Georgia Charter School Is Bringing Back Paddling

'In this school, we take discipline very seriously'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 11, 2018 2:44 AM CDT
Georgia Charter School Is Bringing Back Paddling
The paddle will be 24 inches in length, six inches in width and 3/4 inches in thickness, the form states.   (PicFreak/Wikipedia)

The Georgia School for Innovation and the Classics says there is now "one more tool that we have in our disciplinary toolbox"—a paddle to hit misbehaving children with. The K-9 charter school in Hephzibah says it is bringing back paddling as a form of punishment, though it doesn't plan to use it without the consent of parents, CBS reports. School officials say they sent consent forms home with children and got around 100 back, with around a third of parents who responded giving them permission to paddle. "In this school, we take discipline very seriously," says Superintendent Jody Boulineau. "There was a time where corporal punishment was kind of the norm ... and you didn't have the problems that you have."

Boulineau says there has been a wide range of responses from parents, from total approval to "Oh my goodness I can't believe you are doing that." After a third offense, the student will "be taken into an office behind closed doors," a consent form obtained by WRDW states. "The student will place their hands on their knees or piece of furniture and will be struck on the buttocks with a paddle," the form states, adding that "no more than three licks should be given" with the 24-inch wooden paddle. Students whose parents who do not consent to paddling—which is still legal in Georgia and 19 other states—will be given five-day suspensions instead. (Alabama paddled 19,000 children in a single year.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X