Corporal punishment is still legal in 19 states out of 51 (adding DC)! The 19 states are basically the Confederacy (minus Virginia) plus Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky, Colorado, Kansas, Idaho, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Arizona. Texas law defines  permissible corporal punishment as, “…the deliberate infliction of physical pain by hitting, paddling, spanking, slapping, or any other physical force used as a means of discipline.” If a parent used something besides their own hand out in public, I think most people would be upset, and might even do something to stop it. But in the schools, the paddle (think of college fraternity hazing) is generally used in the upper grade levels.

Looking at a map, there appears a strong correlation between the persistence of corporal punishment and what is commonly termed “conservative values”, which is unsurprising. Both are also often also correlated with evangelical church membership and Republican voting results.

What IS surprising to me is that only TWO states, New Jersey and Iowa, extend state-level protection to their private schools, meaning beating the buttocks with a paddle is allowed in private schools in 49 states, and public schools in 19. We have to do something about exemptions for religion-based discrimination, and tax and public health evasion, but let’s add child abuse to the list.

Here is the article from the PMC/NCBI/NLM/NIH (that last one is the National Institutes of Health)