Corporal punishment is legal in public schools in the U.S. to instill discipline

U.S Department of Education released a data on the excessive use of corporal punishment practiced to make children disciplined. In the 2013-2014 school year, greater than 160,000 children were the victims of corporal punishment. 

The punishment included striking a child with a wooden board or paddle which is legal in the public schools in 19 U.S states. Society for Research in Child Development published a new Social Policy Report of black children; boys and children with disabilities are more prone to this punishment.

The study presented in the report was conducted by Elizabeth T. Gershoff of the University of Texas at Austin and Sarah A. Font of Penn State University. It analyzes data gathered by the Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education from 36,942 public schools in all 4,460 districts in the 19 states where school corporal punishment is legal. The study assessed which states and school districts are utilizing corporal punishment, and which children are punished using corporal punishment within these public schools.