Corporal punishment regulations of individual schools or school districts

Most external links on this page are to documents in PDF format, so this is no longer indicated [PDF] separately for each document.

TEXAS: public school districts A to M

Notes:

(1) "ISD" = Independent School District

(2) This section no longer mentions when handbooks state that parents may opt out of CP, since that is now Texas law for all public schools.

(3) Where paddling statistics are cited, they come from the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights online database, unless otherwise stated.

(4) Texas public CHARTER schools are deemed for CP purposes to be private schools and listed on this separate page.

(5) Texas law makes school attendance compulsory from age 6 to age 19. With very few exceptions, public High Schools in Texas are for grades 9 through 12 (ages c. 15 through 19). "Junior High" (or "Middle School") generally means grades 5 through 8. Elementary school typically covers grades K through 4.

(6) School years are presented in the form 2018/19, meaning the 12 months from August 2018 to late spring 2019.

• Agua Dulce ISD
Corporal punishment is a disciplinary option for minor offenses.

• Alba-Golden ISD, Alba
Paddling may be administered by a teacher as well as by the Principal or Assistant Principal. This is the secondary handbook. The elementary handbook does not mention CP.

• Albany ISD
There is no box for parents to check whether or not they allow CP: those who object to it must take the trouble to write a separate letter. Paddling is mentioned in particular as a penalty for using telecommunications devices.

• Alpine ISD
Parents who do not give permission for CP must agree to pick up the student within 30 minutes of being notified.

• Alto ISD
 • Alto High School
 • Alto Middle School
CP is to be provided by the principal, assistant principal or district administrator, not by teachers.
  At the Middle School, "if corporal punishment is not allowed, the student will be sent to ISS".
  Stats: In 2000/01 and 2004/05, no CP was recorded at Alto High School. The district was not included during the next two survey years, but in 2011/12, 22 boys in grades 9 through 12 received spankings. This increased to 39 boys in 2013/14.

• Alvarado ISD
 • Student Handbook
The pan-district policy document has since 2017 included a same-sex requirement for paddling.
  New in 2019, the handbook spells out that "Elementary campuses do not offer corporal punishment as a disciplinary consequence".
  See also this March 2011 news report that CP was used 107 times in the district in the 2009/10 school year, and that parents were contacted beforehand.
  In this May 2011 news item (with video clip), a paddled student describes the formal procedure ("they bend you over a chair and they pop you twice"), and the superintendent observes that it is usually the student him- or herself who asks to receive a paddling rather than be put in the "alternative classroom". The video states that most of the spanking in Alvarado ISD takes place at the senior high school.
  This Sep 2012 news item (with video clip) adds that CP is not used at the elementary level. A senior who has been "bent over a chair" on several occasions at the High School says "it does hurt pretty bad". Most paddlings are for minor infractions such as being tardy, and "three pops" are usually offered in lieu of other punishment. The High School principal shows his paddle to the camera.
  See also this Dec 2012 news item, which confirmed that there is no CP at the elementary level.
  Stats 1: At Alvarado Junior High School, in 2009/10, five boys were paddled; during 2011/12, only two boys were paddled. But at the High School (grades 9 through 12), 60 boys were spanked on at least one occasion in 2009/10. Then in 2011/12, 73 boys and 31 girls received swats on at least one occasion, increasing in 2013/14 to 85 boys and 35 girls. This increased yet further in 2015/16 to 99 boys and 45 girls, in a total of 318 spanking sessions for a student population in grades 9-12 of some 1,040. Clearly paddling is a routine part of everyday life at the senior high school. No CP was recorded at either of the elementary schools in 2015/16.
  Stats 2: During 2017/18 there were 247 instances of posterial chastisement at the senior high school, involving 94 male and 22 female beneficiaries.

• Anahuac ISD
 • Athletic Policy Handbook
In 2015 the Anahuac Athletic Department decided to introduce stricter discipline, for minor offenses, in the form of "Corporal Punishment (POP -- Piece of Pine)", initially for all athletes (grades 7 through 12) but from 2017 for males only ("Corporal Punishment is only for boys") (see pages 17 and 28). From 2018, the maximum number of "pops" per day that an athlete may receive was increased from two to three.
  Stats: See this Nov 2014 item, reporting that (before the stricter athletic policy was introduced) Anahuac ISD had an "annual CP rate" of only 3%.

• Anderson-Shiro CISD
As from 2018 it is no longer required that the person administering the paddle be of the same sex as the student being disciplined.

• Andrews ISD
 • Andrews Education Center
 • Andrews Middle School
The Education Center is an "Alternative" campus for grades 10 through 12, with especially strict rules: "THE STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT AND DRESS CODE WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED!" (caps as original). "Corporal punishment (paddling)" is one of the disciplinary consequences.
  At the Middle School, a second dress code violation attracts one day of detention or one swat; a third, two days or two swats. CP is also provided for chewing gum, and for a 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th tardy in a six-week period.
  There is also a high-school handbook but it makes no mention of CP (which is odd, since we know the paddle is used at the High School). This is also true of the handbook for the three elementary schools.
  Stats: During 2013/14, 5 boys received swats at Andrews High School. In 2015/16 this increased to 20 boys.
  History: See this Dec 1987 news item about Andrews ISD adopting standard dimensions for its paddles.

• Anton ISD [DOC]
In grades 3 through 12, "swats" may be provided for a 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th office referral for any offense as an alternative to Lunch Detention. "Corporal Punishment will be administered by the Administrators or the Superintendent only." At elementary level, a fourth or fifth referral brings a choice of one swat or one day in ISS.
  Stats: No CP was recorded at Anton School during 2013/14; 11 boys were spanked there in 2015/16.

• Apple Springs ISD [DOC]
Paddling is an option. Toward a discretionary DAEP assignment, students receive one point per occurrence of paddling.
  Stats: During 2015/16, 11 boys received swats at Apple Springs High School.

• Aransas County ISD, Rockport-Fulton
 • Athletic Handbook
A same-sex requirement here was introduced in 2011, but in 2014 the Superintendent said, "While I agree that it is best that a male administrator does not paddle a female student, I do not see a problem with a female administrator paddling a male student". The board decided to abolish the same-sex requirement.
  In athletics, the paddle may be used in minor cases of hazing or horseplay. In previous versions only male athletes could be so disciplined under this provision, but female athletes may now be spanked too.
  Stats: No CP was recorded at Rockport-Fulton High School during 2000/01, 2006/07 and 2009/10. But in 2011/12, 10 boys and 2 girls received swats on at least one occasion.

• Athens ISD
 • South Athens Elementary School
 • Athens High School
 • Athens Middle School
Board policy was changed in 2013 so that only the witness, and no longer the person wielding the paddle, must be of the same sex as the student.
  See also this Sep 2013 news item about the change of policy mentioned above.
  Stats: During 2011/12, no CP was recorded at Athens High School. Two years later, in 2013/14, 19 boys and 5 girls received swats on one or more occasions. Then in 2015/16, the number of spanked high-school boys doubled to 38, but no girls received swats.

• Atlanta ISD, Texas
 • Middle School Campus Improvement Plan
"Possible corporal punishment with parental notification" is a consequence at steps 2 and 3 of the disciplinary guidelines.
  The 2015/16 Campus Improvement Plan for the middle school says "when possible corporal punishment will be utilized to limit removals from class".
  Stats: 12 boys and 2 girls received paddlings in 2011/12.

• Avery ISD
There is an opt-in/opt-out form at page 7. Parents wishing to opt out of CP must do so within ten days of the start of classes.
  Stats: 13 boys and 2 girls received formal spankings at Avery High School in 2011/12.

• Avinger ISD
Corporal punishment may be meted out for a first offense of truancy, smoking, public display of affection, or forgery; and for a second offense of minor classroom disruption, office referral from a substitute teacher, defiance, or being out of class without a pass. In most of these cases, the punishment is 3 swats. This is a longer list of spankable offenses than in earlier versions of the handbook.

• Ballinger ISD
This district in May 2015 deleted a same-sex requirement for paddling.
  Stats: 13 boys received swats at Ballinger High School in 2011/12.

• Bangs ISD
 • Bangs Dragon Athletic Handbook
This district assigns points for each office punishment, at the rate of one point per paddle swat or per day of ISS. When the student reaches 18 points in one semester, he/she is automatically placed in DAEP. For instance, "Student receives two (2) swats then two (2) points are assigned".
  "In the Bangs Athletic Program, we believe in the effectiveness and efficiency of corporal punishment." Spanking is performed by the Athletic Director only. Foul language by athletes is dealt with by "Swats, Bear Crawls or Halo's". The student must sign his or her acceptance of this disciplinary regime.

• Banquete ISD
 • Athletic Handbook
 • Banquete Cheerleader Constitution
"Paddling", alone or in combination with various training drills such as "Laps around track", is one of the "Opportunities for Improvement" (OFIs) for Banquete athletes. OFIs are punishments for infractions of the team rules.
  From 2017, cheerleaders who get a spanking also receive five demerits.

• Barbers Hill ISD
CP is available at all grade levels. It is particularly mentioned as a consequence for Level II violations (e.g. fighting, damaging property).
  Stats: 52 students were paddled here in 2013, according to this Dec 2016 news item.

• Beaumont ISD
Here, a same-sex requirement was revoked in 2013.
  Stats 1: See news items from Aug 2008 and May 2012. According to the latter, the paddle was used on 546 occasions in Beaumont schools in the first 9 months of 2011/12, for a total enrollment of 19,817. Of these spankings, 207 took place at South Park Middle School. The article also describes the two-swat chastisement of a 17-year-old footballer at Ozen High School by his coach for failing grades in fall 2011, a punishment the youth agreed had had the desired effect. It was one of 54 paddlings at this grade 9-12 school in the first nine months of that year.
  Stats 2: See this Nov 2014 news report (with video clip) that the Superintendent wanted to abolish CP. In fact usage fell to zero in the 2013/14 statistics for all of the district's schools, but that Superintendent was replaced, and paddling returned shortly thereafter. During 2015/16, 31 boys and 5 girls were spanked at Central Senior High School, 47 boys and 8 girls at Ozen High School, and 23 boys and 2 girls at West Brook Senior High School.

• Beckville ISD
"Teachers will have the option of administering corporal punishment" for Class I offenses. CP is not mentioned in respect of more serious violations. In grades 9 through 12, paddling is specifically provided for a fourth or fifth tardy as an alternative to lunch detention. For a 6th tardy, the penalty is "2 detentions or 2 corporal punishments". It is not clear whether this means two swats or, as seems more likely, two sessions of CP (number of swats unstated).

• Beeville ISD
 • Corporal Punishment Form
CP was reintroduced here in 2017 after a lapse of many years. Local sources confirm that Beeville High School (grades 9-12) is now spanking girls and boys. All the parental forms are now electronic.

• Bellevue ISD
This July 2017 news report (with video clip) clarifies that it is always the student's choice to receive corporal punishment, subject to parental approval.

• Bellville ISD
 • Bellville High School
Corporal punishment "is permitted in order to preserve an effective educational environment, free from disruption". It is particularly mentioned for Class D offenses (the least serious).
  Stats: During 2011/12, 15 boys were spanked at the high school.

• Big Sandy ISD, Upshur County
 • Big Sandy High School
 • Big Sandy Junior High School
Not to be confused with another Big Sandy ISD, in Dallardsville.
  Big Sandy High School no longer operates a demerit points system. But new in 2018 came paddling for tardies, in grades 9 through 12 only: for a second and third tardy in a six-week period, the consequence is now "Detention or swats".
  At the Junior High School, the demerit points system continues: each time a student gets a spanking, he or she receives three points. For comparison, detention brings two points per day, suspension four points per day.

• Big Spring ISD
 • Various forms
 • Athletic Handbook
 • Big Spring High School
 • High School Unexcused Absences
 • Big Spring Junior High School
Two items are of interest in the package of forms. One, the student referral form, requiring the Administrator to enter for each paddling the number of swats and the name of the witness; this must also be signed by the parent. The other item is the student permission form, where parents whose students are NOT to be paddled must certify that "I agree to pick up my child within 30 minutes after I have been called". This form has to be signed by the student as well as the parent.
  For student athletes, "the Athletic Director has discretion to assess penalties [...] including corporal punishment, physical conditioning, suspension, and/or removal from the athletic program".
  At the Junior High School, "1 swat" is the penalty for the fourth, fifth and sixth tardy in a semester. The alternative in each case is after-school detention.
  The (senior) High School does not offer an explicit paddling option for tardies, but does permit CP in general.
  Spankings for truancy are offered in grades 9 through 12. The Unexcused Absences form, new in 2016, provides for one paddle swat on the second such absence, two swats on the third, and three swats for all subsequent absences. These are in lieu, variously, of detention, FNS (Friday Night School) or ISS. The student him- or herself must sign the form each time. There is a similar document for the Junior High School.
  See also this Oct 2016 news item, reporting that Big Spring ISD abolished a same-sex requirement at the elementary level, so that female staff may spank boys and male staff may spank girls.
  Stats: 66 male and 15 female students received at least one spanking at the (senior) High School in school year 2011/12. For 2013/14 the figure was very similar: 70 male and 9 female students were paddled. Two years later (2015/16) the figures were 45 boys and 6 girls, for a total of 66 instances, while at the Junior High school, 53 boys and 23 girls received a total of 117 spankings.

• Blanco ISD
 • Handbook Acknowledgment Form
The handbook acknowledgment form, which the student as well as a parent must sign, makes clear that CP is for "serious offenses or persistent discipline problems". If permission for paddling is withheld, the student is suspended and the parent must undertake to come to the school to take custody of him or her.

• Bloomburg ISD [DOC]
There is a Discipline Management Plan. At Step Three ("referral to principal") and any subsequent steps, CP "can also be considered" instead of escalating amounts of ISS, suspension or DAEP. This reference to a paddling option was new in 2014.
  Stats: During 2015/16, 10 boys were paddled at Bloomburg High School.

• Blue Ridge ISD
 • Blue Ridge Elementary School
 • Blue Ridge High School
 • Athletic Handbook
At the Elementary School, specific parental consent is needed before a student is paddled. This is not the case at the High School.
  Sports coaches may use CP as a discipline option in the athletic program, but the athlete him- or herself, as well as the parent, may request an alternative punishment, so athletes are never spanked against their will. However, "Any athlete receiving ISS on the day of an athletic competition is ineligible to participate in that competition", and "An athlete receiving ISS on the days prior to an athletic competition is subject to loss of playing time based on the head coach's discretion", so there is a strong incentive to opt for the paddling if offered, rather than ISS.
  Stats: During 2011/12, nine boys and two girls received one or more paddlings at Blue Ridge High School.

• Blum ISD
Corporal punishment here is no longer confined to the least serious offenses. It "will be administered as soon as possible after an offense". See p.5 for the student/parent release form.
  See also these minutes of a School Board meeting (Dec 2011) at which it was decided to rescind previous language requiring the person administering CP to be of the same sex as the student, so now lady teachers may spank boys and male teachers may spank girls.
  History: See this Dec 2006 news item about the "sting of the football coach's paddle" at Blum High School.

• Boling ISD
CP is listed #3 under Level I Disciplinary Options, #1 under Level II, and #2 under Level III. In all cases, "one or more consequences may be used for each offense".
  Stats: 51 boys were paddled at Boling High School (grades 9 through 12) in 2011/12, an increase from 35 boys in 2000/01.

