Utah State House Still Aloows School Beatings (Salt Lake City, Hinckley: renting, school districts)

[rakovskii]

According to a Salt Lake Tribune article Weird Laws Clutter the Utah Code Utah parents can give written permission to teachers to hit their children even though none of Utah's public school do it. (Dan Harrie and Judy Fahys, January 18, 1998).

The law was passed in 1992 and says:

A school employee may not inflict or cause the infliction of corporal punishment upon a child who is receiving services from the school, unless written permission has been given by the student's parent or guardian to do so.

UTAH LAW 53A-11-802
www.le.state.ut.us/~code/TITLE53A/htm/53A0C034.htm

In other words, who ever a child lives with- be it an adoptive parent, step-parent, or uncle- can tell teachers to hit the child with a thick board leaving redness and welts. The thick board is called a "paddle" and was invented to beat slaves.

Since the end of slavery in 1865 America's schools and institutions have step by step abolished corporal punishment. Hundreds of global and US organizations like the United Nations, the US Parent and Teacher Association, and the National Association of State Boards of Education have passed resolutions against corporal punishment. They believe students have the same right to be protected from physical violence as do wives, animals, and criminals.

According to Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, "the LDS church has consistently discouraged this approach to child rearing. President Hinckley: "called physical abuse of children unnecessary, unjustified and indefensible." He said: "I have never accepted the principle of 'spare the rod and spoil the child.' I am persuaded that violent fathers produce violent sons. Children don't need beating. They need love and encouragement." (http://www.religioustolerance.org/lds_intr.htm)


Then in 1997 the Utah Senate tried to ban school beatings completely.

The Salt Lake City Tribune wrote an excellent editorial supporting the proposal. It explained that beating students in front of their peers "implies they are less worthy of respect, less human than those whose whose parents say "keep your hands off my child."
"Hands Off Those Students," 23 January 1997, http://www.corpun.com/ussc9701.htm

But when the Senate sent the bill to the Utah House, the House disagreed and the bill died.


Now 10 years later the state Office of Education has a regulation against beating students but it does not override the law allowing beatings with guardian permission. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance stated in a 2006 report that while it is not practiced, some school districts "do not have a formal ban in place."

While school staff may be under the impression that it is illegal, some districts are still printing handbooks saying teachers can beat students with permission.

For example, the Salt Lake Tribune reported that San Juan School District's school board unanimously opposed the idea of ending school beatings. Its handbook states:

SAFE SCHOOLS POLICY

A school employee may not inflict or cause the infliction of corporal punishment upon a student who is receiving services from the school unless written permission has been given by the student’s parent or guardian to do so. This applies to students under the age of eighteen (18), or under the age of twenty three(23) if the student is receiving educational services as an individual with a disability.

http://www.sanjuan.k12.ut.us/Policy/6000/6500/6510.htm

Kane School District's handbook has the same policy.
http://www.kane.k12.ut.us/html/policiesA.htm

How is beating students with thick wooden board part of a "Safe School?"
And safe for who? Teachers who can't handle students criticizing them to their friends?

What kind of school lets guardians give permission to beat 22 year old disabled students?


On top of the disgusting policies of certain public schools, Utah's law and State Board regulations have no effect on school beatings in private schools. In fact, the government does not collect statistics on hitting in private schools, so there is no way to know for sure whether it is being used. Several teenagers have died in youth boot camps in Utah.

In 2006 SURVEY USA found that only a tiny minority - 15% - of Utah citizens supported corporal punishment in school. Why should their unfortunate children be humiliated in front of their protected classmates?

The poll's results show that Utah legislators have a responsibility to enforce the will of the overwhelming majority of its citizens and free children once and for all from the threat of school beatings.


