Corporal punishment is still used in 21 states, with over 109,000 students physically punished in U.S. classrooms during the 2013-14 school year. The practice, which is most common in the Southern states, has been proven detrimental in many ways —from causing neurological and psychological damage to perpetuating racial and socio-economic inequity.
PBS NewsHour recently reported on Education Week‘s newly published investigation, A Persistent Practice: Corporal Punishment in U.S. Schools, which looks at the prevalence and risks of this form of discipline. This powerful segment features Trey Clayton, a Mississippi man whose life was upended by the practice, followed by an interview with Education Week reporter Sarah D. Sparks, who discusses key findings from her reporting.
This video originally aired on PBS NewsHour on August 23, 2016.
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