Corporal Punishment

Nineteen states, including Texas and Florida, still allow physical punishment in schools—things like spanking or paddling. A bill was just introduced in Congress to prohibit corporal punishment in all schools that receive federal funding. It’s backed by a long list of children’s advocacy and civil rights groups, as well as the nation’s leading experts on how corporal punishment affects children. Elizabeth Gershoff, professor of human development and family sciences at the University of Texas at Austin, is one of those experts.