NOTES:

"Hands Off Those Students," Salt Lake City Tribune, January 23 1997
http://www.corpun.com/ussc9701.htm

Utah House Education Committee,
Representative Gregory H. Hughes, Chair
Republican - District 51
http://www.le.state.ut.us/house/members2005/bios2005.asp?id=51

For the other members, click on Committee Membership: http://www.le.state.ut.us/asp/Interim/Commit.asp?Year=2007&Com=HSTEDU

ON THE CHURCH OF LATTER DAY SAINTS' OPPOSITION TO CORPORAL PUNISHMENT:

On the Matter of Spanking by Glenn I. Latham , http://deseretbook.com/mormon-life/news/story?story_id=754
Joseph F Smith's biography , http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/people/joseph_fielding_smith.html
Parenting the Lord's Way by Allen Leigh , http://www.shire.net/mormon/parent.html
The Book of Mormon's Opposition to Corporal Punisment , an essay , http://www.nopaddle.com/frames.asp?ch=11&se=127 <===(click next page at the bottom to go to the next page of the essay)
Discipline and the Plan of Salvation by Nola Redd , http://lds.families.com/blog/discipline-and-the-plan-of-salvation

[SergeantL]

I assume you will not give permission to your child's school to use the paddle.

[Purplegrapes]

Lol Flashback!...I remember the paddle the principle used to keep in his office when I was a kid...A big wooden paddle with holes in it ...Luckily I never got to meet it, but I heard of kids that did!...I think the same principals in Ca. would get arrested if they tried that today....Ohhh I bet I just showed my age * wink

[TopKnot]

Thanks for your opin on how you feel about the use of spanking for "your" children. Not sure where slavery and option to use spanking as a discipline tool in todays world comes into play though. Detracts from your message and made me want to click away from your post.

As with any type of discipline or any of behaviour for that matter, there is a line one should never cross. Hopefully our government knows better than to legislate my rights to discipline my children as I see fit...within moral standards of course. (had to put that statement in there for the politically correct police)

I'm glad you find this subject so important you are willing to stand up and state your opinion. But if you are looking for supporters to join the "outlaw spanking" lobby, you will not find one in me. Just like others will not find a supporter in me for outlawing smoking, drinking, eating unhealth food or any of the other "politically correct" madness that is taking over our political scene in the US.

[coolcats]

when I was in grade school, I lived in Texas for a year. The public school teachers regularly used paddles on students (never on me though!). That was in the 80's.

[trsgrv]

Well, it seems bad, but it may be better than in other states where the teachers have absolutely no control over classrooms because of constant lawsuits, which leads to aggression toward teachers and other students because these kids know that the teachers can't do anything about it. I think safety is better than that. And I doubt that in a country with constant lawsuits that teachers can abuse this policy.

[rakovskii]

TOPKNOT,

You can learn more about the connection between beatings with wooden boards called "paddles" and slavery on the website www.nopaddle.com.

TRSGRV,

I understand that you do not like to see teachers have a hard time when students are late to class. I disagree that teachers are powerless if they are not allowed to beat up students. This is the psychology of a barbaric savage with no idea of how to manage people with respect.

Beating students with thick boards though is a criminal act when applied to adults. Imagine if you got beatings for lateness to work.

Beating students when put into law is very hard to sue for. If courts cannot be the recourse for justice to prevent violent school beatings, how will the victims find justice? What if a father decides not to give permission for beatings when the mother does give permission? The Utah schools will have a signed note of permission to beat the student, and can legally do it. This is the law Utah's representatives have created against the will of the people.


What is your answer, citizens of Utah, for the conduct of your representatives?

[sofam]

Didn't they pass some sort of school choice measure in the last session? Sounds like a solution to me. Maybe if you hadn't used such inflammatory rhetoric you would have received more thoughtful responses. Maybe I would be more concerned for my grandkids if I saw all those beaten students being transported to the hospitals on a daily basis.

[seinitoa]

Think maybe it would keep the kids from having sex in the classroom----bend over!!! ...LOL....

[Elder_Shawn]

My parents went old school Korean on my backside growing up....excellent way to learn cause and effect. I believe hey learned it from the Japanese.