• Bovina ISD
In January 2015 this district abolished a same-sex requirement for paddling.
  Stats: No CP was recorded at Bovina High School in 2009/10. Two years later, 10 students were spanked.

• Brazos ISD
 • Brazos High School
 • Brazos Middle School
 • Cheerleader/Mascot Handbook
At both High and Middle schools, students lose field-trip privileges if they receive three or more swats during the school year.
  To be eligible to run for Student Council at the Middle School, a student "must not have been assigned to DAEP, must not have spent more than three days in ISS, must not have received three spankings ..." and, if elected, he or she will be removed from the position if he or she then receives more than "three spankings" (previously "three swats").
  For cheerleaders, "In-school discipline problems resulting in ISS, Saturday School, Swats or Suspension may result in dismissal from the cheer program".

• Brazosport ISD (covers Clute, Freeport, Lake Jackson, Richwood)
Here, the student being disciplined is invited to say if there is any "family or medical" reason why he or she should not be paddled.

• Bremond ISD
 • Bremond Tiger Athletic Code
This district has a maximum "at any one time" of three swats, though unusually here they are called "strikes". CP is an option for Level I and Level II offenses.
  Since the 2013/14 school year, paddling is used for the discipline of student athletes. Student athletes who receive assignments to ISS or AEP may expect to also be spanked by their coach or the Athletic Director. The student as well as a parent must sign to acknowledge these rules.
  Stats: From 2006/07 through 2013/14, no CP was recorded at any of the district's three schools. Then, Bremond ISD introduced its male teenage students to the paddle. During 2015/16, ten boys at the High School, and seven boys at the Middle School, received swats. Spanking was not introduced at the elementary school. This reflects what appears to be a growing consensus in Texas in favor of using CP more for older students (albeit in this case only boys) and less, or not at all, for younger ones.

• Brenham ISD
 • Brenham High School -- Handbook
The board policy stipulates a "maximum of three licks at any one time".
  History: See this 2005 local news item quoting the district's Assistant Superintendent as saying that "corporal punishment is effective. I think it is a great deterrent for a lot of students".
  See also, as regards Alton Elementary School, this Feb 2009 news item.

• Bridgeport ISD
 • Bridgeport Middle School
 • Bridgeport High School
Standard language, but what is interesting is that this district explicitly abolished CP in 2011. Paddling was reintroduced at the Middle School in 2013, and at the High School in 2015.

• Brock ISD
Corporal punishment is provided for all offenses except Level IV (the most serious). Parents do not appear to be informed of their right to object to CP.
  Stats: During 2011/12, no students were paddled at Brock High School. BHS then introduced CP: 14 boys in grades 9-12 received official spankings during 2013/14.

• Brookeland ISD
It is no longer stated here that the parent "may be required to come to the school within a reasonable timeframe to administer the corporal punishment personally". The reference to "3 pops or 3 after-school detentions" also seems to have gone.
  However, the present document does say that "the Board of Trustees realizes that it [CP] is necessary under certain conditions" (see page 20).
  Stats: No CP was recorded in 2000/01. The next time the district was surveyed, for the 2011/12 school year, 15 boys and 4 girls received a spanking on at least one occasion.

• Brownsboro ISD
 • Brownsboro High School
 • Teacher Handbook
"1 day ISS or 2 swats" was already the penalty at the High School (grades 9-12) for a fifth minor discipline violation. In 2016/17, paddling was extended to cover a fourth such violation, as an alternative to Saturday School or ISS. Also new, "Failure to attend Saturday School will result in 1 day of ISS or swats".
  The Teacher Handbook gives CP as the first in a list of disciplinary consequences that the Assistant Principal may impose.
  Stats: In 2011/12, no CP was recorded at any of the district's schools. During 2013/14, this remained the case at the junior high school. But the paddle was brought into active use at Brownsboro High School, 78 boys and 9 girls receiving spankings on one or more occasions. By incorporating CP in the high school's disciplinary program, ISS figures dropped by 24% from 2011/12 to 2013/14, and out-of-school suspensions also fell. The high school's emphasis on spanking has continued, with 73 boys and 11 girls receiving swats on at least one occasion in 2015/16.

• Brownwood ISD
In 2004 this district reintroduced paddling after a lapse of 8 years. It is "used at the discretion of the campus principal" for level II or III offenses but not levels I, IV, V or VI. Parental permission is required. CP is not used at the elementary/intermediate level.
  Stats: During 2009/10, 50 boys and 15 girls were paddled on one or more occasions at Brownwood High School.
  History 1: See this Aug 2002 news report quoting the mother of two Brownwood High School students supporting the reintroduction of paddling; and this Aug 2004 item reporting the trustees' 6-1 vote to reinstate CP, overruling the superintendent's recommendation against it.
  History 2: See this March 2011 newsletter, reporting an increase in the use of paddling at Brownwood Middle School and, possibly as a consequence, a sharp fall in disciplinary incidents from 663 to 313.
  History 3: See this Feb 2012 news item referring to Brownwood High School, where the principal said that the paddle keeps students in line.

• Bruceville-Eddy ISD [DOC]
A strange policy here. "Students, with parent permission, may choose to exchange two swats for BEC or Saturday School one time per YEAR. No student will be given swats twice in the same YEAR." BEC is the local name for in-school suspension. This is the high-school handbook; the junior high school uses identical language.

• Buna ISD -- Board Policy
 • Student Handbook
 • Buna High School Athletic Department Policies
The pan-district Student Handbook says that CP is a possible consequence of misbehavior. A same-sex requirement was recently deleted.
  In athletics, corporal punishment is one of the discipline techniques that may be used alone or in combination with other techniques when an athlete violates the Student Code of Conduct.
  See also this May 2012 news item, noting there were 93 paddlings at Buna schools in the first 9 months of 2011/12; and see this Nov 2014 news item.

• Burkeville ISD [DOC]
This district had a same-sex requirement for CP, but abolished it in 2013.

• Bushland ISD
This district emphasizes in bold that the student as well as the parent takes part in the paddling decision: "Corporal punishment, in BISD schools, may be given as a disciplinary option as decided in collaboration with the parent/guardian, the student, and an administrator. It will never be administered without prior contact with and consent from a parent/guardian".
  Stats: During 2015/16, two boys received CP at Bushland Elementary School, but 49 boys and 11 girls were spanked on one or more occasions at Bushland High School, an increase on the 33 boys and 7 girls spanked there in 2013/14. These 60 students chose the paddling option on 86 occasions.

• Caddo Mills ISD
This handbook mentions CP in particular as a response to a third instance of "inappropriate behavior".
  History: See this Nov 2007 news item and this Dec 2007 follow-up about a 15-year-old student, pictured, who photographed his own buttocks after receiving a 3-swat spanking at Caddo Mills High School.
  Stats: During 2013/14, 15 boys received a paddling on at least one occasion at Caddo Mills High School.

• Calallen ISD, Corpus Christi
 • Calallen High School
The High School (re)introduced corporal punishment in the 2015/16 school year. There had been no mention of CP for grades 9 through 12 in earlier versions. At the same time, the district formally adopted an "opt-in" policy for CP, rather than the more common "opt-out" system. It also rescinded an earlier same-sex rule.
  History: See this Feb 2011 news item, according to which Calallen ISD was already using the opt-in method in practice.

• Calhoun County ISD (covers Port Lavaca, Port O'Connor, Seadrift)
"Corporal punishment is a disciplinary technique that is very effective for some children."
  There used to be a separate handbook for Calhoun High (grades 9-12), spelling out that students are offered a spanking in lieu of detention or ISS and encouraging parents to allow this. That language now seems to have disappeared.
  Stats: During 2011/12, 70 boys and 29 girls were paddled on one or more occasions. In 2013/14 these figures grew to 116 boys and 38 girls.

• Callisburg ISD
 • Athletic Handbook
"Level I offenses will most often result in a warning, corporal punishment or a detention". Students may only take corporal punishment twice per semester. There is a special policy for a first cell phone violation: "Student's phone will be taken to office where the student may choose one of the following options: Pay $15.00 fine, 2 Swats, or phone will remain locked up for 72 hours".
  Members of sports teams must sign their acceptance of the Athletic Handbook and all its discipline techniques, one of which is corporal punishment. This was new in 2013.
  Stats: No CP was recorded at Callisburg High School during 2013/14, but in 2015/16, 21 boys and 4 girls received spankings.

• Calvert ISD
 • Calvert Trojans Athletic Code
Students may be paddled for a third, fourth and fifth tardy per semester.
  Members of sports teams placed in ISS or DAEP "can expect discipline that may include corporal punishment".
  Stats: During 2000/01, five boys were paddled at Calvert High School. By 2011/12 this had increased to 36 boys and 12 girls.
  See also this Nov 2014 news item, according to which 31% of the students in the district were officially spanked in 2011/12.

• Campbell ISD
CP is specifically mentioned for dress code and/or grooming violations.

• Canton ISD
 • Canton High School
CP may be used for minor and intermediate offenses. Students may also be paddled for "Failure to accept or adhere to prescribed punishments."
  At the High School, in sharp contrast to policy at many other Texas schools, "Students may not choose corporal punishment in lieu of detention time".

• Carthage ISD
 • Carthage High School
 • Carthage Junior High School
Parents who want to opt their youngster out of CP must "return the form included in the forms packet to the campus office within the first 10 days of receipt".
  Carthage head coach Scott Surratt, 2018 all-East-Texas Coach of the Year, said on the Tim Fletcher radio show in December 2017 that it was a "blessing" to have the paddle available. He explained that it takes "a lot of time" to supervise an athlete running for punishment, but corporal punishment takes care of issues quickly. "They don't like that board. They shouldn't." He said he'd like to go back to "the good old days" when coaches paddled athletes in front of their teammates.
  Accordingly, the new (2019) Disciplinary Guidelines for AACD (Athletics, Auxiliary, Drill Team, Cheerleaders) (not currently on line) make special provision for athletes to be spanked for a wide range of offenses (the word "swats" appears 29 times) in addition to any punishment ordered by the campus administration. The alternative to "swats" in most cases is "4 miles of running" for a first offense and 8 miles for a second. For example, an athlete who leaves class without permission will receive one day of Saturday School as his or her high-school discipline, but will also receive an Athletics Penalty of "Swats or 4 miles of running."
  Stats: During 2011/12 at Carthage High School, 52 boys and 4 girls received paddlings on at least one occasion.

• Castleberry ISD, Fort Worth/River Oaks
In this suburban district, corporal punishment is a consequence for Level I and II misbehaviors, but not Levels III or IV (the most serious). Parents wishing CP not to be used must so notify the principal in writing within ten school days of receiving the document. No pro forma is provided for this purpose.
  Stats: This Nov 2014 news report mentions that the district has an annual "CP rate" of 27% overall. At Castleberry High School in 2011/12 the figure was 83%, one of the highest rates in Texas, while at Reach High School it was 42%.
  The statistics reveal that this district is another recent convert to the use of corporal punishment. At Castleberry High, no CP was recorded during 2000/01 or 2009/10. In 2009/10, 125 boys and 75 girls were assigned to in-school suspension. The school then introduced the paddle, and ISS assignments were eliminated. During 2011/12, 351 boys and 327 girls were officially spanked on one or more occasions, out of a total school enrollment that year of 400 boys and 405 girls.
  We can thus take it that most of the students seen in this Castleberry High School End of Year Movie 2014 would have received chastisement in the school office at some point during the year.
  At the tiny Reach High, an alternative school, no CP was recorded during 2009/10. The paddle was then introduced, and 10 boys and 7 girls received one or more spankings during 2011/12, out of a student enrollment that year of 21 boys and 19 girls.

• Cayuga ISD
 • Cayuga High School
 • Cayuga Middle School
Paddling here may be used for Level I and II offenses, but is not mentioned for the most serious ones. There is a maximum of three swats per paddling.
  At the High School and Middle School, the spanking must be done in the presence of the principal or designee.
  At the Middle School, CP is particularly mentioned as a consequence for a fifth tardy per six-week period.

• Celeste ISD
At the High School, CP is particularly mentioned as a consequence for dress-code violations.

• Center Point ISD
"Students should be offered an alternate disciplinary consequence when faced with option of swats." The student shall "be afforded an opportunity to explain his or her actions before corporal punishment is administered".
  Stats: Eleven boys and two girls chose the paddling option at Center Point High School during 2011/12, an increase from zero the last time the district was surveyed, in 2000/01.

• Central Heights ISD, Nacogdoches
CP is administered by the principal or assistant principal. For students at all levels (K through 12), the Level I Corrective Actions list proceeds as follows: "Warned and returned to class, Assigned 1 swat and returned to class, Assigned 2 swats and returned to class," but "ISS may be substituted for swats upon the written request of a parent." Level I offenses include sleeping in class, cell phones, loitering before or after school, and failure to complete assignments.
  Level II Corrective Actions (disrespect, stealing, profanity, cheating, skipping class) proceed as follows: "Probation, 2-3 swats and returned to class, Assign 2 or more detentions," etc. For Level III (fighting, arson, alcohol) the penalties are one or more of: "swats, ISS, suspension, AEP placement," etc.
  There are special penalties for being tardy to class. In grades 6 through 8, a fifth tardy "will result in 1 day ISS or 2 pops". In grades 9 through 12 it is a fourth tardy that attracts "1 day ISS (swats optional)". (This school system is unusual in referring to strokes with the paddle as both "swats" and "pops" indiscriminately.)
  For dress and grooming code violations in all grades, the fourth and subsequent offenses incur "1 day ISS or 2 swats". For boys, this includes having any kind of facial hair.
  At the Middle and High Schools, a student who receives a zero on an assignment for the fourth time in six weeks receives "1 Day ISS or 2 Pops with Parental Consent Form", a surely quite rare case of paddling being used to punish academic failure.
  Another unusual provision is that "Any refusal of corrective actions will result in the student being sent home until he/she returns with a parent and takes the assigned corrective actions", so unless a parent has opted the student out, the parent and student will come to school together and the student must accept the spanking. Also, one of the factors taken into account is the extent to which the student "maintains a proper attitude to the discipline process".
  Stats: Central Heights High School paddled 17 boys in 2015/16, in 25 spankings, up from 11 boys in 2013/14 and 7 boys in 2011/12.

• Chapel Hill ISD -- Titus County, Mount Pleasant
Not to be confused with the Chapel Hill ISD based in Tyler (see next item).
  At the High School, "Swats or ISS" are the penalty for a fifth and subsequent tardy, to class or to school, in each nine-week period. The same applies at the Junior High School.

• Chapel Hill ISD -- Smith County, Tyler
 • DAEP Handbook
Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs (DAEP) are required by law in all Texas school districts. It is becoming more common for DAEPs to incorporate corporal punishment to enforce their strict rules. New for 2019/20 in the Chapel Hill DAEP, a student will be given three opportunities to correct his or her "inappropriate behaviors". Upon the fourth occurrence, the student will either accept three "licks with the board" or lose credit for the day.

• Chico ISD
 • Chico High School
In the slide show for Chico High School, see "When You Are Tardy": as alternatives to varying amounts of detention, Saturday School or ISS, 4 to 6 tardies incur one swat; 7 to 9 tardies bring 2 swats; and 10 to 15 tardies mean 3 swats. Also, "If you use your iPad inappropriately, you will lose it for 10 days and receive 3 swats or 3 days in ISS".
  Stats: In 2011/2012, CP was provided to 86 boys and 30 girls. Of these students, 30 (of whom 28 boys) were at the High School, up from zero in several earlier years since the turn of the century, so this was a de facto reintroduction of paddling for grades 9 through 12. In 2013/14 the figures for the High School increased further, to 43 boys and 13 girls spanked.

