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 as private schools and listed on this separate page.
(5) Texas law makes school attendance compulsory from age 6 to age 19. With a few exceptions, public High Schools in Texas are for grades 9 through 12 (ages c. 15 through 19). "Junior High" (alternatively called "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.
• Neches ISD
Not to be confused with Port Neches-Groves ISD.
Stats: During 2015/16, 5 boys and 2 girls received a total of 9 spankings.
• Nederland ISD
Local sources indicate that swats are administered at Nederland High School the next school day; that students may choose to receive three swats in lieu of one day of on-campus suspension (OCS); and that students may be spanked for such misbehavior as excessive tardies, writing a fake pass, going to the parking lot without permission, or going into a restricted athletics area without the coach's permission.
History: See news reports from Aug 2008 and March 2012 and May 2012.
Stats: Nederland High School (grades 9 through 12) steadily increased its use of the paddle in recent years, while making girls as well as boys eligible to be spanked. Here are the statistics: 2006/07: 30 boys; 2009/10: 65 boys, 10 girls; 2011/12: 75 boys, 16 girls; and in 2015/16 a total of 204 spankings were administered to 159 boys and 24 girls. In keeping with recent Texas trends, only a few students were paddled in 2015/16 at one of the district's four elementary schools, with no CP provided at the other three.
• Needville ISD
• Needville High School
• Needville Junior High School
For minor (level I) infractions at the High School, CP may be substituted for detention. "This decision will be made by the teacher assigning the detention."
At the Junior High School, corporal punishment may be applied for major as well as minor offenses, in place of after-school detention, at the request of the student.
Stats: During 2013/14, no CP was recorded at any of the district's schools. Then the district decided to improve student conduct by means of a paddle, especially for the younger teenagers. In 2015/16, at Needville Junior High School, 99 boys and 34 girls were spanked on one or more occasions, constituting 26.5% of the students, the highest percentage of any school in the district.
• New Boston ISD
• New Boston High School
• New Boston Middle School
In the pan-district board policy, a same-sex requirement for CP applies only in grades 6 through 12.
• New Home ISD
"Any student receiving four or more tardies will receive corporal punishment." This is a significant switch towards CP since a previous version, in which five or more tardies meant three days of ISS. Also, "A third dress code offense will result in the student being given sweats to wear and corporal punishment."
Stats: During 2015/16, 27 boys and 4 girls were spanked at New Home School.
• Newton ISD
• Corporal punishment form [DOC]
• Athletic Handbook
Student athletes may be spanked by coach. Students whose parents do not agree with this "should not be involved in athletics". The athlete must sign a form stating "If I do happen to make a poor decision, I can accept the consequences of my behavior". See this Sep 2014 news item explaining that coaches need to be able to paddle errant athletes "because they can't take time out of practice to make them flip tires or run laps".
Stats: During 2011/12, 65 boys and 22 girls at Newton High School received swats. During 2015/16, 40 boys and 10 girls received swats on a total of 107 occasions.
• Normangee ISD
• Athletic Code
A small addition to the usual wording at the High School: "Before corporal punishment is used, the district may give, but is not required to give, the student a choice between other disciplinary measures and corporal punishment" (our emphasis).
From 2019, the Athletic Code now lists corporal punishment as a consequence for rule violations by student athletes. There is no mention of a parental opt-out. "Refusal of punishment is grounds for removal from the program."
Stats: Normangee High School (grades 9 through 12) had already increased its use of the paddle. During 2013/14, 6 boys and 4 girls received swats. Two years later the numbers had tripled. In 2015/16, the school spanked 27 of the 98 boys, and 14 of the 85 girls.
• North Zulch ISD
• Athletic Handbook
In sports teams, CP is listed as the second out of ten "types of punishment that can be administered for rule violations".
Stats: In 2011/12, 57 boys and 20 girls were paddled on one or more occasions.
• Nueces Canyon CISD, Barksdale
• Athletic Code of Honor
For members of sports teams, "Violation of these rules may result in penalties at the coaches' discretion. These include and may be a combination of: corporal punishment, extra running, athletic probation, suspension, and possible expulsion from Athletics". CP was mentioned in previous versions, but not explicitly in combination with other punishments.
