A charter school in Georgia sent parents "consent to paddle" forms for their kids. As of last week, more than 100 families agreed the school did not have to spare the rod.
"In this school, we take discipline very seriously," Jody Boulineau, superintendent of the Georgia School for Innovation and the Classics, told WRDW
The K-9 school in Hephzibah, GA set down pretty specific rules for paddling, including taking the child into an office behind closed doors and having them place their hands on their knees or a piece of furniture before they are struck on the buttocks with a wooden paddle no more than three times.
Boulineau told WRDW that reaction has ranged from "'Great, it's about time, 'we're so glad that this is happening again, they should've never taken it out of schools'. All the way to 'oh my goodness I can't believe you are doing that'."
Twenty states still allow paddling in schools, but don't expect it to show up here — Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware do not allow corporal punishment in schools, although parents are not barred from using it at home.
A study published last year, however, suggests there are negative long-term effects on a child subjected to physical discipline by a parent.
"As expected based on previous research, children who were slapped or spanked at the age of two were more likely to show later problems with aggression and attention," an article in Psychology Today said.