• Chilton ISD
This pan-district handbook requires both a parent and the student to sign the acknowledgement form on page 85, stating that they "understand that students ... will be subject to the disciplinary consequences including corporal punishment". A separate written statement must be sent if the parent objects to CP. Students who are tardy may be paddled. The Code of Conduct Addendum specifies that CP is a possible consequence of Level Three offenses (serious but not the most serious).

• Cisco ISD
Paddling may be given for a Level II or Level III offense. In grades 6-12, it is also one of the penalties for failure to show up for lunch detention if the principal so decides (not a choice by the student).

• Clarendon CISD
 • Faculty Handbook - High School edition The handbook for high-school staff has this unusual text:

"Teachers are not to use a paddle as an instrument for fun. At no time are paddles to be used for birthday licks with or without the student's permission. Paddles are to be used only as an instrument of discipline. ALL PADDLES MUST BE APPROVED BY THE PRINCIPAL AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR."

• Coldspring-Oakhurst CISD, Coldspring
 • Code of Conduct
 • Coldspring-Oakhurst High and Junior High Schools
 • Athletics Code of Conduct
A previous same-sex requirement here was revoked in March 2014.
  The Code of Conduct no longer mentions the possibility of parents coming to the school to administer the paddle. It still states that CP is an available penalty in all grades, K through 12.
  New for 2017/18, when athletes misbehave, the first time there is a warning and the second time the athlete, with parent's consent, gets to choose "Corporal Punishment or Punishment Conditioning." If the choice is "Punishment Conditioning" the athlete has to do all of the following, which are to be "completed in order and done in time in one setting": "1 mile under 12 min, 600 yds of bear crawls, 600 yds of log rolls, 1 mile under 12 min". Between these two options, one would imagine that a spanking is likely the more popular.
  Stats: In 2011/12, 48 boys and 26 girls received a paddling on at least one occasion, out of a total enrollment of 539, giving an "annual CP rate" of 14%.

• Collinsville ISD [DOC]
 • Pirate Band handbook
For tobacco offenses only, "Corporal punishment may not replace any time served" in ISS or DAEP.
  The Band Handbook states: "Band discipline is extremely important. By the time students reach junior high and high school, class time should not and will not be taken to teach them proper behavior". Instead, band members who fail to comply with the list of rules receive detention, grade reduction and/or corporal punishment.

• Colorado ISD, Colorado City (Texas)
 • High School Teacher Handbook [DOC] [Site is geo-blocked -- Needs VPN to access from outside USA]
The Teacher Handbook for grades 9-12 says "Corporal punishment is available but more than likely will not be administered unless done so [sic] by a parent and witnessed by the principal or designee".

• Columbia-Brazoria ISD
CP is mentioned in general, and also in particular as a penalty for repeated violations of the dress code rules, one of which is that all shirts must be tucked in at all times. This is the handbook for Columbia High School (grades 9 through 12), but other schools in the district have similar language.
  Stats: Paddling had fallen into disuse by 2009/10 but resumed by 2011/12. During 2013/14, 10 elementary boys were paddled; this declined to only 2 boys in 2015/16. At Columbia High School, 4 boys were paddled during 2013/14, and 6 in 2015/16.

• Comanche ISD
New for 2020-21, a most unusual provision at the High School and Junior High (but not at the elementary level) is that parents wishing to exempt their students must both return the appropriate form and submit a written statement to the principal.

• Como-Pickton CISD
This district abolished a same-sex requirement in 2017.
  Stats: In 2006/07, 30 students (20b 10g) were officially spanked in this district's schools; by 2011/12, the figure had doubled to 64 boys and 2 girls.

• Coolidge ISD
This district has a maximum of three swats per spanking. CP is available for Level 2 and Level 3 offenses.
  Stats: During 2011/12, at Coolidge High School, 12 boys and 2 girls were paddled on one or more occasions.

• Cooper ISD
 • Cooper Elementary School
 • Cooper Junior/Senior High School
 • Cheerleading Constitution
At the secondary level, parents are notified beforehand, "and agree to the paddling". Also, "A parent may request that licks be administered to his/her student." Conversely, "Consequences will not be deferred pending the outcome of a grievance filed by a parent".
  The consequence for a third or fourth tardy is "detention or swats". One of the persons who may administer or witness corporal punishment is the Athletic Director.
  One provision not seen elsewhere: when students are caught fighting, law enforcement is contacted and "a police officer will escort the students to the police station". They will not return to school that day, while the principal contacts the parents. The students have to appear before the Justice of the Peace, who "will decide whether the students are fined or not". In addition to any fine, "the student will have the choice of ISS or swats".
  The first time a cheerleader gets swats in school (or ISS or OSS), she misses the pep rally and game for that week. If she receives another spanking, she is removed from the cheer squad.
  Stats: No CP was recorded at Cooper High School from 2000/01, the first year for which statistics are available, up through the 2013/14 school year. During 2015/16, 19 boys in grades 9 through 12 received swats at Cooper High School. Meanwhile at Cooper Junior High, paddlings declined from 29 students in 2013/14 to 17 students in 2015/16.

• Corrigan-Camden ISD
 • Corrigan-Camden High School
New in 2018 was that a third tardy per semester attracted "Corporal Punishment or 3 days of morning detention or after school detention". Earlier handbooks had made no mention of spanking for tardies.
  New for 2019, corporal punishment comes into use at the fourth tardy rather than the third. Unlike for 2018/19, however, the option of three days' detention as an alternative to swats has been removed. When a student reaches his or her fourth tardy, he or she will receive a spanking, and not have the option of serving detention instead.
  Stats: At the High School, no CP was recorded in 2006/07. Five years later, the paddle was back in use: in 2011/12, 45 boys and 8 girls were spanked on one or more occasions. In the next two survey periods, the level of paddling was similar: 39 boys and 4 girls received swats during 2013/14, while 36 boys and 14 girls were awarded a total of 80 spankings in 2015/16. This declined to 22 boys and 7 girls during 2017/18, who received a total of 44 spankings.

• Covington ISD
Here is another Texas district where corporal punishment was previously prohibited which has changed its policy to allow paddling, including of students by administrators who are not of the same sex. This restoration took place in August 2019, no students having been spanked for almost 20 years.

• Crane ISD
The High School and the Middle School had a new tardy policy in 2014/15, "to help students in their efforts to be in class, on time". To this end, a fifth or sixth tardy per semester now results in 1 hour's after-school detention (ASD) or one paddle swat. For a 7th or 8th tardy the penalty is 2 hours' ASD or two swats. The 9th and 10th tardies bring one day in ISS or two swats.
  Stats: Crane High School recorded no use of CP during any year surveyed from 2000 through 2014. It then introduced the paddle. During 2015/16, 43 boys and 21 girls were spanked on 91 separate occasions. The introduction of spanking was accompanied by a sharp reduction in assignments to in-school suspension, from 110 students in 2013/14 (71 boys, 39 girls) to 49 students (37 boys, 12 girls).

• Cranfills Gap ISD
Students who accumulate 18 demerit points are placed in alternative school ("DAEP") for six weeks. Each paddling of two swats or each 2 days of ISS (etc.) counts for 2 points.

• Crockett County CCSD, Ozona
Not to be confused with Crockett ISD.
  Corporal punishment comes at step 5 or 6 of the disciplinary process. It is specifically mentioned as a possible consequence of a second cell-phone offense.
  According to this advertisement in a local newspaper (Aug 2015), the spanking ceremony must be performed in the principal's office.
  Informed sources reported in 2015 that, if a student at Ozona High School wishes to get out of ISS, he/she has to receive a paddling every morning of the assigned ISS days he/she wants to avoid -- typically three consecutive days of two swats for accumulated excessive tardies.
  Stats: During 2011/12 (and all earlier years surveyed since 2001), no CP was recorded at Ozona High School. But 21 boys and 2 girls were spanked in 2013/14.

• Crosbyton CISD [DOC]
 • Student Registration Form
In October 2012 a same-sex requirement for CP was abolished.
  The registration form says "Fighting would be the best example of an offense that could lead to corporal punishment".
  Local sources indicate that the paddling is administered the morning after the offense, upon receipt of a paper signed by the parent for that specific incident.
  Stats: During 2011/12, no CP was recorded at Crosbyton Secondary School. Then the school introduced paddling, for the boys: 12 male students received corporal discipline in 2013/14. Two years later, CP had been extended to the girls: 4 secondary girls, along with 11 secondary boys, were spanked on one or more occasions in 2015/16. Conversely, during 2013/14, seven boys and two girls received swats at Crosbyton Elementary School, while in 2015/16, no elementary student was paddled.

• Cross Roads ISD, Malakoff
 • High School Registration Pack
Corporal punishment may be used for Level I and Level II offenses, but is not mentioned for more serious ones.
  The 15th page of the registration pack is a letter to all parents inviting them to either give or withhold permission for CP to be used.
  Stats: No CP was recorded at Cross Roads High School from 2001/02 through 2013/14. The paddle was (re)introduced in 2014/15. CRHS (grades 9-12) disciplined 32 boys and 4 girls during 2015/16 in 50 separate spanking sessions. Conversely, no CP was recorded at the elementary or junior-high campuses in 2015/16. The district has thus joined several other Texas ISDs in finding paddling a more valuable form of discipline for older adolescents than for young children. The district is one of two in the city of Malakoff; Malakoff High School also has recently placed a new emphasis on spanking (see entry).

• Cuero ISD
Paddling may be used for level II offenses, where it counts as equivalent to an administrative detention. CP is also available for level III offenses with parental consent.
  In a previous version, there was a same-sex requirement except for grades K-3. Now, students through grade 12 may be spanked by an employee of the opposite sex.
  Stats: Cuero High School used CP in 2000/01, but no CP was reported during 2011/12 or 2013/14. In 2015/16, on nine occasions, four boys and two girls were spanked. The reintroduction of the paddle saw a drop in suspensions. According to the 2018/19 Cuero High School Campus Improvement Plan, in 2017/18 there were more than 1,000 fewer discipline referrals than in the previous year.

• Culberson County-Allamoore ISD
Parental permission is required before CP is used.
  Stats: No CP was recorded at Van High School in 2004/05 or 2009/10, but 14 students (7b 7g) were spanked in 2011/12.

• Cumby ISD
For Level III offenses, steps one and two of the discipline ladder are both "In School Suspension or Corporal Punishment (parent permission is given prior to the use of corporal punishment)".
  History: See this May 2011 news item.

• Cushing ISD
 • Code of Conduct
 • Athletic Department Policies
Cushing High School "has a zero tolerance policy toward tardiness". For a fourth tardy in a semester, the consequence is "1 day ISS (optional swats)". For a fifth, "2 days ISS (optional swats)".
  Paddlings must be witnessed by "one other district professional employee or adult staff member", so it could be a secretary rather than necessarily a teacher.
  The Code of Conduct specifies that "swats" may be administered for offenses at level 1 or level 2 but not levels 3 or 4. "Any refusal of corrective actions will result in the student being sent home until he/she returns with a parent and takes the assigned corrective action."
  In 2015, "Corporal Punishment (Swats)" was added in athletics; there had been no mention of it in the 2011/12 Athletic Handbook. "Failure to accept this [discipline] on the part of the athlete or parent/guardian may result in dismissal from the team."

• Daingerfield-Lone Star ISD
 • Daingerfield High School
 • Daingerfield Junior High School
 • Employee Handbook
At the Junior High, parents are given three options: CP may be given without prior notification, CP may be given if they are notified first, or CP may not be given.
  The employee handbook says the person administering CP must be of the same sex as the student.
  Stats: During 2015/16, there was only one incident of CP at Daingerfield JHS: two girls were spanked.

• Dalhart ISD
 • Dalhart High School
 • Dalhart Junior High School
 • XIT Secondary School, Dalhart [DOC]
 • Corporal Punishment (Swats) Approval Form
Dalhart High states that "Students depend on adults for discipline as they seek to bring order to their lives. [...] When a student is sent to the office, disciplinary action will be taken. If a student fails to go to the office when sent, the student will be subject to severe disciplinary action". The principal will attempt to contact the parent before the paddle is used. Students may refuse to be spanked if they "accept other such discipline management techniques as the principal or designee may assign". The Junior High School has identical language.
  There is similar wording at XIT (an alternative "second chance" high school), but also this: "As a matter of administrative practice, the principal or designee will attempt to notify the parent/guardian of the (minor) student prior to the application of corporal punishment. For purpose of this statement, a minor student is defined as a student less than eighteen years of age." This appears to mean that, when over-18s choose to be paddled (as does happen in some Texas high schools), there is no requirement for parental consent.

• Dawson ISD
 • Junior/Senior High School Teacher Handbook
 • Elementary Registration Form
 • Jr/Sr High Student Registration Form
This is Dawson ISD in the town of Dawson (Navarro County). Confusingly, there is another Dawson ISD in Texas, covering Dawson County and based in the town of Welch.
  This district abolished a same-sex requirement for CP in 2012.
  In grades 7 through 12, ten class tardies in a semester incur ISS or a paddling. But an earlier version's statement that CP "will only be administered for limited number of occurrences" has been deleted, and the new Teacher Handbook for these grades makes it clear that the tardy student may now also choose a spanking for the 4th, 5th and 6th tardy in a semester (instead of Thursday Detention) and the 7th, 8th and 9th (instead of Saturday School) -- see page 15 and also the blank Tardy Slip on page 29, which requires the student as well as the principal to sign under "Request Alternative Punishment".
  Tardies at the elementary level do not involve CP.
  The Teacher Handbook also lists eight other offenses as attracting a paddling option; one of these is the all-embracing "breaking the Code of Conduct".
  The language in the student registration form for the junior and senior High Schools, requiring a parent to sign off on the CP rules, now reads: "Parents who do not want their child to receive corporal punishment must provide a separate written document ... This must be given to the campus principal at the beginning of each school year". At the elementary level, opting out of CP is made much simpler by providing a box for the parent to check.
  Stats: In 2011/12, no CP was recorded at Dawson High School. This school has since reintroduced the paddle. During 2013/14, 45 boys and 11 girls in grades 9 through 12 received a paddling on at least one occasion. 12 boys and 2 girls were spanked at Dawson Elementary School.

• DeKalb ISD
 • DeKalb High School
Board policy includes a same-sex requirement for CP, but only in grades 5 through 12.
  At the High School, paddling may be used for Level 2 (intermediate) offenses and, since 2013, for Level 1 (minor) offenses also, so the scope for CP has been extended. The form on which parents are invited to say either yes or no to corporal punishment is to be signed also by the student; this was new in 2012.

• Dell City ISD [DOC]
This is a tiny K-12 school with fewer than 100 students, but its handbook still contains a comprehensive corporal punishment policy. CP is mentioned in particular as a consequence for dress-code violations.

• Denison ISD
This district has removed its prohibition on administrators spanking students of the opposite sex. It is now only the witness who must be of the same sex.