• Oakwood ISD
• Oakwood High School
The board policy has a provision not seen elsewhere: "Parents shall have no right to witness the administration of corporal punishment".
Stats: During 2011/12, no corporal punishment was recorded at Oakwood High School, and 27 students received ISS assignments (17b 10g). Then paddling was introduced: in 2013/14, 11 boys and no girls received swats, while ISS assignments declined to only 10 (6b 4g). In 2015/16, CP was extended to the high-school girls. 25 spankings were provided to 21 students (10 of the 44 boys, and 11 of the 46 girls), and ISS assignments dipped further to 8.
• Olfen ISD, Rowena
"Refusing corporal punishment may result in escalation towards other forms of discipline: suspension, DAEP, expulsion or revocation of transfer."
• Olney ISD
• Athletic Policy
A same-sex policy introduced here in 2011 was abolished in 2015.
For athletes, failure to comply with the team rules "may result in corporal punishment", which is defined as "one to three swats with a board witnessed in the principal's office or coach's office". This was new in 2018; earlier versions of the athletics document made no mention of CP.
Stats: From 2000/01 through 2013/14, no CP was recorded at any school in the district. It was then decided to introduce the paddle, but only for male teenagers: in 2015/16, Olney Junior High School spanked 18 boys, and Olney High School two. There was no CP at Olney Elementary School.
• Olton ISD
• High School Athletic Policy
The Athletic policy states that sports coaches may provide corporal punishment to team members for minor offenses. As in many other Texas high school athletic programs, both the student and his or her parents have to sign an acknowledgment accepting paddling.
Stats: During 2013/14, 2 boys were spanked at Olton High School. This increased to 14 boys and 2 girls during 2015/16.
• Onalaska ISD
Here in 2012 were introduced two different "Discipline Management Charts", one for grades Pre-K through 6 and the other for grades 7 through 12. In the upper grades there are over 20 separate offenses listed for which a spanking may be the consequence, either two or three swats. In most cases this is an alternative to In-School Suspension, where 5 days in ISS is equivalent to three paddle swats, or to after-school detention, where both 5 and 10 days' ASD generally equate to two swats, and fifteen days to three swats. New in the 2016 version, a secondary student may be paddled for a first tobacco offense; a second or third dress code violation; and a first or second violation of rules while placed in ISS.
There is special provision for tardies. For the 4th and 5th tardy the punishment is 5 days' detention or two swats; for the 6th tardy, it is 10 days' detention, or three swats (the CP option in this case is a recently added provision), or 3 days in ISS. From the 7th tardy onwards it is just 3 days in ISS.
• Orange Grove ISD
• Employee Handbook
"Corporal Punishment (use of the paddle) is included in the Orange Grove I.S.D. Student Code of Conduct."
The Employee Handbook states incorrectly that "as per statute" only same-gender paddling is allowed. Texas has no such law. Also, "Students should not be spanked in the presence of other students". Paddlings are to be administered in the office.
• Ore City ISD
• Ore City High School
• Ore City Middle School
• Ore City Elementary School
Interesting policy differentiation here: at the Elementary School, parents must explicitly opt in if they assent to CP, while at the Middle and High Schools, consent is assumed unless parents explicitly opt out. This is consistent with the trend in many Texas districts: a de-emphasizing of CP for younger children while maintaining or expanding the use of spanking for high-school students.
• Overton ISD
• Athletic Handbook
Corporal punishment is the first-mentioned penalty for athletes who violate the team rules.
• Paducah ISD
A same-sex requirement for CP was abolished here in 2012. The student should have the opportunity to say if there is any "family or medical" reason why he/she should not be paddled.
A 2017 class information page for Math at Paducah High School (grades 9 through 12), no longer on line, said "On the 3rd occurrence of not finishing your assignment, you will be sent to the office for ISS or swats".
