Corpun file 12225

Pacific Daily News, Hagatna, Guam, 23 October 2003

Board-approved schedules to start Nov. 3

By Oyaol Ngirairikl
Pacific Daily News

.............

School schedules, corporal punishment and the recent emergency declaration for school buses were some of the topics discussed during the lengthy meeting last night.

Discipline

Another issue discussed at the board meeting was the revision of a board policy to allow teachers and school administrators to use corporal punishment as form of student discipline.

Current board policy, last amended in 1991, states that corporal punishment can be used only as a "last resort" before suspending a student. It can be administered only by the school principal and only to students whose parents have provided written consent.

Board member Francis Toves proposed an amendment to that policy that parents automatically give schools their consent upon enrolling their child in a DOE school.

That policy will be discussed at the board's monthly meetings in November and December before the members can vote to approve it.

Follow-up: 2 November 2003: There is no need for corporal punishment in the public schools