• Denver City ISD (Texas)
There is no mention of CP in the elementary grades.
  In grades 6 through 8, for level I offenses (the least serious, including tardies), the first three offenses per semester incur detentions; for the fourth offense, "One to three days of in-school suspension with administrator option of three detentions assigned or swats administered". All level II offenses (truancy, tobacco) for this age group "result in an office visit and punishment", starting at the 4th level-I step, i.e. with the possibility of a paddling from the first offense.
  But in grades 9 through 12, "One to three detentions assigned or swats administered" is the penalty right from the first offense, even for level I violations such as tardies, minor misconduct, food/candy, public display of affection, sleeping in class, use of skateboard during school hours, dress code, etc. The same applies for the second and third offense. On the fourth, it is "One to three days of in-school suspension with administrator option of three detentions assigned or swats administered", as in the lower grades. So in the senior high school, CP comes into play at a much lower level of offending than is the case for younger students.
  The handbook acknowledgement form has the unusual phrase "My child and I agree to corporal punishment", yes or no. The student has to sign this as well as the parent.

• Detroit ISD (Texas)
This handbook no longer specifies the number of swats that may be given for particular offenses; it merely states that CP is one of the punishments used.
  History: See this Nov 2006 news item about two boys given a three-lick spanking by the principal at Detroit Middle School, with their parents' approval, for viewing pornography.
  Stats: During 2011/12, no CP was recorded at Detroit High School. Then the school reintroduced paddling: 12 boys and 4 girls were spanked during 2013/14.

• Deweyville ISD
Stats: This is one of a number of Texas districts to have resuscitated the paddle after having allowed it to fall into desuetude. 36 boys and 2 girls at Deweyville High School were officially spanked on one or more occasions during 2011/12. In 2004/05 and 2006/07, no CP had been recorded.

• Diboll ISD
 • Diboll High School
 • Corporal Punishment Exemption Form
 • Athletic Handbook [DOC]
 • Mrs. Melissa Kaemmerling
At the junior and senior High Schools, minor (level I) offenses "will most often result in a warning, corporal punishment or a detention". CP is not mentioned in connection with more serious violations.
  Parents signing the CP exemption form state that "I am aware that this is an approved discipline option that may be used with other students that my child will not have".
  All athletes in grades 7 through 12 "are subject to every one of ... the disciplinary measures that we use ... which includes [sic] ... Corporal punishment (POP -- Piece of Pine)".
  Mrs Kaemmerling's classroom rules at the High School state that the first penalty for insubordination is "Two pops".
  Stats: In 2000/01, 90 boys and 35 girls were spanked at Diboll High School on one or more occasions. The next year surveyed was 2011/12. By that time the numbers were 188 boys and 119 girls.

• Dilley ISD
 • Student Handbook
 • Corporal Punishment Opt-out Form
The board policy stipulates, unusually, that if the principal is unavailable to administer corporal punishment, it must be meted out by "an employee who is certified as an administrator and who is currently employed in an administrator capacity".
  "Corporal punishment will be administered unless the parent returns this signed form."
  Stats: Five boys and five girls received paddlings at Dilley High School in 2015/16.

• Dime Box ISD Board Policy
 • Dime Box Student Handbook
The board policy contains unusual wording: "Corporal punishment shall be administered only by the principal. If the principal is male and the student a female, the principal shall designate another employee who is the same sex as the student." So female principals can spank boys, but not vice versa. CP is allowed only when parents have specifically authorized its use.

• Dumas ISD
 • Dumas High School
 • Dumas Junior High School
 • North Plains Opportunity Center
High-school students who are tardy a third or subsequent time per semester must serve one 2-hour D-Hall or receive two paddle swats. D-Hall must be served the day of the tardy. If a student fails to show up for D-Hall, he/she will be spanked the following day, and still have to serve the D-Hall. Any student not allowed by parents to receive swats will serve an extra day of D-Hall.
  Parents requiring exemption from CP cannot just send a form in the mail: they "must visit the school and fill out the proper documents with the assistant principals in person".
  At the Junior High, four demerit marks bring "office referral (lunch detention or corporal punishment)". Also, for a 6th unexcused absence, the penalty is "2 swats or 2 days of ISS".
  At North Plains, an "alternative school", the policy for tardies is now the same as that at the High School. Spanking (2 swats) now also applies to a 7th, 8th and 9th unexcused absence. In the case of a 9th absence it is 2 swats AND 5 days of D-Hall.
  See also this Aug 2008 news item, which says that students in Dumas ISD are always given a choice and mostly opt for a spanking over ISS or Saturday detention, and this May 2015 one (with video clip), in which the Dumas Superintendent says it is a conservative community where the parents are highly supportive of school CP.
  Stats: During 2011/12, 204 boys and 97 girls chose the CP option at Dumas High School. Two years later, it was even more popular: the school spanked 258 boys and 140 girls on at least one occasion, for a total enrollment in grades 9 through 12 of 1,140, giving an "annual CP rate" of 35%.
  At North Plains Opportunity Center, during 2013/14, 20 of the 26 boys, and 10 of the 40 girls, were paddled on at least one occasion.

• Duncanville City ISD
CP here is a level I (but not level II or III) consequence.
  See also this Sep 2014 news item.

• East Chambers ISD, Winnie
Stats: See this May 2012 news item stating that out of 1,315 students there were just 25 no-paddle requests by parents in 2011/12, and this Nov 2014 report giving a CP rate of 7% for that year.
  During 2015/16, at East Chambers Elementary School, 6 boys and 2 girls received swats; at East Chambers Intermediate School, 6 boys; and at East Chambers Junior High School, 2 boys. But at East Chambers High School (grades 9 through 12), 39 boys were paddled, so this is one of those Texas districts that now emphasize spanking for the older male teens.

• Eastland ISD
 • Eastland Middle School
 • Eastland High School
Both the Middle School and High School handbooks, which formerly made no mention of CP, now spell out that paddling may be used.
  This is one of several Texas districts that have abolished a same-sex requirement for CP, allowing male staff to spank girls and female staff to spank boys.

• Ector ISD
CP is available for "minor" and "intermediate" offenses, and also for a second bus infraction.
  Stats: During 2011/12, 9 boys were paddled at Ector High School. In 2013/14, only 2 boys were paddled, but paddling was extended to the girls, 5 of whom were spanked on at least one occasion, a rare instance of more females receiving CP than males. In 2015/16, the ratio reverted to the norm: nine boys and 2 girls were spanked on at least one occasion.

• Edinburg CISD
This district now has a same-sex rule for the paddling of secondary-level students, but no such rule applies on the elementary campuses.

• Elkhart ISD
 • Athletic Handbook
"Corporal punishment is a district-wide form of disciplinary action."
  CP is now one of the discipline techniques to be administered to sports team members.
  Stats: At Elkhart High School (grades 9 through 12) in 2011/12, 36 boys and 2 girls were spanked on at least one occasion. This increased to 44 boys and no girls in 2013/14.

• Ennis ISD
 • District Handbook
This district has a same-sex requirement for CP at the secondary level but not at the elementary and intermediate campuses. There is no longer mention of parents having to sign a form overnight before each paddling.
  Ennis High School in 2011-13 limited each student to two swats per nine weeks (see this March 2011 news item), but there is no mention of such a restriction in the current documentation.
  History: See this Aug 2008 news item and this Dec 2011 one.
  Stats: According to a recent news story, there were 40 instances of paddling district-wide during 2016/17, increasing to 48 instances during 2017/18.

• Evadale ISD
In June 2014 this district deleted a same-sex requirement for student spankings in place since Oct 2011.
  Stats: During 2011/12, no CP was recorded at Evadale High School, but in 2013/14, 14 boys and 2 girls were paddled on at least one occasion. ISS assignments dropped sharply. In 2015/16, 27 boys and 2 girls were spanked a total of 33 times, and only two students received an ISS assignment. Virtually all of the district's spankings were at the high school; only two elementary students (both girls) were paddled.

• Evant ISD
 • Corporal Punishment Permission Form
CP was used in Evant schools in 2006/07, but then the paddle was put away, with no CP recorded during the next three years surveyed, from 2011 through 2016. The district has now re-implemented spanking. In November 2018, it created a Corporal Punishment Permission Form, which mentions that the punishment must be "moderate and reasonable"; only a school administrator may administer the punishment; there "will always be a witness"; a "flat surfaced paddle will be used"; "no more than 3 swats will be given"; and paddling will "not be used for academic difficulties" or "for conduct not involving the school."

• Falls City ISD
Corporal punishment may be administered for any offense except Level I (the least serious).

• Farwell ISD
At the High and Junior High schools, punishment for tardies is meted out at the rate of 1 after-school detention or "1 CP" (presumably meaning one paddle swat) at the 7th offense, 2 detentions or 2 "Cps" at the 8th offense, and 3 detentions or 3 "Cps" at the 9th offense.
  CP is also mentioned as a consequence for misbehavior on the bus.
  Stats: During 2013/14, 13 boys were paddled at Farwell Elementary School, while the paddle was not in use at Farwell High School. In 2015/16 the use of corporal punishment declined at the elementary school, to only 4 boys. By contrast, Farwell High School introduced paddling. That year, 7 boys and 4 girls were spanked on one or more occasions. According to local sources, this included students in twelfth grade.

• Fayetteville ISD
"When corporal punishment is administered as a substitute for SAC, three (3) swats are given for one day of SAC. No more than one (1) day can be substituted." CP is provided only on the request of the parent or student.

• Ferris ISD
 • Athletic Handbook
A same-sex requirement for CP was deleted in May 2018.
  Only the Principal or Assistant Principal may paddle. "ISS or 2 swats" is the consequence for tardy students in grades 6, 7 and 8. It is stressed that the parent, not the student, makes the choice between these two options.
  "All athletes are subject to discipline through the Extracurricular Code of Conduct." This now includes corporal punishment, new in 2017/18.

• Floydada ISD
Corporal punishment is a consequence for Level II and III offenses.
  Stats 1: During 2009/10 and 2011/12, no CP was recorded at Floydada High School. Then it was reintroduced: in 2013/14, spankings were provided to 60 boys and 29 girls in grades 9 through 12. ISS assignments accordingly fell from 47 to 29.
  Stats 2: This is another Texas district where the paddle is now reserved for older teens rather than younger children. Duncan Elementary School and Floydada Junior High School recorded no CP in 2015/16. At Floydada High School, however, a remarkable 491 spankings were delivered to 111 students (77b 34g). This May 2018 news item reveals that Floydada HS is the second most paddling school in Texas.

• Forsan ISD
In 2013 the Forsan board decided the person administering the paddle need no longer be of the same sex as the student, as long as the witness was. In 2017 that requirement was itself rescinded.
  Stats: During 2011/12, two boys were paddled at Forsan High School. Two years later, 10 boys received swats. In 2015/16, CP was extended to the high-school girls: 18 boys and 2 girls were spanked on a total of 33 occasions. Meanwhile, ISS assignments dropped from 33 boys and 8 girls in 2013/14 to 17 boys and 5 girls in 2015/16.

• Fort Stockton ISD
 • Apache Elementary School
 • Fort Stockton Middle School
 • Athletic Policy
The Apache Elementary document says "Corporal punishment will be administered if the child breaks a rule the fourth time".
  At the Middle School, "Corporal punishment, ISS or Saturday School" is the penalty for ten and more cumulative tardies. Skipping an assigned detention "will result in a harsher punishment" that may include paddling "in addition to making up the skipped detention".
  For athletes, new in 2017, "Corporal punishment in the form of paddling" is the second type of discipline listed after "verbal reprimand". Next comes "Conditional suspension", the duration of which "may be shortened by combining corporal punishment in some cases when the athlete has the proper attitude about his/her situation".
  History: See also this Mar 2005 news item and, from Aug 2008, "Licks With a Paddle Make a Comeback in Fort Stockton" (with video clip).

• Garrison ISD
 • Garrison High School
 • Garrison Middle School
 • Athletic Handbook
This district eliminated a same-sex rule for CP in 2011.
  At the High School, corporal punishment or detention is the consequence for a fourth, fifth and now also sixth tardy per semester. At the Middle School this applies to the third and fourth tardy only. Since 2015/16, at the High School only, students may also be spanked for a first tobacco offense.
  CP was newly listed in 2020 as one of the "discipline techniques" used in athletics.
  Stats: In 2000/01, at Garrison High School, 45 boys were paddled. In 2011/12 the figures were 51 boys and 7 girls. In 2013/14, 38 boys and 2 girls were paddled. In 2015/16, 32 boys and 6 girls received 68 spankings, and during 2017/18, 37 boys and 14 girls in grades 9 through 12 received 112 spankings, while that year no middle-school students received corporal punishment.

• Gatesville ISD
 • Gatesville High School
 • Gatesville Junior High School
At the High School, students who have received more than one paddling (or ISS or OSS) in the current year may not become Cheerleaders.
  At the Junior High, any parental objection to CP must be filed within one week of enrollment.
  Stats: 28 boys and 2 girls were paddled at the high school on one or more occasions in 2011/12.

• George West ISD
 • George West High School• Cheerleader Constitution
 • George West Junior High School
George West is a town, not a person.
  At the High School, paddling is specifically mentioned for standing up on the school bus while it is moving. Also, "Students who have spent more than 3 days in ISS or received corporal punishment for the equivalent of 3 or more days in ISS the current or previous year are ineligible to run for or hold an office".
  Cheerleaders who receive swats or ISS will receive two demerits. When a cheerleader has received four demerits, she will not be allowed to cheer at the next game.
  The Junior High school provides that a fifth or subsequent tardy in six weeks will incur ISS or corporal punishment, in addition to referral to the Resource Officer or the Municipal Court.
  Stats: During the 2011/12 school year, 17 boys were paddled at George West High School. No CP was recorded in 2013/14. Now, as in a number of Texas high schools that previously had a boys-only paddling policy, CP has been extended to the girls. During 2015/16, 24 boys and 6 girls at George West High School received spankings on at least one occasion. Other schools in the district did not use CP in that year.

• Giddings ISD
 • Athletic Guide
The handbook for members of high-school sports teams says "If you break our rules, we are going to document your offense, and punish you. The punishment will range from swats with a paddle to extra conditioning. The choice of the punishment will be yours to make." This is for such things as being late, disrespect to coaches, and "not being properly dressed out". Parents are invited to sign that "I agree that my child may receive swats as a form of punishment if they so choose". In previous versions, the paddling option was for boys only, but this choice is now offered to female athletes too.

• Gladewater ISD
 • Athletic Handbook
 • Honeybear Tryouts
The Athletic Handbook says "Middle School" on the front but the relevant text applies also to the High School: "Corporal punishment -- spanking or paddling the student athlete -- may be used as a discipline management technique in accordance with district policy".
  Local sources report that paddling in grades 9 through 12 is generally administered before the start of school on the morning after the offense, and that for serious offenses students are awarded multi-day spankings, e.g. nine swats to be delivered in sets of three swats each morning for three consecutive days.
  The Honeybear Tryouts document says that cheerleaders (who are apparently all girls in grades 9 to 11) are given demerits if they receive corporal punishment.
  Stats: During 2015/16 at Gladewater High School, 47 boys and 17 girls were spanked on one or more occasions. See also this Sep 2014 news item, quoting the Superintendent as saying "many of our parents support the use of corporal punishment" and reporting that there were 382 paddlings in the district as a whole in 2013/14 (289 b, 93 g).

• Godley ISD
In this suburb of Fort Worth, "students will be respectful and obedient to those in authority". "3 lunch detentions or 2 swats" or "1 after school detention or 1 swat", and similar permutations, but always with a maximum of 2 swats, are variously the penalties for a wide range of specified minor offenses. But for a dress-code violation, students receive a detention or one swat on the second offense, and 3 detentions or THREE swats on the third (this was new in 2015, an increase from two swats in the previous year's version). A third or fourth tardy to class per semester also brings a spanking option. Corporal punishment is not mentioned in relation to more serious offenses.
  An interesting feature is that TPA ("Temporary Alternative Placement", Godley's version of ISS) is described as an alternative to corporal punishment, rather than the other way round.
  All this is for the High School (grades 9 through 12); the handbooks of the elementary, middle and intermediate schools all mention the availability of CP, but do not set out a detailed tariff.
  Stats: This March 2011 news report notes that there were 21 paddlings here in the previous six months.

