Corpun file 4499 at www.corpun.com

The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City, 13 September 1982

Look out, bad girls! Licks legal

Girls in the Bethany School system can be spanked, School Superintendent Gerald Dickerson said.

The Board of Education voted last week not to accept a previously approved policy stating high school-aged girls could not be touched by a member of the staff or faculty.

Bethany Schools will now follow state law on corporal punishment, Dickerson said. He said earlier reports about accepting the policy were a misunderstanding.

"That was the first reading of the policy," he said. "We did accept it on first reading, but it sort of got blown out of proportion."

The Board of Education studied the proposal at their August meeting.

The proposed policy stated that girls in grades nine through 12 could not be physically touched by a male or female member of the staff or faculty.

The day after that meeting Dickerson said, "In the past, we have just followed the state corporal punishment policy but we wanted to clarify this to the staff. We wanted them to know we don't think it's proper for any staff member, male or female, to have physical contact with any young female."

Dickerson also said he realized the policy was discriminatory since high school boys would continue to be disciplined but he said, "That's our policy. It's the way the board and staff feels about it. I think it expresses pretty well the board's ideas."

Corpun file 4473 at www.corpun.com

The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City, 20 September 1982

Commentary

Is "First reading" new phrase?

THIS MONTH'S Bethany School Board meeting saw an interesting turn around: last month's policy decision to not spank girls was voted down.

Superintendent Jerry Dickerson said the board voted and approved a corporal punishment policy last month "on first reading." Now Dickerson says the reports of early policy approval "was a misunderstanding."

The punishment policy stated that high school-aged girls could not be touched by a member of the staff or the faculty which meant rowdy girls could not be spanked, but boys caught for similar infractions could be punished.

Dickerson even admitted last month the policy would be discriminatory.

But this month's meeting saw the board reversing its earlier decision and aligning itself with the state law on corporal punishment which calls for equally dishing out swats for misbehaved students.

What's interesting is that the board's August agenda did not list the corporal punishment item as being on "first reading." Second, the term "being on first reading" is usually used by city councils acting on new ordinances for the first time.

It appears that publicity about the controversial and possibly discriminatory punishment policy probably brought pressure to bear upon Dickerson.

He said the issue "sort of got blown out of proportion." Indeed, this may be the case. Parents probably told Dickerson they didn't like to hear of girls getting away with mischief while not being liable for their actions. Boys at the school probably felt that way, too.

Dickerson's belief that staff members, male or female, should not have physical contact with young females is a belief with some merit.

But for the board to bend so easily under pressure and then attempt to coverup the earlier decision is a sign of a board that doesn't like to get in the spotlight.

Montgomery Advertiser, Alabama, 22 September 1982

Principal paddles football players

By Joe Simmons
Advertiser Staff Writer

McIntyre Junior High School principal Warren Davis IV denied that the reason he paddled most of the school's football team Tuesday was that the team has not won a game this year.

"That's not true. We had a little get-together to try to stimulate some interest. We did play with them to get them interested in the game," Davies said.

A teacher at the school told the Montgomery Advertiser that Davis called the players to the office and "whipped" them for not winning any games this year.