That places the state at the top of a national ranking for use of corporal punishment. Arkansas was ranked second for paddling an estimated 10.8 percent of students followed by Alabama with 6.3 percent. The 1997 statistics are the most recent available, the study says. We believe that discipline begins in the mind, not the behinds. The National Coalition to Abolish Corporal Punishment in Schools assisted in the Department of Education's biannual corporal punishment ranking that surveys 25 percent of school districts in each state and then computes statewide projections based on survey results.
State law allows corporal punishment in public school.
However, the state Department of Education has no guidelines on paddling and leaves the decision up to the districts. Judging from the fact that Brookhaven High doesn't paddle students, junior Brandon Van Hall said that the 12.4 percent estimate seems high. But when he conjures up memories from his days at Brookhaven Elementary, it's understandable, he said. I'm not exaggerating. I mean, it was constant.