• Goliad ISD
 • Athletic Policy Handbook
The Athletic Policy Handbook says "A student athlete will be required to run one mile for each day served in ISS, or if the student athlete opts to receive licks/paddling they will run for each" (presumably meaning one mile per lick taken).
  Stats: No CP was recorded at Goliad High School in 2000/01. The district was not surveyed again until 2011/12, by which time paddling had been (re)introduced, with 69 boys and 26 girls receiving swats on one or more occasions.

• Gonzales ISD
 • Gonzales Junior High School
Here there is an unusually low maximum of two swats per paddling.
  At the Junior High, "Students not allowed to have swats will be given another form of discipline". Also, in bold caps, "ANY STUDENT ATTENDING SAFE/DAEP WILL RECEIVE CORPORAL PUNISHMENT".
  Stats: During 2011/12, no CP was recorded at Gonzales High School. Two years later, administrators had implemented spanking: 24 boys and 6 girls received swats on one or more occasions.

• Gorman ISD
This district used to operate an "opt-in" system for CP, but has now changed to an "opt-out" system whereby it is up to the parent to take the initiative to fill out the appropriate form every year if they do not wish paddling to be applied.

• Grandview ISD
 • Grandview Elementary School
 • Grandview High School and Junior High School
Here there is a special tardy policy for grades 9 through 12 only, including 1 day of ISS or 1 swat for the fifth tardy in a semester, 2 days of ISS or 2 swats for the sixth, and 3 days of ISS or 3 swats for the seventh and every tardy thereafter. The 2019/20 Grandview HS and Junior HS handbook added a new section on Discipline Procedures. Level 4 is "1 Day of ISS or 2 Swats"; Level 5 is "2 Days of ISS or 3 Swats"; and Level 6 is "3 Days of ISS or 3 Swats." The third detention in a semester "will result in Level 4", while missing detention "will result in Level 5". Local sources indicate that male high-school administrators spank both boys and girls, and this is consistent with district policy.
  The elementary school has none of these special provisions, just standard Texas CP wording.
  See also this Nov 2016 news item, where the superintendent says the choice between ISS and a spanking is "totally up to the parents".
  Stats: 14 boys and 2 girls received CP in 2011/12, up from 5 and 0 in 2004/05. This increased to 26 boys and 4 girls in 2015/16.

• Grape Creek ISD, San Angelo
From 2016, explicit parental permission for CP is no longer required. The more common "opt-out" procedure now applies. CP is available at discipline steps 5 and 6.

• Grapeland ISD [DOC]
CP is available for Level I and Level II offenses. There is a maximum of three "strikes" at any one time. These may be delivered by an ordinary teacher as well as an administrator.
  Stats: During 2011/12 at Grapeland High School, 13 boys received at least one spanking.

• Greenwood ISD
This district deleted a same-sex requirement for CP in 2017.
  Stats: At Greenwood High School in 2011/12, 17 of the 260 boys (about 6 percent) received paddlings.

• Groesbeck ISD
Near the back of this handbook, the "Corporal punishment consent form" has unusual wording recommending the parent NOT to consent to paddling if, among other things, "your child bruises easy".

• Groveton ISD
Unlike most Texas districts, which require the witness to CP to be a professional employee or a certified employee, Groveton merely requires "the presence of one other employee of the district...". It may be carried out by an ordinary teacher, for Level I or Level II offenses.
  See also this Sep 2005 news item, and this Nov 2014 news item according to which 28% of the students in the district were paddled in 2011/12.
  Stats: Groveton Elementary School has seen a dramatic decrease in the use of the paddle, the number of students spanked dropping from 160 boys and 20 girls during 2000/01 to only 27 boys and 15 girls in 2011/12. But at Groveton Junior-Senior High School, CP figures have been relatively stable. During 2000/01, 95 boys and 10 girls were paddled, while in 2011/12, 69 boys and 24 girls received CP. This district has thus become one of a growing number in Texas where a formal spanking is seen as a more appropriate punishment for older teens than for younger students.

• Hardin ISD
  • Athletic Handbook
Not to be confused with Hardin-Jefferson (see next item). "Either the person administering the corporal punishment or the other District professional employee serving as the witness shall be the same sex as the student."
  The overall "paddling rate" for the district was 15%, according to this Nov 2014 news item, which also revealed that only four parents signed the CP opt-out form in the latest year (because they preferred to administer it themselves), and that at the High School it was the 6-foot-4-inch Assistant Principal who delivered the swats (having been trained in how to do so without causing injury), max. three per paddling.
  With effect from 2015/16, members of athletic teams at the Junior High and High School "may be administered corporal punishment from a coach for minor infractions".
  Stats: No CP was recorded at Hardin High School in 2000/01. During 2006/07, the next year surveyed, five boys received swats. The district was next surveyed five years later, in 2011/12, when 42 high-school students were spanked (34 boys, 8 girls).

No more than three swats per day: Male athletes at Hardin-Jefferson High School

• Hardin-Jefferson ISD (covers China, Nome, Sour Lake)
 • Athletic Handbook [DOC]
The Athletic Handbook presents spanking as the normal punishment within the athletic department for sportsmen in grades 7-12 (males only). Parents are invited on a separate form to state whether they approve of this for their son; it is made clear that this is for minor offenses and is to be administered by the coach. "No athlete will receive more than 3 licks per day." Also, "other staff, coaches, and/or administrators will be present during corporal punishment" as witnesses.
  Stats: This May 2012 news report says there were 53 paddlings in the district in the first 9 months of 2011/12.

• Harleton ISD
 • Harleton High School
 • Harleton Junior High School
 • Code of Conduct for Athletes
At the Junior High, previous versions of the handbook said that corporal punishment "may at times be used" in exchange for other forms of punishment. The new Discipline Guidelines are more specific, stipulating that "corporal punishment with parental notification" is possible at steps 2 and 3 of the discipline ladder.
  Harleton ISD now requires all student-athletes to submit to a spanking when necessary. As of spring 2019, the student-athlete must agree that he or she "may be administered corporal punishment". A parent or guardian must also provide written consent for their son or daughter to be spanked if the student wants to join or remain on a sports team. This also applies to regular school offenses: if during the regular school day, or at a school-sponsored activity, a student's misbehavior earns detention or in-school suspension but the "principal gives the athlete a choice of corporal punishment instead, the athlete must choose the swats". The student him- or herself must sign the form underneath this directive.

• Hawkins ISD New!
In addition to the standard Texas language about parents opting out of CP, for a third minor bus violation the penalty is "Corporal Punishment by principal or suspension of bus riding privileges for 1 to 3 days".

• Hemphill ISD [DOC]
CP has to be done only in the presence of "at least one other district professional/ paraprofessional employee", not necessarily another "professional employee". There is a maximum of three swats.
  The paddle is now in use to punish tardies. For a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th or 6th tardy, the penalty is varying amounts of detention/ISS, "or swats".
  In August 2014 the board eliminated a same-sex requirement for the adult who administers the swats.
  Stats: At Hemphill High School, paddle recipients numbered 30 boys and 10 girls in 2000/01. By school year 2011/12 this had increased to 67 boys and 43 girls -- making up about 50% of the school's students. In the same year, the figures for the Middle School were 70 boys and 31 girls. No elementary students were spanked.
  This Nov 2014 news item notes that, in the district as a whole, 24% of the students were paddled in 2011/12.

• Hempstead ISD
The parent must have signed a statement permitting CP. This is a change from the previous opt-out system.
  Stats: No CP was recorded at Hempstead High during any year surveyed from 2000/01 through 2013/14. But during 2015/16, six boys in grades 9-12 received spankings.

• Henderson ISD
 • Henderson High School New!
This district used to have a same-sex requirement for paddling; that was abolished in 2012.
  At the High School, corporal punishment is a "major disciplinary action", to be delivered in the office by an administrator.
  Stats: During 2009/10, no CP was recorded at at Henderson High School, but in 2011/12, 29 boys and 2 girls were spanked.

• Highland Park ISD, Amarillo
 • Secondary Student Handbook [DOC]
Absurdly, there are two Highland Park ISDs in Texas. This is the one in Amarillo, not the one in Dallas.
  The pan-district document, "Progressive Discipline Guidelines", provides CP for many offenses at the first or second occasion, mostly with no alternative provided (unless the parent has opted the student out of CP altogether). Since earlier versions there has been a clear trend towards greater use of the paddle: instead of "five days' detention or corporal punishment" for many offenses such as disrespect, contraband, disruption, and harassment, the document has since 2012 specified just "notify parents, corporal punishment". A spanking is also a possible consequence for a sixth or subsequent tardy. And it is now prescribed for certain offenses, such as use of cell phone, where it did not apply before.
  During 2011/12, the district had an "opt-in" system whereby CP would not be given unless parents had signed a form allowing it. This changed in 2012/13 to an opt-out system: all students may now be paddled unless their parents take the initiative to submit a form.
  The Secondary Handbook merely gives standard Texas language about the availability of CP in general.

• Hitchcock ISD
Only the principal or assistant principal may paddle. This district abolished CP as long ago as 2002, but decided in 2011 to reintroduce it.
  New in 2014, parents must visit the school office in person if they wish to apply for exemption from CP. In 2018 the district moved from a parental opt-out system to an opt-in arrangement.
  In addition to the parental CP permission form on page iii of the handbook, see the detailed "Corporal punishment report form" on page iv.
  Stats: 14 boys and 4 girls were paddled in this district in 2011/12, the first year of the CP policy.

• Hooks ISD
 • Extracurricular Code of Conduct
In athletics and other extracurricular activities (such as the marching band), "Corporal punishment may be required". This is mentioned in particular for tardies.
  A same-sex requirement for CP was abolished here in 2013.
  Stats: Hooks High School recorded no CP in 2013/14 or 2015/16, but in 2017/18 the high school returned to the use of spanking, with seven boys and two girls receiving swats.

• Hubbard ISD, Hill County
 • Athletic Handbook
Ludicrously, there are two completely different entities in Texas called Hubbard ISD. This one, in what calls itself "City of Hubbard" (pop. 1,400), is in Hill County and lies 72 miles south of Dallas, near Waco.
  Errant sports players "will be punished at the discretion of the head coach" and this explicitly includes use of the paddle.

• Hubbard ISD, Bowie County [DOC]
Not to be confused with the Hubbard ISD in Hill County (see previous item). This one is 5 miles south of DeKalb, not far from the Arkansas border. It has just one school, covering grades K-8 only.

• Huffman ISD
Paddling may be a consequence for Level II offenses (truancy, failure to serve detention, acts of familiarity, theft, insubordination, excessive tardiness) but not Level I or Level III. See also this online form on which parents may allow or prohibit the use of CP.

• Hughes Springs ISD
Paddling is a consequence for Level II violations such as rudeness to teachers, skipping, handholding, kissing, smoking, fighting, and insubordination.

• Huntington ISD
Earlier versions had a long list of offenses that might incur a paddling; now it is simply stated that CP may be used in general.
  See also this July 2011 news report that the board of trustees had decided to make CP "a more readily available option". In earlier years, paddling was prescribed only for a very small number of violations, such as profanity and obscene gestures.
  Stats: At Huntington High School, no paddlings were recorded during 2000/01, but 94 young gentlemen and 22 young ladies were officially spanked on one or more occasions in 2011/12 following the policy change.

• Idalou ISD
 • High School Registration Form
CP is specified for Level II and Level III offenses. For instance, a student's second offense of tardiness or public display of affection qualifies him/her for a paddling.
  The High School registration form has the unusual wording, "I give my permission for corporal punishment to be a discipline measure with my son/daughter".
  Stats: No CP was recorded at Idalou High School during 2011/12, but in 2013/14, seven boys were spanked there.

• Iola ISD
Here, there is a maximum per student of three swats "per offense at any one time", which suggests that a student could be given, e.g., six swats in one day if it was for two separate offenses and some unspecified amount of time passes between the paddlings. Teachers may paddle, not just administrators.
  Stats: The number of students in receipt of paddlings at the High School increased from five in 2009/10 (5b 0g) to 22 in 2011/12 (20b 2g).

• Iowa Park CISD
 • W.F. George Middle School
 • Iowa Park High School
At the middle school, there is a uniquely low maximum of one swat per paddling event.
  No such tariff is mentioned at the High School, where CP may be applied for Level I and Level II offenses. The latest version of the high-school handbook adds: "Our practice, at IPHS, is to contact parents before the corporal punishment is administered. [...] Extreme care and consideration is used when corporal punishment is applied."
  Stats: A steady increase in spanking at the high school over the years surveyed. No students were paddled there in 2000/01; 20 boys in 2006/07; and 26 boys and 6 girls in 2011/12. This increased further to 40 boys and 7 girls in 2013/14.

• Ira ISD
CP is particularly mentioned for a first offense of cheating.
  During 2017/18, teachers were allowed to paddle; now it is only administrators.
  Stats: No CP was recorded at Ira School during 2011/12. In 2013/14, 7 boys and 2 girls were officially spanked on one or more occasions. This increased to 12 boys and 5 girls during 2015/16.

• Iraan-Sheffield ISD (covers Iraan and Sheffield)
 • Extra-curricular Handbook
Corporal punishment is listed here as one of the consequences for, among other things, disregard for authority, vandalism, and a second through fifth tardy. In an earlier version, paddling did not come into play until the fifth tardy, so this represents a sharp increase in the availability of CP for tardies.
  For a first offense of violating the cell phone policy, students will receive a minimum of one day of Saturday In-School Suspension or CP, and the "consequence must be served prior to receiving the phone/device."
  The Extra-curricular handbook provides that members of sports teams, band, etc. may be spanked for breaching team guidelines.
  See also page 3 of the Jan 2013 issue of the High School's student newspaper, where an article about the enlargement of the school office noted that it "now has more room for swats".

• Irion County ISD, Mertzon
 • Athletic Handbook
Corporal punishment was explicitly included in the Irion County athletic program for the first time in 2018.
  Stats: Irion High School recorded no CP during 2011/12. It subsequently spanked four boys in 2013/14, and then four boys and two girls in 2015/16. No CP was recorded at the Elementary School in any of these years.

"Choice of a paddling" from the Athletic Director: Jacksonville High School footballers

• Jacksonville ISD (Texas)
 • Athletic Code of Conduct [DOC]
Corporal punishment was reintroduced here in 2008 after many years of non-use. See also this Nov 2008 news item.
  CP may be administered by the Athletic Director as well as the Principal. A same-sex requirement applies to paddlings of students in grades 5 through 12.
  "A student-athlete may receive additional athletic consequences for inappropriate behavior in the classroom or for other violations of the Student or Athletic Codes of Conduct. Athletes will have a choice of a paddling or physical conditioning."
  Stats: No CP was recorded at Jacksonville High School during 2000/01 or 2004/05, but after corporal punishment was reintroduced in 2008, the paddle was in active use: 60 boys and 20 girls received spankings on at least one occasion at the high school in 2009/10. Only 9 boys and 2 girls were paddled in 2011/12, while during 2013/14, 9 boys and 6 girls received swats.

• Jayton-Girard ISD
New in 2019, students receiving four or more tardies will be assigned to ISS "or corporal punishment can be enforced".