• Pampa ISD
• Student Code of Conduct
Spanking was introduced here in 2020 for the first time in many years -- See this feature article. The Code of Conduct says: "The Board of Trustees recently adopted corporal punishment as a disciplinary technique within policy FO (LOCAL). Please contact your campus principal to complete forms or ask questions."
Despite the standard Texas wording in the new handbook, no CP opt-out form is included in either the forms packet or the parent packet, so parents who choose not to permit their student to be paddled must submit their own written statement.
• Panther Creek CISD, Valera
Corporal punishment is particularly mentioned as a penalty for dress code violations. This includes boys with hair untidy or too long or who are unshaven. If within three calendar days a young man does not cut his hair to the proper length, he may be spanked.
See also this Feb 2012 news item.
• Paradise ISD
• Board policy
The Board Policy states that, if the staff member delivering the spanking is not of the same sex as the student, the official witness must be. This change was made in 2012.
Stats: During 2009/10, 15 boys at Paradise High School received swats on one or more occasions. This increased to 23 boys in 2011/12. No high-school girls received swats in either year. During 2013/14, paddling was extended to the girls. That year, two girls, and 17 boys, were spanked on at least one occasion at the High School.
• Paris ISD
• Paris High School
• Paris Junior High School
• Athletic Handbook
It is no longer spelled out that students are always given the opportunity to choose between corporal punishment and some other penalty.
Paris (formerly Travis) Junior High has simplified its procedure for tardies. Now, at the second tardy per semester, students are offered a choice between one day's lunch detention and an unstated number of paddle swats (earlier versions specified two). Subsequent tardies to school no longer involve the possibility of CP. However, tardiness to ISS results in "a choice of two swats or an additional ISS assignment".
The (senior) High School no longer specifically mentions spanking for latecomers, but CP remains available in general.
See also this Oct 2012 news item, which clarifies that students in grades K through 12 may be paddled, and that the relevant PISD employees are trained in how to administer it -- important but rarely mentioned.
Stats: 257 students were paddled in Paris ISD schools in 2011/12, up from 180 two years earlier. CP is also used in the district's DAEP program. During 2013/14, seven boys and six girls were spanked on at least one occasion at Paris DAEP.
• Pearsall ISD
Stats: No CP was recorded at Pearsall High School during any year surveyed (2000/01, 2004/05, 2009/11, 2011/12, or 2013/14). But local sources report that the high school introduced spanking in September 2014, allowing boys and girls to opt for a 4-swat paddling for each day of ISS. To replace multi-day ISS assignments, swats are given on consecutive days.
• Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD
For disrespect, disruption, insubordination, profanity, or failure to serve detention, the student is offered a choice of corporal punishment or 3 days in ISS.
Stats: At Crockett Middle School, 322 students (68% of the total enrollment) were spanked in 2011/12. At Pecos High School, during 2013/14, 37 boys and 4 girls chose paddlings on one or more occasions, a slight increase from the 31 boys and 4 girls paddled during 2011/12.
History: See this Feb 1995 news report about the reinstatement of CP at P-B-T's middle schools.
• Petrolia CISD
Teachers, and not only principals or coaches as in many Texas districts, may administer the paddle, but "the campus principal, Athletic Director, or head football coach must approve all corporal punishment".
Stats: During 2013/14, 15 boys and 2 girls underwent CP at Petrolia Elementary School, but no students at Petrolia Junior High/High School. Two years later, as is becoming more common in Texas school districts, the situation reversed: spanking was eliminated for the elementary students and introduced for the teenagers, as 13 boys were paddled on at least one occasion at the secondary school.
• Pettus ISD
Here, the semester exam exemption policy requires the student not to have received any swats.
Stats: In 2009/10, 25 boys were paddled on one or more occasions. Two years later, paddling had been extended to female recipients, and had more than doubled: in 2011/12, 46 boys and 13 girls received CP. As in many Texas school districts now, CP is more frequently used at the secondary than at the elementary level. In 2011/12, only 4 boys and 2 girls were spanked at the elementary school.
• Pine Tree ISD, Longview
• Board Policy
• Junior High School Campus Improvement Plan
CP is specifically mentioned as a penalty for a second minor violation of the school bus rules, as an alternative to being banned from the bus.
