Corpun file 22599
myfox8.com (Fox 8 News ) (WGHP-TV), Gressboro / High Point / Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 6 October 2010
Thomasville Approves Changes to Spanking Policy
Parents must consent to spanking
Staff Writer
THOMASVILLE, N.C. (WGHP) -- The Thomasville Board of Education on Tuesday night approved revisions to the system's disciplinary policy that included guidelines that will allow parents to determine whether their child can be spanked, according to the High Point Enterprise.
Changes to the system's policy for management of student behavior were introduced during the board's monthly meeting last month, according to the paper. Parents will also have the option to be present when the spanking is administered.
A new state law will go into effect next year that forces school systems to get permission before they administer spanking on a child.
Associate Superintendent James Carmichael told the paper said school officials decided to make additional changes in the policy based on concerns expressed during the last month.
According to the paper, no other students will be allowed to be present when spanking occurs.
Melissa Davis, a parent, strongly believes the decision should be left to the parent.
"I think the parents should be the ones to discipline them," said Davis. "I think they should call the parents and have them be the ones to discipline their kids. I don't really think, you know, spanking should be in the school."
Thomasville Schools Superintendent Keith Tobin said principals only used corporal punishment twice last school year, and that it's just another resource for principals to use with unruly kids.
Randolph County schools are also considering eliminating corporal punishment. No principal has used corporal punishment against a student in the last 2 years, but only 3 of 31 principals want to keep spanking as an option.
Guilford, Winston-Salem-Forsyth, and Alamance counties do not use corporal punishment. Davidson County schools does allow the use of corporal punishment but they are considering a proposal to make changes to the policy.
Copyright © 2010, WGHP-TV
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TV news report (1 min 15 secs), "New State Law Has Schools Rethinking Corporal Punishment", from WGHP-TV, North Carolina, 5 October 2010, of which the above text is in part a summary version. Brief interviews with parents and other members of the public.
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Follow-up: 22 June 2011 - Corporal Punishment Option Upheld in Randolph Co. Schools
Corpun file 22600
Amite-Tangi Digest, Amite, Louisiana, 7 October 2010
School Board officially does away with corporal punishment
By Alissa Cannon
(extract)
 |
The Policy Committee of the Tangipahoa Parish School Board heard a recommendation from Assistant Superintendent Lionel Jackson to completely do away with corporal punishment within the parish at their Tuesday, October 5 meeting.
Assistant Superintendent Jackson brought before the committee a complete change of policy regarding the corporal punishment of students. Tangipahoa Parish, Jackson said, was one of the few districts left in the state who still allowed paddling, spanking, or other physical discipline of students, though it has been widely unused.
After a poll of school administrators, Jackson found that an overwhelming amount of those administrators would rather not have a policy allowing corporal punishment.
With this new information, Jackson requested the policy be changed to remove all guidelines for the physical punishment and instead read, "The Tangipahoa Parish School board shall prohibit the use of corporal punishment by all of its employees. Students shall not be paddled, spanked or otherwise physically discipline for infractions of student conduct regulations. Furthermore, no other person (including parents or guardians) shall be allowed to administer corporal punishment to a student while on school grounds."
However, even with the removal of the corporal punishment guidelines, the policy still allows for an employee of the school to use "physical force, reasonable and appropriate under the circumstances, in defending himself/herself against a physical attack by a student or to restrain a student from attacking another student or employee, to prevent acts of misconduct which are so anti-social or disruptive in nature as to shock the conscience, or to protect school property."
The committee also heard another policy change request from Jackson regarding suspension and expulsion. Both Jackson and Superintendent Kolwe agreed that past policies regarding student code of conduct had been adjusted to encourage reduced suspension and expulsion rates. However, they said, things need to change. Jackson informed the policy committee that one school in the district has already disciplined students involved in 22 physical altercations. Therefore, a change was requested to the Administrator's Assertive Discipline Ladder to allow the administrator's more leeway when it comes to suspension and expulsion.