• Jefferson ISD (Texas)
 • Jefferson High School
 • Jefferson Elementary School
At the High School, "Paddling" is now (from 2020) specifically mentioned at Level Two in the Discipline Management Plan, along with detention and ISS.
  Unusually, the high school and the elementary school have different policies on parental wishes in respect of CP. At the high school, parents are presumed to consent unless they deliberately opt out, whereas the elementary school requires them to provide written permission for CP if that is what they want. This is consistent with a trend in Texas towards making the paddle more readily available for the teens and less readily available for young children.

• Jim Ned Consolidated ISD, Tuscola
 • Jim Ned High School
 • Jim Ned Middle School
 • Lawn Elementary School
The High School has an unusual "Discipline Plan" involving escalating amounts of paddling. Step 1 brings 1 swat or two days' morning detention; at step 2 the tariff is 2 swats or 3 days' detention; step 3, three swats or four days' detention. After that things get more serious. The student who reaches step 4 on the discipline latter receives "6 swats (3 per day for 2 days) or 2 days of ISS", and, at step 5, no fewer than "9 swats (3 per day for 3 days) or 3 days of ISS". If this means three consecutive days, the student will certainly have a sore rear by the third day. There is an implication that this spanking option is at the choice of the student, and it appears to apply only to grades 9 through 12: no equivalent scheme is announced for the Middle School, whose handbook just gives standard Texas CP provisions.
  This plan was new in recent years, and with a greater provision for CP than the previous (2011) version. Under that plan there was simply a maximum of 3 swats (for step 3 of the ladder); there was no CP option for steps 4 and 5, and no mention of chastisement being spread over a number of days.
  There is also a separate procedure for tardies, under which a third tardy within each six-week period attracts one day's ISS. "Additional days of ISS or swats will be assigned as required for 4+ unexcused tardies."
  New in 2015 was a special provision for a first offense of misbehavior on the bus: "High school students may exchange 3 swats for each day of assigned ISS."
  At the elementary school, Step 2 of the Discipline Plan entails half a day in ISS or one swat; Step 3 brings 1 day in ISS or 2 swats.

• Joaquin ISD
Students at the High School and the Junior High School may be paddled for a first or second Class I offense (tardiness, display of affection, dress code); a first, second or third Class II offense (skipping class, cheating, disruptive behavior, returning to car without permission); and a first or second Class III offense (fighting, disrespect, reckless driving, stealing). The paddling takes the place of detention, ISS or OSS, depending on the level of offense.
  No details of punishment at the elementary school are given.
  Stats: In 2013/14, 34 boys and 6 girls were spanked at Joaquin Elementary School; this declined to 12 boys and 2 girls in 2015/16. In 2013/14, 18 boys were spanked at Joaquin Junior High School; this declined to 8 boys during 2015/16. In 2013/14, 12 boys were spanked at Joaquin High School; this increased to 15 boys during 2015/16.

• Joshua ISD
 • Extracurricular Handbook
 • Parental consent form
For Cheerleaders and for the Dance/Drill Team, sponsors will issue 5 demerits to any team member who receives swats. Oddly, there is no mention of CP in relation to Band or Athletics.
  History: See this Apr 2008 news item (with video clip), and this March 2011 report, noting that there were 30 paddlings here in 2009/2010.

• Junction ISD
 • JISD Middle/High School Discipline Plan
The district handbook no longer contains a CP opt-in/opt-out form. Now it says (p.9) that parents who don't want their youngsters spanked must write their own letter to the principal each year.
  The secondary Discipline Plan, developed at a special workshop in 2012, states that "Discipline rules help students to understand the connections between decisions and consequences". The first three Level II office referrals have "ISS and/or corporal punishment" as a consequence.
  In January 2018 the district adopted a new policy against bullying, under which CP is the ONLY form of actual punishment identified for bullying, to be delivered alongside other non-punishment forms of corrective action such as training, education, etc.
  According to informed sources, the board of trustees has directed the superintendent to ensure that spanking is the main form of discipline at Junction High School. The school had tried several disciplinary methods, and CP turned out to work the best.
  Stats: From 2000/01 through 2011/12, no CP was recorded at Junction High School. Then came the change of approach, and 10 boys and 2 girls were paddled during 2013/14.

• Keene ISD
 • Alternative Behavioral Learning Environment (ABLE)
ABLE is a DAEP (behavior modification) program run by Keene ISD's Alternative Learning Center (ALC) on behalf of the Alvarado, Godley, Keene and RioVista ISDs. With effect from Feb 2018, the Center "will be using corporal punishment as an added step to deterring unwanted behavior in a student while on campus". This is particularly mentioned as a consequence for a second discipline referral.
  See also this Oct 2012 news report and this Dec 2012 follow-up.

• Kelton ISD, Wheeler
This is an all-through (K-12) school. See Appendix II on page 69 for the form on which parents may approve or disapprove the use of CP. Those who check "I allow the school to administer corporal punishment as needed" may also indicate whether they wish to be called before the spanking is delivered, or as soon as possible afterwards, or notified in writing. Those who don't want their student paddled must agree that the alternative may be ISS, OSS or DAEP.

• Kemp ISD
Students here may be paddled for, among other things, tardiness, leaving campus, failure to attend detention (Level I offenses); and disrespect, tobacco, profanity, and violation of ISS rules (Level II offenses). Paddling may be combined with loss of privileges, detention or ISS for a number of offenses including cheating, dress code, skipping classes or Public Display of Affection.
  Stats: No CP was recorded at Kemp High School during 2011/12, but 46 boys and 15 girls were spanked there on at least one occasion in 2013/14.

• Kenedy ISD
Unusual form of words in the parental consent form: "My child and I agree to corporal punishment".

• Kerens ISD
 • Athletic Policies
 • District Improvement Plan 2019/20
It was previously stated that, at Kerens High School, corporal punishment was a consequence that the principal may decide upon "in an attempt to not exclude students from instructional time". This language was new in 2015 but now seems to have disappeared.
  In 2016 CP was incorporated into the athletics program.
  The District Improvement Plan says "KISD will utilize a variety of consequences as disciplinary actions such as corporal punishment, detention, ISS and/or DAEP services to promote a safe learning environment for all students".
  Stats: 20 boys and six girls were paddled in 2011/12. In 2013/14 this increased to 31 boys and four girls.

• Kermit ISD
At secondary level only, a second tardy to class per six-week period incurs one paddle swat or one day's detention; a third tardy, two swats or two days' detention; a fourth, 3 swats or three days' detention (previously two days in ISS). Tardy elementary students are apparently not spanked.
  Stats: During 2015/16, Kermit Elementary spanked 4 boys and 2 girls; Kermit Junior High spanked 22 boys and 2 girls; and Kermit High School provided 35 spankings to 21 boys and 4 girls.

• Knox City-O'Brien CISD [DOC]
This provides for detention for the second through fourth tardy, but "In some instances corporal punishment may be chosen by the student instead of detention". This provision was new in 2011.

• Kountze ISD
 • Kountze High School
See also this May 2012 news item.
  Stats 1: 39 students took swats in this district in 2011/12, 27 of them at the High School (grades 9 through 12).
  Stats 2: In 2015/16, 19 boys received a total of 24 spankings at the High School. Local sources report that paddling is now also offered to the girls, as well as being deployed in boys' athletics in particular.

• La Gloria ISD
Here there is a maximum of three swats. "Suspension from school will be the alternative for corporal punishment."

• Lamesa ISD
 • Lamesa High School Athletic Code
Corporal punishment is one of the disciplinary methods that sports coaches may provide to high-school athletes for "minor offenses" (horseplay, unsportsmanlike conduct, violation of dressing-room or training-room policies, profanity, dress and grooming violations). This applies regardless of whether school is in session, whether the student is directly involved in a sport at the time of the misbehavior, whether the sport is in season, and where or when the misconduct occurs.
  Stats: During 2011/12 at Lamesa High School, 32 boys and 13 girls were paddled. Two years later, the school had doubled its use of spanking for the young men: 67 boys and 19 girls received swats on at least one occasion.

• La Pryor ISD
 • Extra-Curricular Handbook
Violations that may attract a paddling include vandalism, stealing, tobacco, fire extinguisher, leaving class without permission, dress code violations, gambling, cheating, display of affection, refusal to accept discipline, fighting, bullying, and sexual harassment. In other words, almost all possible offenses. CP or detention/ISS is also the penalty for a fifth through 14th tardy per semester. CP is likewise specifically mentioned for a first or second violation of the telecommunications devices policy, and (new in 2017) for misbehavior at out-of-town school functions, previously punished with a DAEP placement.
  Also new in 2017, students who fail to show up for Saturday In-School Suspension may now choose to be spanked (1 or 2 swats) instead of rescheduling to another Saturday.
  The Extra-Curricular Handbook, for students participating in athletics but also in band/choir and other clubs, mentions (page 9) that CP may be a consequence of failure to follow team/club guidelines.
  Stats: During 2011/12 at La Pryor High School, seven boys and two girls were paddled. Two years later, the school had quadrupled its use of CP: 24 boys and 13 girls received swats on at least one occasion.

• Lazbuddie ISD
From 2019, "2 swats" is one of the options in the "Discipline Plan" for a student's first nine disciplinary referrals, after which DAEP will be assigned. This applies in 4th through 12th grade.
  This district in 2014 removed a same-sex provision adopted in 2011.
  Stats: 4 boys and 2 girls were paddled in 2015/16.

• Leary ISD
"Students who may not be paddled must be picked up from school by a parent IMMEDIATELY if serious or repeated misbehavior occurs." Violation of detention hall rules may result in corporal punishment. After receiving three D-hall notices in one semester, students will not be put in detention again if they get into further trouble. Instead they "will receive either corporal punishment or suspension".
  Stats: According to this Nov 2014 news item, 25% of the students in the district were spanked in 2011/12.

• Leon ISD, Jewett
 • Boys' Athletic Handbook
In grades 7 through 12, corporal punishment is the only penalty mentioned for a fourth, fifth and sixth tardy per six-week period.
  The Athletic Handbook is specifically for male student-athletes in grades 9 through 12, who may receive one paddle swat at the discretion of the coach for minor offenses such as tardiness or dress-code violations. The penalty for "Teammate Altercation" is 2 swats.
  There is also a Girls' Athletic Handbook, but it makes no mention of swats.
  Stats: During 2011/12 at Leon High School, 22 boys and 7 girls received swats on at least one occasion, up from zero in 2004/05, the previous year surveyed. During 2015/16, 28 boys and 4 girls were spanked on 45 occasions.

• Liberty ISD
Here, CP "shall be administered or witnessed by an employee who is the same sex as the student", a sensible compromise for a small district with limited staff.
  See also this Dec 2016 news item, which says this district accounts for nearly half of all paddlings in the Houston area. It quotes a senior at Liberty High School saying that about half her male friends had been spanked, "but they got to choose [CP over ISS] so that makes it fair". A senior boy aged 17 adds that a paddling three years previously had helped him stay out of trouble since.
  Stats: 39 boys and 2 girls were paddled on at least one occasion in grades 9 through 12 in 2011/12. Two years later the high school tripled its use of CP: 110 boys and 26 girls were spanked.

• Linden-Kildare CISD
This is the handbook for Linden (senior) High School. A Corporal Punishment Form must be submitted upon enrollment. In contrast, the Junior High School says it does not use CP.

• Livingston ISD
 • Student Athlete Handbook
New in 2017, "CORPORAL PUNISHMENT will be used in our athletic programs" (caps as in original). In fact it now seems to be the only form of discipline specified for athletes, short of expulsion from the program.
  Stats: At Livingston High School during 2013/14, 62 boys and 17 girls received spankings on one or more occasions. In 2015/16 this changed to 73 boys and 9 girls, in a total of 113 paddling sessions. The district's younger teenagers are also assertively disciplined with the paddle. At Livingston Junior High School during 2015/16, 93 boys and 24 girls received corporal discipline on 186 occasions. But at Timber Creek Elementary School, only 2 boys were paddled in 2015/16 (a decrease from 15 boys and 2 girls in 2013/14), reflecting a trend in Texas to step up the use of spanking for secondary students (and in particular, sportsmen) while reducing it at the elementary level.

• Llano ISD
 • Llano Elementary Schools
 • Llano High School
The Llano Elementary Schools handbook for 2017/18, and since at least 2012/13, declared: "The principal chooses not to use corporal punishment (swats) as a discipline management technique." But that language disappeared in 2018/19, and the handbook now has a comprehensive CP policy in place.
  The High School merely mentions that CP is available. There is also a Junior High School, but its handbook makes no reference to CP.

• Lometa ISD
A same-sex requirement for CP was deleted from board policy in 2012 -- see this Aug 2012 news item.
  Stats: 16 boys were spanked here in 2011/12.

• Lone Oak ISD
Lone Oak High School recorded no CP in 2011/12, 2013/14 or 2015/16, although it had done so in earlier years. The school brought back the paddle in 2018/19 for this specific purpose: "to decrease loss of instruction time due to minor discipline" by reducing ISS and OSS, according to the Campus Improvement Plan (CIP) adopted in June 2018 (no longer on line). The CIPs for the elementary and middle schools did not mention corporal punishment.

• Lorena ISD
This district no longer specifies a maximum of three swats.

• Lorenzo ISD
 • Athletic Handbook
With effect from 2018/19, corporal punishment may be administered to all athletes: "If a player disrespects a coach, teacher, administrator, or is in violation of athletic policy, he/she will be disciplined. This discipline may be extra physical work and/or corporal punishment." "Athletes are expected to act better in class than non-athletes. If an athlete gets into trouble at school, he/she will also be punished during the athletic period (i.e. tardies, class disruptions)."

• Lovelady ISD
All students in this district "will be subjected to corporal punishment unless the parent/guardian provides a written statement requesting otherwise".
  CP is available for Class I offenses (kissing, handholding, speeding, reckless driving) and Class II offenses (skipping, cheating, profanity).
  Stats: No CP was recorded at Lovelady Junior High/High School in 2013/14, but 24 boys and 2 girls received swats in 2015/16. The renewed availability of CP caused ISS assignments to drop significantly, showing once more that offering spanking as a disciplinary option keeps students in the classroom, learning.

• Lufkin ISD
CP (with written parental approval) is an alternative to detention at step two of the nine-step Middle School discipline plan.
  See also this April 2011 news item.

• Mabank ISD
Corporal punishment is mentioned as an "appropriate disciplinary action" for Level I offenses such as tardiness.
  Stats: No CP was recorded at Mabank High School during 2011/12. But 26 boys and 4 girls in grades 9-12 were paddled there in 2013/14.

• Madisonville CISD
 • Madisonville High School
 • Junior High School Physical Education policies and contract [DOC]
The document for the High School (grades 9 through 12) -- awarded an "exemplary campus" label by the Texas Education Agency -- describes the "Everyday Infraction" procedure, first introduced in 2011, whereby teachers keep a cumulative daily log of each student's tardies, as well as other lesser or "everyday" offenses such as dress code violations or displays of affection. Upon the 7th, 8th and 9th such offenses in each semester, the student is called to the Assistant Principal's office for a spanking (no alternative punishment specified).
  At the Junior High, the consequences for being tardy to P.E. include "swats", and the student must sign the contract to agree to this.
  Stats: Madisonville Junior High School has been making more use of CP. During 2009/10, 40 boys and 10 girls were paddled on one or more occasions; during 2011/12, these figures rose to 84 boys and 43 girls. Meanwhile at the High School, during 2011/12, 61 boys and 10 girls were paddled at Madisonville High School. The school has since tripled its use of CP for female students: 81 boys and 29 girls received swats on one or more occasions in 2013/14.