New from 2018, "Students will be assigned 1½ hours of detention for a minor offense (including tardies). Corporal punishment may be substituted if parents and administrator agree."
The Board Policy lays down that, in grades 7 through 12, but apparently not at the elementary level, the punisher is to be of the same sex as the student being spanked.
From 2018 the JH campus improvement plan proclaims the "implementation of a stricter discipline plan".
Stats: This Feb 2007 news report quoted a Pine Tree ISD spokesperson as saying that in practice CP was hardly ever used. But this Sep 2014 news item shows that, seven years later, the paddle was back in full swing: there were 109 spankings in 2013/14.
See also this Sep 2016 news report, which notes 773 paddlings in Pine Tree in the preceding five years.
• Pittsburg ISD (Texas)
• Football Handbook
The Student Management Plan for Pittsburg High School (grades 9 through 12) provides for corporal punishment at Step 4, but for serious offenses like smoking or vandalism, Steps 1, 2 and 3 (detentions, etc.) may be skipped and a paddling administered straight away.
The 2019 football handbook states: "Our coaches treat our players like sons. Corporal punishment will be administered in Boy's Athletics. Athletes that prefer not to take a lick will be given running time. Running time will be done on athletes' time, not practice time." For horseplay or profanity, the punishment is "One lick or 200 yd Air Raid". (Air Raid in American football is a technical term for a particular series of moves.) For fighting the consequence is "Two licks or 2 miles".
On the last page of the football document, the player and his parent must both sign that they do or do not "agree to the use of corporal punishment (spanking)".
Stats: 53 boys and 16 girls at Pittsburg High School received paddlings in 2011/12, up from zero in 2006/07.
• Plains ISD
• Plains ISD Athletic Handbook [DOC]
The Athletic Handbook provides that coaches may spank athletes who exhibit disrespect or violate team policies. The only alternative penalty to CP mentioned in this context is "extra work".
• Plainview ISD
• Plainview ISD Athletic Policy
The student may be given a choice between paddling and other punishments.
Corporal punishment (up to 3 swats) is an option in lieu of a first ISS placement for members of sports teams, subject to approval by the parents and the athletic department. In previous years the maximum paddling was 2 swats, so this is a 50% increase in the intensity of the spanking for athletes.
Stats: No CP was recorded at Plainview High School in 2000/01, 2004/05, 2006/07 or 2009/10. The high school then adopted paddling, 32 students receiving swats during 2011/12 and 26 in 2013/14.
• Pleasanton ISD
Note the section headed "Eighteen-year-olds":
Eighteen-year-olds are considered adults and are accorded the rights of adulthood. However, eighteen-year-olds enrolled in the Pleasanton Independent School District are also "students" and are subject to all rules and regulations of other students as long as they are enrolled in Pleasanton High School. If a student is eighteen or older and still residing with the parent, the parent will be required to sign all school documents.
This implies that even if an 18-year-old thinks that he or she is "too old" to be spanked, the school is allowed to paddle unless the parents have signed the opt-out form.
• Poteet ISD
In 2015 this district revoked a same-sex requirement for CP.
• Prairie Lea ISD
Here is an unusual provision: "The District does not use corporal punishment as a corrective action, however, space will be provided to parents and legal guardians requiring a private conference area in order redirect their children".
• Prairiland ISD, Pattonville
• Prairiland High School
During 2006/07, five boys received spankings at Prairiland High School. Within five years, administrators had decided to be much more assertive with the use of the paddle: 61 boys and 11 girls were spanked out of the 350 students at this high school (grades 9 through 12) in 2011/12, giving an annual "CP rate" of 21%.
Due to a change in the policy for encouraging students to be on time, even more spanking may be happening now. During 2011/12, the first three tardies brought no punishment, the fourth and fifth tardies brought morning detention, and the sixth tardy brought Saturday school. A special provision was introduced for 2012/13. Now for the fifth and sixth tardies, the punishment is "one lick or detention". The seventh and eighth tardies (presumably per semester) bring "2 licks or Saturday School". (The use of the word "licks" is fairly unusual in Texas, where strokes of the paddle are normally called "swats".)
