Bill prohibiting corporal punishment for special needs students heads to Gov. desk

Senate Bill 364 targeting corporal punishment for students with disabilities passed the House on Wednesday, and now heads to the Governors desk for consideration before it can be signed into law.

Where Oklahoma Stands on the Issue

Oklahoma is 1 of 17 states that still allow any form of corporal punishment in schools, which is the deliberate infliction of physical pain by any means as a form of discipline towards students. The bill would eliminate the method of discipline from being used towards special needs students across the state.

CEO of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy Joe Dorman explained how children in these categories don't respond well to this type of discipline, and many don't even understand why they're being hit.

"It's better to sit down and use data-driven scientific procedures. Timeouts, pulling the child aside, explaining the situation because often times these children don't understand what they did was something that was wrong." Dorman said. "It's been shown to be more effective in correcting behavior."

Out of the 512 school districts in Oklahoma, currently 125 still allow corporal punishment, which is about a quarter of the state.

23 members of the House did not vote on the bill, however it did pass out of the chamber.

"Most states have outlawed this," he said. "This would just make sure that this is applied statewide to ensure that those school employees can't give kids swats that are in a special needs category."

Official Statements

Speaker Pro Tem Anthony Moore, R-Clinton, was the House author of the legislation.

"We realize that some parents and some educators firmly believe in the value of corporal punishment as a deterrent to bad behavior," Moore said. "But we must protect our students that have a disability that would prohibit them from understanding why they are experiencing this type of punishment or for whom this punishment would be more harmful than corrective."

Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa is the Senate author of the bill.

“Children with disabilities who struggle with behavioral issues or impulse control should be met with patience and understanding, not physical discipline,” Rader said. “This bill gives our very fine Oklahoma educators clear guidance that corporal punishment is not acceptable when working with any students with disabilities."

Legislation on this issue has been pursued in past years. Both lawmakers expressed gratitude that this year's version was successful and are hopeful the governor will sign this into law.