Not Allowing a School to Administer Corporal Punishment

A parent e-mailed me as her child’s school began this fall, outraged at one of the forms she found in her packet: the “Corporal Punishment Parental Consent Form.” Her options: I do not give permission for the school to administer corporal punishment as a form of discipline to my child/children. I give permission for the school to administer corporal punishment as a form of discipline to my child/children. The parent, Wendy Chandler, checked the first box, and added some editorializing of her own (see the image above). Opting out was necessary, because “according to Leeds City Schools Public Policy, parents or legal guardians who do not want corporal punishment to be...