The separate handbook for the Junior High School does not mention CP for tardies at all, only detention. Although there are more elementary students than high-school students in the district, during 2011/12 there was more CP at the high school than at the two elementary schools combined. Prairiland, like several other places recently in Texas, appears to recognize not only that more frequent use of "licks" can improve high-school student behavior, but also that a paddle may be a more effective discipline tool for teenagers than for younger children.
• Rains ISD, Emory
• Rains High School
• Rains Junior High School
• Athletic Handbook
A previous requirement that the person inflicting CP be of the same sex as the student was deleted in 2011, enabling female students to be paddled by male staff, and vice versa.
At the High School (grades 9 through 12), there is a maximum of three swats. Also here, but not at the other schools in the district, explicit provision is made for repeatedly late students to be spanked. The third tardy per semester brings "two after-school detentions or one swat"; the fourth, "four after-school detentions or two swats".
At the Junior High School there is also a maximum of three swats, but no specific reference to paddling for tardies.
New in 2018, corporal punishment has been added to the techniques available to sports coaches. Also, if athletes attend BMC, AEP, ASD, or Saturday School, or have a straight suspension, "they still will be subject to discipline by their respective head coach after completing their school punishment". So they may have to receive a paddling after serving their detention.
Stats: 23 boys and 9 girls at Rains High School were spanked on at least one occasion in 2015/16.
• Reagan County ISD
• Athletic Policy
The pan-district handbook offers parents a form with three choices: approval of CP, prohibition of CP, and approval "BUT only if I am notified first".
The Athletics document warns members of sports teams that if they get into trouble they must take a spanking: "if there is a choice given by the principal, they need to choose swats, not ISS", because "While an athlete is in ISS, they are not able to participate in practice or games".
Stats: During 2011/12, 38 boys and 9 girls received corporal punishment. Two years later, these figures increased to 65 boys and 34 girls.
Specifically, at the High School during 2013/14, the numbers of disciplinary referrals for ISS (which can lead to either ISS or swats) were as follows: freshmen, 26 students received 58 referrals (resulting in 37 spankings and 21 ISS assignments); sophomores, 34 students received 82 referrals (resulting in 50 spankings and 32 ISS assignments); juniors, 24 students received 76 referrals (resulting in 40 spankings and 36 ISS assignments); and seniors (aged 17/18), 30 students received 85 referrals (resulting in 40 spankings and 45 ISS assignments).
• Redwater ISD
More about CP than in previous versions. CP may be used for Category Two Misbehavior, and may be combined with detention, ISS or OSS. The handbook also notes that a paddling is a "more severe" consequence than is an additional day of detention for failing to attend an assigned detention, and may be used for a second such offense. A CP permission form is sent home with students at the beginning of the school year.
• Rice CISD, Altair
• Athletic Handbook
New from 2018, "Athletes (males only) will be subject to corporal punishment within the athletic department. No athlete will receive more than 3 swats per school day." Other staff, coaches, and/or administrators will witness the spanking.
• Rio Grande City CISD
• Middle Schools
At the Middle Schools, corporal punishment was added in 2012 to the list of possible consequences for minor offenses.
Stats: Grulla High School did not use corporal punishment during 2011/12. The school then implemented paddling; in 2013/14, the school paddled 2 boys and 2 girls. During 2015/16, 11 boys and 2 girls were spanked. This increase was accompanied by a reduction in ISS assignments, from 136 in 2013/14 to 100 in 2015/16.
• Rivercrest ISD
The High School has a new tardy policy from 2018. A student who is late for the sixth and each subsequent time per six-week period serves an in-school suspension (ISS), but "at the request of the student/parent swats may be taken instead of ISS".
Stats: During 2015/16, 8 boys received a total of 10 spankings at Rivercrest High School (grades 9-12).
• River Road ISD, Amarillo
This district reintroduced corporal punishment in November 2017 after a lapse of over a decade, following a survey of high-school parents, 75% of whom favored bringing back spanking.