The ladder, based on steps of severity, adds the "power" to suspend or expel for behavior offenses. The administrators will now be able to serve more severe punishments, such as more suspensions and expulsions at their discretion after proper investigations of the behavior offenses. Kolwe and Jackson both stated that the discipline power had been lax, but now it was time to "tighten up" on behavior issues.
These changes were approved by the Policy Committee and then brought before the full Board at the regular meeting, where the report was approved.
[...]
Corpun file 22595
Daily Comet, Thibodaux, Louisiana, 7 October 2010
In other Lafourche School Board action
(extracts)
The following is a rundown of action taken Wednesday by the Lafourche School Board. All board members attended, and all decisions were unanimous.
[...]
Action: Approved changes to the following policies: Minutes of Board Meetings, to comply with new state law lengthening the time allowed for the board to submit its official minutes, or written records of board meetings; Interscholastic Athletics, to comply with new state laws allowing home-schooled students to participate in public high-school athletics and to add other clarifications; Compulsory School Attendance Ages, to comply with new state laws and to reword the policy; School Admission, to comply with new state law; Student Transfer and Withdrawal, to comply with new state laws allowing students to withdraw only if age 17 or 18 with parental consent and after an interview with school officials; Student Dress Code, to comply with new state laws that school officials must notify parents at least 60 days before changing the school uniform policy; and Corporal Punishment, to eliminate corporal punishment as a permitted disciplinary measure.
[...]
Corpun file 22594
The Dispatch, Lexington, North Carolina, 11 October 2010
School systems review corporal punishment policy
By Deneesha Edwards
The Dispatch
Two school boards revised a disciplinary policy this week regarding corporal punishment.
The Davidson County and Thomasville City school systems upgraded their "School Plan for Management of Student Behavior" to bring it into compliance with N.C. House Bill 1682, which legislators recently passed and will be effective this school year.
Lexington City Schools prohibits corporal punishment for all students, with the policy stating other consequences are more appropriate and effective for teaching self-control.
The revision for the county and Thomasville touches on administering corporal punishment to students who are classified as having a disability. It states the punishment may not be given to disabled students whose parents or guardians have not given permission. Parents are given a permission form at the start of the school year.
"There have to be very special precautions before any kind of corporal punishment is to be administered," said Dr. Fred Mock, superintendent of Davidson County Schools. "We took a look at the entire corporal punishment policy. We do not prohibit it."
Thomasville City Schools went a step above the state policy and added a section in which corporal punishment will only take place if a parent signs a statement giving permission to the administrator and the parent or guardian has to be present.
"We have had this policy in place for years," said Keith Tobin, superintendent of Thomasville City Schools. "The state did some upgrades around students with disabilities. We had some discussion and wanted to address some concerns. We took it a step further with our system."
The policy also states the punishment cannot take place in a classroom when other students are present. Tobin said the revisions give parents another option for disciplinary action if they choose.
Before the revision, Tobin said administrators could administer corporal punishment in front of another administrator as a witness, as long as it was not in the classroom. He made reference to many schools he knew that had similar policies that had to have forms signed by parents to administer corporal punishment. Now parents will have to be the witness if they sign the waiver.
"We put it in the parent's hands," he said. "They have to give us permission and witness it."
The county schools policy is similar, with an administrator being defined as a teacher, principal or assistant principal. Corporal punishment will only take place in the presence of a second school official who must be informed beforehand the reason for the punishment, according to the policy.
"I think this law will require all school boards in North Carolina to look at their policies," Mock said. "School board attorneys will be advising as it relates to current law."
The policy is already effective for Thomasville. Davidson County Schools will let the policy stand for 30 days and vote on it at the November meeting.
Tobin said last year there were only two incidents of corporal punishment. He doesn't think it will happen a lot this year.
"It's really up to the parents, if we're having problems with their child," he said. "I think it's a good policy."
Copyright © 2010 The-Dispatch.com -- All rights reserved.