Paddle on principal's desk at Malakoff High School ("Malakoff High School welcomes new principal", The Monitor, Mabank, 5 July 2018)

• Malakoff ISD
 • Enrollment Packet
 • High School Tardy Policy
 • Student Packet of Yearly Athletic Forms
 • High School Disciplinary Guidelines 2020-21
On the 11th page of the enrollment packet is the unusual "Discipline Contract/Request for Corporal Punishment". One of the two options reads: "I request corporal punishment be administered as an alternative form of punishment".
  The high school's tardy policy stipulates that a student may elect to be paddled instead of having to attend ISS for a sixth tardy (per semester, presumably).
 New for 2020/21, the packet of Athletic Forms for the High School says on the last page, "Corporal punishment may be administered as an alternative punishment in the athletic program". The student-athlete him- or herself has to sign off on this as well as the parent.
  The Discipline Guidelines for the High School require either one or two days of ISS, or Corporal Punishment (2 swats), for a first, second or third violation of Level Two offenses. These include disrespect to authority, failing to serve Level One consequences, cutting class, cheating, tobacco, profanity, and a second offense of public display of affection, among others.
  Stats: During 2017/18, a total of 45 spankings were administered to 25 boys and 2 girls at Malakoff High School (grades 9-12), whereas no students had received swats during 2015/16.

• Marshall ISD
 • Progressive Discipline Matrix
In late 2011, the district surveyed its staff on discipline. Staff responses included: "Spanking should be allowed"; "Bring back the paddle!"; "There should be paddling allowed at every campus"; "Get back to paddling"; "The ability to deliver swats to students with a witness. I believe that there is no deterrence within our current guidelines". And now (from 2018) the district does have a district-wide discipline plan: the "Progressive Discipline Matrix", setting out the disciplinary consequences of various offenses, with many instances of ISS "or corporal punishment". In all cases where corporal punishment is available, it is an alternative to one, two or three days of ISS.
  Spanking is an option for all students in grades 6-12 (but not, in the majority of cases, for younger students) for a wide range of sins, including cheating, insubordination, disrespect, gambling, leaving class or school without permission, failure to attend detention, dress-code violations, food or drinks without authorization, and much more.
  Additionally, students in grades 9-12, but not younger students, may choose to be paddled for a first, second and third cell phone or electronic device violation.
  See also this Oct 2012 news item, which made it clear that no one is paddled against his or her wish, so CP is always a choice for the student.
  Stats: In 2011/12, 68 boys and 21 girls at the High School (grades 9-12) received swats.

• Martin's Mill ISD
At the Junior/Senior High School, corporal punishment is now listed as one of the "Appropriate Disciplinary Actions" for Class I infractions (the least serious).

• Mason ISD
 • Mason High School
 • Mason Junior High School
For Level I offenses, high-school students (grades 9 through 12) may choose between a two-swat spanking, 1 day ISS, or 1 day Saturday School. The same choice of punishment is offered to a student who receives a fifth lunch detention in a six-week period for minor infractions such as tardies, dress-code violations or PDA.
  The Junior High School has identical language.
  Stats: Four boys chose a paddling at the Junior High School in 2015/16.

• Mathis ISD
 • Student Code of Conduct
 • Extracurricular Code of Conduct
 • High School principal's blog for 21 August 2016
Earlier versions of this district's board policy specifically forbade the use of CP. That was unanimously overturned in Sep 2015 following the arrival of a new Superintendent and the election of a new school board. The previous board had decided as recently as July 2014 NOT to reintroduce CP. See also this Nov 2015 announcement to parents, setting out the new policy in detail. This news release by the High School announced that spanking came into effect from 6 January 2016.
  A further change came in 2018, when a same-sex rule was abolished, so male teachers may now corporally discipline female students and vice versa.
  Paddling is an alternative to Saturday School for inter alia disregard of authority, property offenses, possession of prohibited items, and safety transgressions; for a second offense of using electronic devices; and for a 5th through 9th tardy per semester (two swats) and a 10th through 14th tardy (three swats). From 2017, this spanking-for-tardies policy no longer applies at the elementary level.
  See page 104 of the handbook for an unusual form of words in the "Corporal Punishment Opt-Out" form.
  The Extracurricular Code of Conduct specifically provides for members of sports teams and other school organizations to be corporally punished.
  The High School principal's blog clarifies that cellphones may not be turned on during the school day and that the consequence for doing so a second time is Saturday ISS or corporal punishment.
  See also this Nov 2015 news report, which quotes the Mathis Superintendent as saying that one of the reasons for introducing the paddle was that his high school was losing students to neighboring districts that used CP and hence had better behavior. (Neighboring ISDs that spank include Banquete, Calallen, George West, Orange Grove.)

• Maud ISD
 • Corporal Punishment Acknowledgement
The "Corporal Punishment Acknowledgement" form enables parents to answer "yes" or "no" to "The district may use corporal punishment for disciplinary consequences with my child". If yes, parents are contacted before any paddling takes place.

• McCamey ISD
 • McCamey High School
 • McCamey Middle School
At the High School, paddling may be used for truancy: 1 swat (or two hours' Saturday school) for the first time, 2 swats (or 4 hours of Saturday school) the second time, and 3 swats (or 3 days' ISS) the third time. A second tardy to class within a 6-week grading period attracts 1 swat, and third 2 swats, and a fourth 3 swats. Swats are also a penalty for missing Saturday school.
  McCamey Middle School similarly offers CP for skipping class (2 swats every time) and truancy (3 swats every time). In addition, a first offense of fighting is punishable with 3 paddle swats or 5 days in ISS.
  Stats: McCamey High School has enthusiastically adopted paddling. During 2011/12, no CP was recorded. But in 2013/14, 53 boys and 26 girls were spanked on one or more occasions. These are particularly impressive numbers in light of the student enrollment: just 83 boys and 77 girls. These are also large numbers compared to years earlier: during 2000/01, 20 boys received paddlings, and during 2004/05, 25 boys were paddled. The extension of the spanking option to female students reflects a growing acceptance of equal treatment for high-school girls in Texas.

• Medina ISD
 • Registration documents
The registration documents include a form allowing parents to give their consent for their student "to participate in Corporal Punishment".

• Merkel ISD
 • Merkel High School
A same-sex requirement was deleted from the board policy in Nov 2011.
  At the High School, CP was in the previous version a possible consequence for level II and III infractions, but not for level I (the least serious). That distinction has disappeared in the latest version, implying that the paddle may now be a consequence for level I offenses as well, e.g. repeated tardies.
  Stats: Merkel High School recorded no CP from 2000/01 through 2013/14. Joining the chorus of Texas high schools that have more recently introduced their students to the paddle, 17 boys and 6 girls in grades 9 through 12 had to report to the office for posterial discipline in 2015/16.
  History: See this Oct 2009 news item about a coach who allegedly paddled nine Merkel Middle School football players over their boxer shorts. (This is unusual and unnecessary, but there seems to be no law against it.)

• Mexia ISD
Stats: 150 students were paddled in this district in 2011/12, falling to 97 in 2015/16.
  History: Mexia ISD unanimously decided to reintroduce CP in July 2009, noting support for it from "a strong majority" of the local community (board minutes -- no longer on line), having abolished it in 2003 and decided not to reinstate it in 2004.

• Miami ISD (Texas)
 • Corporal Punishment Permission Form
The Corporal Punishment Permission Form (on the 12th page of the registration packet) has these unusual details: "Corporal Punishment will be administered by spanking the buttocks, no more than three (3) times, of a student with a flat-surfaced paddle that will cause no more than temporary pain and not inflict permanent damage to the body." It "may not be administered for academic deficiency or conduct not related to the school"; and also, "One adult employee of the school will be present to witness the spanking".

• Midlothian ISD
Local sources report that in early 2014 Midlothian High School reversed its policy of not paddling female students; they are now, like the boys, offered the option of swats instead of a three-hour after-school detention. A rule that girls must be spanked by a female administrator was rescinded in 2015.

• Mildred ISD, Corsicana
 • Corporal Punishment Waiver (No longer accessible to the general public)
In 2020 the CP waiver document stated:

"Your child has asked to receive Corporal Punishment (swats) in lieu of ISS (In school Suspension). With your permission, administration will administer corporal punishment in the morning at 8 a.m. If your child chooses not to receive corporal punishment, he or she will receive 3 days or more of ISS (depending on the offense and your child's disciplinary history)."

 We know from local sources that a number of Texas districts now make it a practice to administer spankings at the start of morning school. Mildred ISD was the first to set this out in writing.
  In 2012 this district abolished a same-sex requirement for CP.

• Miller Grove ISD, Cumby
Corporal punishment is still available here, though it is no longer specified that, in grades 6 through 12, "2 swats" is a punishment for a third offense of any kind.
  In 2015 the board abolished an earlier same-sex rule for CP.

• Mineola ISD
 • Athletic Handbook
"Mineola High School may use any of the following consequences for students who choose to violate campus discipline policies," one of which is CP. This applies only in grades 9 through 12. Paddling does not feature at the elementary, primary or middle schools.
  For members of sports teams, "Athletes are required to be administered corporal punishment as needed. Also know that if the Campus Principal gives an athlete the option of swats instead of another form of punishment the athlete MUST take the swats or the Athletic Director reserves the right to administer swats along with the punishment the campus principal assigned." [Emphasis as in original.] This is nearly identical to the policy for the spanking of student athletes at Harleton ISD.

• Monahans-Wickett-Pyote ISD
 • Monahans High School
 • Corporal Punishment consent form
The consent form is for the Monahans Education Center, an "alternative school". There is an identical form for the High School. Parents may tick a box that says "I DO want corporal punishment used as a means of punishment for my child".
  Stats: 51 students (37 boys and 14 girls) were paddled at Monahans High School on one or more occasions in 2011/12. In 2015/16, this figure increased to 57 students (41 boys and 16 girls).

• Morgan Mill ISD
This district serves grades K through 8: there is no High School. CP "may be given by the Superintendent, principal, teacher, or coach".

• Mount Calm ISD
Unusually, this school district allows parents to be present when CP is administered. "Students sent to the office for being overly disruptive or disrespectful will be assigned to after school detention, Saturday school, or corporal punishment." Only the superintendent or principal may deliver the swats.

• Mount Pleasant ISD
 • Mount Pleasant High School
 • Mount Pleasant Junior High School
The Junior High School explicitly authorizes corporal punishment in athletics.
  See also this April 2015 news report that the district decided to abolish a same-sex requirement since "the elementary schools have mostly female principals". Now, it is sufficient that the second adult present (the witness) is of the same gender as the student.
 Local sources indicate that a general rule the High-School Vice-Principal administers swats at the start of school on the morning after the offense.
  Stats: At the High School (grades 9 through 12), 308 students (212 male and 86 female) were spanked on 369 occasions in 2015/16, representing 21% of the school's enrollment (and 30% of the boys).

• Mount Vernon ISD
Corporal punishment has been restored to Mount Vernon High School after many years' absence.

• Muenster ISD
The parental opt-in/opt-out form here is unusually worded: "I do / do not wish for my child to be considered for corporal punishment". Any CP will exclude a student from the Honor Roll. It is no longer specified that there is a maximum of three swats for any single infraction.

• Munday CISD
This district offers a graduated scale of paddling options, including 1 day of detention/ISS or 1 swat for tardiness, failure to follow a direction, or dress and grooming violations. For unacceptable language the student may choose either 3 days' detention, or two swats plus one day of detention.
  Corporal punishment is also specifically mentioned as a possible consequence for failure to turn in homework.
  Unusually, parents may request annually in writing that only swats or only detention/ISS be used.
  Stats: At the Secondary School (grades 7-12), 21 boys and 4 girls were spanked during 2015/16 in a total of 51 paddling sessions, for an annual CP rate of 16% at this very small school (enrollment: 157 students).

Texas public school districts N to Z are here.

• The following Texas public schools (districts A-M) also state that they use corporal punishment, but give few or no details beyond the Texas School Boards Association model text (Corporal punishment "is restricted to spanking or paddling the student" and shall be administered "in a designated place" with an approved instrument. Routine provisions on witnesses and documentation. Parents' requests to opt their student out must be made annually in writing). In many cases, but not all, either the paddler or the witness must be of the same sex as the student:

Abbott ISD

Abernathy ISD [DOC]

Academy ISD

Adrian ISD
• Stats: See this Nov 2014 news item, according to which Adrian ISD has an annual "CP rate" of 33%.

Alvin ISD
• History: See this April 2010 news item (with video clip).

Alvord ISD

Amherst ISD
• Stats: During 2009/10, 15 boys and 5 girls were spanked on one or more occasions. Two years later, CP use grew substantially: 42 boys and 28 girls received paddlings, possibly due to a stricter tardy policy introduced in 2011.
• See also this Nov 2014 news report that the district had an "annual CP rate" of 47%.

Anson ISD

Aransas Pass ISD

Archer City ISD
• Stats: In 2004/05, 40 boys were paddled in this district on at least one occasion. By 2011/12, the figure had nearly doubled for the boys and CP had been extended to the girls: 76 boys and 19 girls received official spankings. Of these, none was at Archer City High School, but in 2013/14 that school's tally increased from zero to 40 boys and 7 girls.

Arp ISD
• Stats: No CP was recorded at Arp High School in 2009/10. Two years later, 33 boys and 9 girls received paddlings on one or more occasions. This (re)introduction of CP coincided with a great reduction in the use of in-school suspension. During 2009/10, 105 students at the high school were put in ISS, but when swats were added to the disciplinary mix only 35 students received ISS. This may be an example of how spankings can keep high-school students in class, where they learn more. During 2015/16, 39 paddlings were meted out to 26 boys and 9 girls at the high school. With a total school enrollment of 253 students, this was a CP rate of 14%.

Aspermont ISD

Baird ISD

Balmorhea ISD

Bandera ISD

Bay City ISD
• Stats: From 2000/01 through 2011/12, no CP was recorded at Bay City High School. Like a number of Texas high schools, this school has since (re-)adopted the paddle: during 2013/14, 38 boys and 6 girls in grades 9 through 12 were spanked on at least one occasion.

Bells ISD
• Bells High School Band Handbook

Ben Bolt - Palito Blanco ISD
• Stats: During 2004/05, 10 boys were paddled at Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco High School. No paddling was reported again during any year surveyed (from 2006 through 2014). But in 2015/16, the paddle was back: 23 boys received swats. Reflecting recent Texas trends, spanking was re-implemented only for high-school students: it was not used at either the middle school or the elementary school.

Bishop CISD

Blackwell CISD
• Stats: No CP was recorded at Blackwell High School in 2013/14, but two boys received swats during 2015/16.

Bland ISD

Blooming Grove ISD

Bloomington ISD [DOC]

Bluff Dale ISD

Booker ISD

Bonham ISD

Borden County ISD, Gail

Borger ISD

Bowie ISD

Brackett ISD, Brackettville

Brady ISD

Breckenridge ISD
• Stats: At Breckenridge High School, no CP was recorded in 2011/12. During 2013/14, four boys were paddled there. This increased to 11 boys in 2015/16.

Bridge City ISD
• Athletic Handbook
• Stats: During 2011/12 at Bridge City High School, 38 boys and 2 girls received paddlings on one or more occasions.

