The Center for Effective Discipline congratulates Governor Ted Strickland for making Ohio the 30th state to ban school corporal punishment. Yesterday the Governor signed HB 1, the biennial budget bill containing a ban on corporal punishment. The corporal punishment ban was proposed by the Governor.
Few Ohio schools were still using corporal punishment. In l985, 68,000 school children were hit in Ohio schools but the number of children had diminished to ll0 children in the 2007-08 school year. No credible research supports effectiveness of corporal punishment. Instead, studies show that it is harmful and ineffective.
School corporal punishment has often led to injuries of students and lawsuits against school boards. The ban on school corporal punishment puts Ohio among non-paddling states -- states with mostly higher academic rankings, higher graduation levels and less violence than paddling states. “The ban is a victory for Ohio’s families and children. We’ll have no more black and blue days for Ohio’s school children,” said Nadine Block, Executive Director of the Center for Effective Discipline. “The leadership of Governor Strickland has made this possible!”