Corpun file 22589
The Randolph Leader, Roanoke, Alabama, 20 October 2010
Roanoke school board talks technology, discipline stats
By Penny L. Pool
(extracts)
Principals presented their annual discipline reports, David Crouse made recommendations on teacher computers, and at Superintendent Chuck Marcum's recommendation, the contract with Interquest Detection Canines was renewed.
Teachers' laptops are wearing out, and repair costs are reaching $26,000, David Crouse, director of federal programs and professional services told Roanoke City School Board, but he said that is a good thing because it means the teachers are using them a great deal.
[...]
The board heard the annual discipline reports. Due to the round robin of administration changes the principals joked about their reports actually belonging to the former principals. Some students were referred to the office multiple times.
Greg Foster is now principal at Handley High School after moving from Handley Middle School, while Linda Crim, who was assistant principal at HHS is now principal at HMS. Kim Hendon continues as principal at Knight-Enloe Elementary. Former HHS principal Jim Holley retired.
Hendon said the total number of students referred to the office were 35 for 69 referrals. Some students receive multiple referrals. Her little girls act better than her little boys, Hendon said breaking it down by race and gender. Of 20 blacks referred to the office, 16 were male and four were female, while 15 whites were referred to the office, and 11 were males and four were females. Where during the 2008-2009 school year, five
received corporal punishment, in the 2009-2010 school year that had increased to 26.
"One thing that we did notice is we're doing more paddling than we are suspending," she said. They call the parents, and if they want their child paddled instead of a timeout or sent home, that is what they do, she said.
A low percentage of students are referred or sent home, and counselor Brent Meadows is a rock star, she said of his work, adding the children love him.
They have several positive programs for the children, such as if a child is caught doing something good, his name is put in a pot and may be drawn for special recognition. The name of the winner is announced over the intercom and he gets special treats.
[...]
Crim said out of 610 students at HMS, only 122 or 20 percent of all students were referred to the office. However, number of referrals was 184.
Breaking down the 122, that is 34 percent white, 64 percent black and 2 percent Hispanic. There were 52 black boys and 26 black girls; 36 white boys and five white girls and three Hispanic boys. Total number of suspensions was seven black and eight white. Of the 95 students referred to In-School Suspension, 63 were black; 29 were white and three were Hispanic. Twelve children received corporal punishment.
Crim said HMS had experienced a significant decrease in the number of referrals, and the school's open door policy continues to keep discipline at a minimum. Assistant principal Robbie Benefield sponsors Youth for a Positive Change, which is active in mentoring and tutoring students, and positive incentives are offered every six weeks offering encouragement for students to do well.
On the negative side, there are still a disproportionate number of minority male students getting into trouble. Fifty-two minority male students were referred to the office, she said.
They will continue efforts to reach minority males before they have a problem and will continue programs to reach students before they make a bad decision. They will continue the mentoring program sponsored by Joe Ammons that has been successful the past couple of years and will encourage new students to enroll in the program, she said. Interestingly, the only grade with more black females referred than boys was the seventh grade with six boys and 10 girls. There were 144 infractions, sending 144 students to ISS.
Foster said the total number of office referrals at HHS was 153 and a total of 85 students were referred to the office. Of those 31 were black boys; 14 were black girls; 23 were white boys and 15 were white girls and two were Hispanic boys.
He said it is important to build a relationship with a student. Ammons' mentoring program with its volunteer mentors is outstanding, he said. He is excited about the counseling services such as Rainbow Family Services, he said.
Of the 435 students at HHS, only 20 percent received a referral to the office. Of those 45 students, 53 percent were black followed by 38 white students or 45 percent and two or 2 percent Hispanic.
There were 21 students externally suspended and only one student, a white boy, was expelled. ISS referrals reached a high of 120 in 2005-2006, dropping the next three years to a low of 77, trending upward to 85 in 2009-2010.
Marcum said Foster is doing a great job and providing a great transition.
At school board member Tim Hall's suggestion, the board stood up and clapped in respect for the principals' work with board member Penny Bradshaw expressing appreciation to them.
[...]
Copyright © 2010 The Randolph Leader