Broaddus ISD
• Stats: During 2011/12, no paddlings were recorded at Broaddus High School; in 2013/14, 19 boys and 4 girls were spanked, while ISS assignments fell dramatically.

Bronte ISD

Brookesmith ISD
• Stats: No CP was recorded in 2000/01; in 2011/12, 18 boys and 4 girls received swats in this district of fewer than 100 students.

Brownfield ISD
• Stats: In 2011/12, 26 boys and 7 girls were paddled on one or more occasions at Brownfield High School. This figure rose to 39 boys and 22 girls for 2013/14.

Bryson ISD [DOC]

Buckholts ISD

Buena Vista ISD

Buffalo ISD (Texas)
• Stats: In 2011/12, paddlings were provided to 31 students (25b 6g) on one or more occasions at Buffalo High School. In 2013/14 this increased to 37 students (35b 2g).

Bullard ISD
• Stats: At Bullard High, paddlings rose from zero in 2013/14 to 28 in 2015/16, while ISS assignments fell from 107 to 85.

Burleson ISD
• History: See this March 2011 news item, which reported that CP was used 22 times in 2009/2010, and that only the principal may spank, usually at parental request.

Burton ISD

Bynum ISD

Caldwell ISD
• Stats: During 2011/12, 55 boys and 10 girls received at least one paddling at Caldwell High School.

Cameron ISD
• Cameron Junior High School
• C.H. Yoe High School

Canadian ISD

Carlisle ISD

Celina CISD

Center ISD

Centerville ISD, Leon County [DOC]
• Stats: 45 boys and 2 girls were spanked at Centerville High School in 2011/12.

Centerville ISD, Trinity County [DOC]

Central ISD, Pollok

Channelview ISD
• Stats: No CP was recorded at Channelview High School from 2000 through 2010, but in 2011/12 the paddle was in use, 64 boys and 50 girls receiving spankings on one or more occasions.

Channing ISD

Cherokee ISD
• Stats: See this Nov 2014 news item, according to which 29% of the students in the district were paddled in 2011/12.

Chester ISD

Childress ISD

Chillicothe ISD
• Stats: In 2006/07 no CP was recorded at Chillicothe High School, but during 2011/12, 17 boys were paddled.

China Spring ISD

Chireno ISD

Chisum ISD, Paris

Christoval ISD
• History: See this Sep 2010 news item.

City View ISD, Wichita Falls
• History: See this Dec 2010 report (with video clip), and this March 2011 item and its follows-up (with video clips).

Clarksville ISD

Claude ISD

Cleveland ISD (Texas)
• History: See this Nov 2005 news item (with video clip).

Clifton ISD

Clyde CISD
• Clyde High School
• Stats: In 2011/12 at the High School, 17 boys were paddled. Nine boys and 2 girls received swats at the Junior High. During 2015/16, six boys were spanked at Clyde High School, and four boys and four girls at Clyde Junior High.

Coahoma ISD
• Stats: During 2011/12, four boys were paddled at Coahoma High School. Two years later, 24 boys and 4 girls were spanked.

Coleman ISD

Colmesneil ISD

Columbus ISD (Texas)
• Stats: 135 students were paddled in this district in 2011/12, up from 55 in 2006.

Community ISD

Comstock ISD
• Stats: At this small school, 5 boys were paddled during 2009/10. This doubled to 10 boys in 2011/12.

Connally ISD, Waco

Coupland ISD

Crockett ISD

Cross Plains ISD
• Stats: No CP was recorded at Cross Plains High School from at least 2000/01 through 2013/14. Then six boys received swats during 2015/16. Out-of-school suspensions dropped from 27 students in 2013/14 to two students in 2015/16. This could suggest that a high school, simply by introducing CP (even if it is not often used), can get its students to behave better.

Crowell ISD

Crystal City ISD

Damon ISD

Darrouzett ISD New!

Dayton ISD (Texas)
• Stats: 90 students were paddled at Dayton High School (grades 9 through 12) during 2000/01, but subsequently CP was abandoned. No CP was recorded in 2006/07 or 2009/10. By 2011/12, the paddle had made a comeback: 65 boys and 8 girls received "pops" on one or more occasions.
• See also these minutes from July 2014 in which the Dayton board decided to retain the spanking option.

Decatur ISD

De Leon ISD

Devine ISD

Dew ISD

Dimmitt ISD

Dodd City ISD

Dublin ISD (Texas)
• Stats: Six boys were paddled at Dublin High School during 2015/16.

Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD, Fort Worth

Early ISD

East Bernard ISD
• Stats: During 2015/16, 26 boys and 2 girls received a total of 40 spankings at East Bernard Junior High School.

East Central ISD

Edcouch-Elsa ISD
• Disciplinary Referral Form

Eden CISD

Edna ISD

El Campo ISD
• History: see this April 2010 news item.

Electra ISD
• Stats: No CP was recorded in 2011/12 or 2013/14. During 2015/16, two boys were spanked at Electra Elementary School, but Electra ISD uses the paddle much more to discipline the teenagers than the younger children. In 2015/16, 50 of the 65 boys and 24 of the 53 girls received swats at Electra Junior High/High School in 186 paddlings.

Elgin ISD

Elysian Fields ISD
• Stats: 80 students were paddled in this district in 2011/12, almost all of them at the High School (48 boys and 25 girls). This was an increase from zero in 2006/07, and from 40 (all boys) in 2000/01.

Era ISD

Etoile ISD

Eula ISD

Eustace ISD
• Stats: During 2000/01, five boys received paddlings at Eustace High School. The district was not surveyed again until 2011/12, when no CP was recorded. No students were spanked during 2013/14 either. However, local sources report that as of Spring 2017, Eustace High School has now joined many other Texas high schools in restoring the paddle.

Everman ISD
• History: See this Aug 2006 illustrated news item (with video clip).

Excelsior ISD

Ezzell ISD

Fairfield ISD

Fannindel ISD, Ladonia
• Stats: No CP was recorded at Fannindel High School in 2000/01. Ten years later in 2011/12, 15 out of 47 boys, and 2 out of 41 girls, received one or more spankings.

Farmersville ISD

Flatonia ISD

Follett ISD

Forestburg ISD

Fort Davis ISD

Fort Elliott CISD, Briscoe

Fort Hancock ISD

Franklin ISD

Frankston ISD
• Stats: During 2011/12, nine boys were paddled at Frankston High School. Two years later, 22 boys and 2 girls received swats. During 2015/16, 18 of the 98 high-school boys were punished at 34 spanking sessions.

Fredericksburg ISD
• See also this Feb 2019 news item.

Freer ISD

Frost ISD

Fruitvale ISD
• Discipline Management Plan
• Stats: During 2011/12, two boys were paddled at Fruitvale High School. Two years later, 11 boys received swats.

Gainesville ISD

Garner ISD

Gary ISD

Gause ISD [DOC]

Gholson ISD

Gilmer ISD

Glasscock County ISD, Garden City

Glen Rose ISD

Gold-Burg ISD, Bowie

Goldthwaite CISD

Goodrich ISD
• Stats: No CP was recorded at Goodrich High School during 2006/07. Five years later, the next time the district was surveyed, the paddle was in use, with six boys and six girls spanked at the high school out of a student body of 29 boys and 39 girls.

Gordon ISD

Graford ISD [DOC]

Graham ISD

Granbury ISD

Grandfalls-Royalty ISD

Grand Saline ISD

Granger ISD

Gray ISD

Gregory-Portland ISD

Gruver ISD

Gustine ISD

Guthrie CSD

Hale Center ISD

Hallettsville ISD

Hallsburg ISD, Waco
• History: See this Aug 2005 news item.
• Stats: No CP was recorded in this elementary-only district in 2013/14. During 2015/16, 18 boys and 9 girls received swats.

Hallsville ISD
• See also this Sep 2014 news item.

Hamilton ISD
• Stats: At Hamilton High School, no CP was recorded in 2013/14. But six boys were paddled there during 2015/16.

Hamshire-Fannett ISD
• Stats 1: See this May 2012 news item -- 73 paddlings in the first 9 months of 2011/12 in the district as a whole.
• Stats 2: No CP was recorded at the High School in 2013/14. But in 2015/16, 16 boys and 2 girls received swats in grades 9 through 12.

Happy ISD

Harlandale ISD, San Antonio

Harmony ISD

Harper ISD
• See also this Feb 2019 news item.

Harrold ISD

Hart ISD [DOC]

Hartley ISD

Harts Bluff ISD

Haskell CISD

Hawley ISD

Hedley ISD

Henrietta ISD

Hereford ISD

Hermleigh ISD

Hico ISD

Hidalgo ISD

Higgins ISD

High Island ISD [DOC]

Highland ISD
• Stats: During 2013/14, two boys were paddled at Highland School. This increased to 15 boys in 2015/16, constituting 6.5% of the students at this small school.

Hillsboro ISD [DOC]
• Athletic Handbook

Holland ISD

Holliday ISD
• Stats: During 2011/12, nine boys and seven girls were spanked at Holliday High School. Two years later, CP use for the boys more than tripled: 33 boys and 10 girls received at least one paddling.

Howe ISD

Huckabay ISD

Hudson ISD

Hull-Daisetta ISD

Industrial ISD

Ingram ISD
• Stats: No CP was recorded at Ingram Tom Moore High School during 2000/01, 2004/05, 2011/12 or 2013/14. But in 2015/16, 51 boys and 11 girls received a spanking on 87 separate occasions. In line with the Texas trend, there was no CP at the elementary school.

Iredell ISD
• Stats: During 2011/12, 7 boys and 2 girls received at least one spanking at this small school of 76 boys and 73 girls.

Italy ISD
• Stats: During 2011/12 at Italy High School, six boys were paddled. Two years later, the school had tripled its use of CP, and extended it to girls: 15 boys and 4 girls were spanked on at least one occasion.

Itasca ISD
• Stats: Itasca High School recorded no CP from 2000/01 through 2013/14. Four boys and two girls in grades 9-12 were spanked in 2015/16.

Jacksboro ISD

Jasper ISD
• Stats: No CP was recorded at Jasper's schools in 2000/01 or 2006/07; but in 2011/12, 47 students (45b 2g) were paddled at the High School (grades 9 through 12), another 26 (24b 2g) at the Junior High, and 20 (16b 4g) at the Elementary School. By 2015/16, Jasper High School had increased its use of the paddle. The result was a decrease in assignments to in-school suspension. During 2013/14, 49 high-school students were spanked, and 289 students were assigned to ISS. In 2015/16, 83 high-school students were spanked, while ISS assignments dropped to 222. More specifically, during 2015/16, 83 boys at Jasper High School received swats on a total of 154 occasions. Also during 2015/16, 68 boys and 4 girls at Jasper Junior High School received 132 spankings, a sharp increase over the 35 junior-high students chastised in 2011/12.

Johnson City ISD

Jonesboro ISD

Karnack ISD

Karnes City ISD

Kaufman ISD

Kennard ISD
• Stats: 17 boys and 2 girls were paddled at Kennard High School in 2011/12.

Kilgore ISD
• See also this Sep 2014 news item.

Kirbyville CISD
• Stats: No CP was recorded at Kirbyville High School in 2013/14. During 2015/16, though, 22 boys and 2 girls received a total of 31 spankings.

Klondike ISD
• Stats: Five students were paddled in 2000/01. This figure increased to 26 students in 2011/12.

Kress ISD
• Stats: Four boys were spanked on at least one occasion at Kress High School in 2015/16.

Krum ISD

La Feria ISD

Lago Vista ISD

La Grange ISD

Lake Dallas ISD

Lampasas ISD

Lancaster ISD

Laneville ISD

Lasara ISD

LaPoynor ISD, LaRue

Latexo ISD [DOC]

La Vega ISD
• See also this Feb 2010 news item and this June 2010 follow-up.

La Villa ISD

Leakey ISD

Lefors ISD

Leggett ISD [DOC]

Leonard ISD

Levelland ISD

Leverett's Chapel ISD

Lexington ISD (Texas)

Liberty-Eylau ISD, Texarkana
• Stats: 21 boys and 4 girls at Liberty-Eylau High School were paddled on one or more occasions during 2011/12. In a departure from what we normally see, in 2015/16, this changed to six girls but no boys spanked.

Lindale ISD

Lindsay ISD

Lingleville ISD [DOC]

Lipan ISD

Little Cypress-Mauriceville Consolidated ISD, Orange
• See also this May 2012 news item, which says there were 43 paddlings in this district in the first nine months of 2011/12, and this Aug 2012 report that the school board had decided not to abolish CP, and was considering doing away with the requirement for the person administering the punishment to be of the same sex as the student. This change was later made.

Lockhart ISD

Lockney ISD [DOC]

Lohn ISD
• Stats: During 2009/10, 10 boys were spanked at the K-12 Lohn School. Two years later, 21 boys and 4 girls received swats.

London ISD, Corpus Christi

Loop ISD

Loraine ISD
• Stats: Loraine School recorded no CP during 2000/01. A decade later in 2011/2, when the district was next surveyed, the paddle had been (re-)introduced, and 15 out of 84 boys, and 5 out of 62 girls, were spanked. More recently (2017), local sources reported that 12th-graders were among those paddled.

Louise ISD
• History: See this April 2010 news item.

Lueders-Avoca ISD

Lumberton ISD
• Stats: See this May 2012 news item -- 87 paddlings in the first 9 months of 2011/12.

Lytle ISD

Magnolia ISD
• See also this June 2008 news item and this Dec 2016 report.

Malta ISD, New Boston

Marble Falls ISD
• Stats: No CP was recorded at Marble Falls High School during 2000/01 or 2004/05, but then paddling was introduced. 5 boys were spanked in 2009/10; 4 boys during 2011/12; 4 boys during 2013/14; and 7 boys during 2015/16.
• History: See this Aug 2005 news item and this Dec 2011 one.

Marlin ISD

Martinsville ISD
• Stats: During 2015/16, 15 boys and 4 girls received swats at Martinsville School.

Matagorda ISD
• Stats: Four boys and two girls were spanked at this school in 2015/16.

McGregor ISD

McLean ISD

May ISD

Maypearl ISD

McMullen County ISD, Tilden

Meadow ISD

Melissa ISD

Memphis ISD (Texas)
• Stats: From 2000/01 through 2011/12, no CP was recorded at Memphis High School. During 2013/14, 17 boys were spanked at the high school. At the same time there was a substantial decline in ISS assignments, from 28 in 2011/12 to 13 in 2013/14. During 2015/16, the high school extended equal treatment to the girls: 8 girls joined 13 boys in receiving a total of 26 spankings.

Menard ISD

Mercedes ISD

Meridian ISD

Meyersville ISD

Milano ISD
• Stats: Six boys were paddled at Milano High School during 2013/14.

Miles ISD
• Stats: 11 boys were spanked here in 2011/12.

Mission CISD

Montague ISD

Monte Alto ISD [DOC]

Montgomery ISD (Texas)

Moody ISD

Morton ISD

Motley County ISD

Moulton ISD

Mt. Enterprise ISD
• Stats: No CP was recorded at Mt. Enterprise High School during 2011/12. But in 2013/14, 15 boys and 14 girls received spankings on at least one occasion.

Muleshoe ISD [DOC]
• Stats: 60 students were paddled at Muleshoe High School in 2000/01. No CP was recorded since then, through 2013/14. But local sources report that by the spring of 2017 the high school had reintroduced CP as an alternative to ISS. Student athletes (girls and boys) choose a spanking to avoid the extra punishment they will receive from their coach if they go to ISS.

Mullin ISD

Mumford ISD

Murchison ISD