and also caught using her cell phone during school. Those offenses right there are enough for five referrals to the school office. The results of the 5th referral means that the next morning, instead of reporting to her classes, she will report to the school office to have her butt paddled. She will receive 3 hard swats with the paddle and then be sent to the designated room where ISS takes place. She will be required to do all of her assignments in that location, with no breaks except for lunch. Over the course of that day, she will certainly be experiencing some discomfort as a result of 3 good paddle swats. The next morning, assuming the paddling was administered effectively, she will wake up with a sore bottom. But this is where this school paddling policy becomes so very effective. Once again she will start her school day with a visit to the school office to have her already sore bottom paddled again. I assure you, three hard swats, the day after three hard swats, cannot be a pleasant experience. The pain of the paddling is further emphasized as she is required to complete her entire school day with her sore bottom sitting at a hard school desk. There is always a little discomfort the day after being paddled, but when she was required to bend over and get paddled again, that pain is amplified so much more. Unfortunately for the young lady going through this experience, she gets to do it all again the next day. I could argue that 3 swats, over three days is far worse than taking the 9 swat all at once. The complete policy for this school is below.
Corporal punishment—spanking or paddling the student—may be used as a discipline management
technique in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct and policy FO(LOCAL) in the district’s
policy manual.
Campus Discipline Plan
Step 1: 1 swat and 2 days detention (7:55 – 8:15AM)
Step 2: 2 swats and 3 days detention (7:55 – 8:15AM)
Step 3: 3 swats and 4 days detention (7:55 – 8:15AM)
Step 4: 6 swats (3 per day for 2 days) and 2 days of ISS
Step 5: 9 swats (3 per day for 3 days) and 3 days of ISS
Step 6: 5 days of ISS
Step 7: 10 days of ISS
Step 8: Suspension
Step 9: Expulsion
Step 10: Discipline Alternative Educational Placement
The second school we are looking at is also a high school in Texas and they have created a discipline policy that runs heavy on paddling for three primary areas of misconduct, and clearly areas that discipline issues are quite common at the high school level. For dress code, tardiness, and cell phone usage, multiple paddle swats are applied for multiple offenses of the same policy. This school only allows 2 swats per day, but when it comes to tardies, they can be sentenced to up to 10 swats over five days. Imagine the bruised and sore bottom that a young lady will have after 2 paddle swats a day for an entire week. Clearly this would be quite an effective punishment to know that every morning before class she start her day with a good paddling, even if only 2 swats. The school policy for dress code, cell phones, and tardies are all listed below.
E.H.S. Cell Phones/Electronic Devices Policy (Cumulative)
1st – Warning
2nd – $15
3rd – $15 + Lunch Detention
4th – $15 + 1 day of After School Detention and 1 swat
5th- $15 + 2 days of After School Detention and 2 swats
6th – $15 + 1 day of Saturday School and 3 swats and Loss of Open Campus privileges for
two weeks
7th – $15 + 3 days of ISS and 2 swats per day for 3 days (Parent must come pick up phone
from office)
Secondary Dress Code Policy
1st – Warning
2nd – Lunch Detention
3rd – 1 day of After School Detention and 1 swat
4th – 2 days of After School Detention and 2 swats
5th – 1 day of Saturday School and 3 swats and Loss of Open Campus privileges for two
weeks
6th – 3 days of ISS and 2 swats per day for 3 days
TARDINESS
A student who is tardy to school/class by more than 10 minutes may be assigned to detention.
Repeated instances of tardiness will result in more severe disciplinary action, in accordance with
the Student Code of Conduct.
Students that are 20 minutes late to class will be marked as an unexcused absence. Repeated
instances of tardiness will result in more severe disciplinary action, in accordance with the
Student Code of Conduct.
EHS Tardy Policy
• 1ST Tardy – Warning (send to office on first tardy)
• 2ND Tardy – Lunch Detention
• 3RD Tardy – 1 day of After School Detention and 1 swat
• 4TH Tardy – 2 days of After School Detention and 2 swats
• 5TH Tardy – 3 days of ISS and 2 swats per day (6 total)
• 6TH Tardy – 5 days of ISS and 2 swats per day (10 total)
Having a paddle applied to this already bruised and sore bottom will be a punishment she will never forget.