Parents Sue Over Use of Corporal Punishment in School
A Mississippi family claims that their son came home from school with injuries after getting paddled by a school official, and now they are suing. Following the paddling, the 14-year-old fainted, split his chin open and broke his jaw. Lawyers for the school district are denying all of these allegations.
Paddling is legal in 19 states in the U.S., including Mississippi.
Mark Eiglarsh and Rachel Self debated whether the family has a case on today’s Happening Now.
Eiglarsh thinks the fact that the U.S. still has corporal punishment is “nothing short of draconian.” He said the best argument the family has is that their Equal Protection Clause, part of the 14th Amendment, was violated because
a disproportionate number of African-American males are being disciplined in this manner.
In this particular case, Self stated that the child did not suffer the most severe injuries as a result of corporal punishment and said that the 14-year-old’s parents okayed the action before it was done. She continued saying that this punishment happened on a Thursday, and the child was taken to the hospital on Friday.
“There’s a lot more to this story than everyone actually realizes,” Self said.
Eiglarsh said, “The point is, as a result of this, the child suffered injury.”