• Roby CISD
• Athletic Policy
• Roby High School Enrollment Form
For athletes, failure to comply with the training rules "may result in corporal punishment". This consists of "one to three swats with a board witnessed in the principal's office".
• Rochelle ISD
• Advertisement for a Secondary Teacher
Corporal punishment "at the request of and with permission of the parent" is available for Level II and Level III offenses.
The notice of a teaching vacancy lists as the benefits of the job: "We are in the hill country of Texas, we have corporal punishment and we are just minutes from a larger city."
Stats: 8 of the 92 boys were spanked at Rochelle School during 2011/12. The figure for 2013/14 was 9 boys.
• Roma ISD
• Teacher Handbook
The Teacher handbook describes CP as "spanking with an approved instrument". The word "paddling" is not used.
• Roosevelt ISD, Lubbock
"All students are subject to the corporal punishment policy" unless parents have notified the principal in writing within a week of enrollment.
Stats: During 2015/16, two boys were paddled at Roosevelt High School. Local sources report that in 2016/17 spanking was extended to the high-school girls, including seniors.
See also this Feb 2012 news item.
• Roscoe Collegiate ISD
• Disciplinary Referral Form
Parental permission is not necessary before the application of CP. However, every effort will be made to inform parents after the event. But the handbook does not inform parents of their legal right to exempt their student from paddling.
Stats: 11 boys were paddled on one or more occasions during 2011/12 at Roscoe Collegiate High School. Meanwhile, this Nov 2014 news report mentioned that the district as a whole had an annual "CP rate" of 25%.
History: See this Feb 2006 news item.
• Rotan ISD
Paddling may be used for Level 1 and Level 2 violations, but not levels 3 or 4 (the most serious). It is also the only penalty mentioned for a fourth and fifth tardy per six-week period.
Stats: No CP was recorded at Rotan High School during 2000/01, 2006/07 or 2011/12 (the three years studied). But in 2013/14, 9 boys and 7 girls were spanked on one or more occasions at this very small school (enrollment: 36 boys and 44 girls).
• Rusk ISD
• Rusk High School handbook appendix
• Classroom Rules for Mr. Nimitz’s US History classes
New at Rusk High School (grades 9-12) for 2019, the appendix offers a corporal punishment option for a 6th and 7th tardy per semester (as an alternative to lunch detention) and an 8th tardy (instead of Saturday School or ISS). It is not stated how many swats are regarded as equivalent to these other punishments. The equivalent document for the Junior High School does not mention CP for tardies.
Also at the High School, Mr Nimitz's classroom rules state that detention will be assigned for a second demerit in a nine-week period, but "Student may choose to take a paddle instead of serving detention". Does "take a paddle" mean one swat?
Stats: During 2013/14, 20 boys were spanked on one or more occasions at Rusk High School. For 2017/18 this figure increased to 30 boys.
• Sabinal ISD
This school district abolished CP some time before 2012 but had reintroduced it by 2015.
• Sabine ISD, Gladewater
• Sabine High School
• Sabine Middle School
At the High School, corporal punishment may occur at steps 3 or 4 (but not both) of the 10-step Discipline Procedure.
The Middle School handbook says that CP is used only for Level 1 offenses (the least serious).
See also this Sep 2014 news item.
• Saint Jo ISD
"An unexcused tardy 1st period can result in an immediate discipline assignment", which may include corporal punishment.
• Salado ISD
CP may be used in grades 7 through 12 -- that is, at the Junior and Senior High Schools but not at the intermediate or elementary schools. This seems to be true of a growing number of Texas school districts.
• Santo ISD
At the Junior High and High School, Step Two of the Discipline Management Plan is after-school detention (2 days) or corporal punishment. Step Three is after-school detention (3 days) or corporal punishment. Tardies generally result in after-school detention but, from the 15th one onwards, "Additional tardies will be dealt with according to the overall discipline record of the student. The punishment for this could include any of the following: multiple days of Saturday School, corporal punishment, suspension, or AEP placement."
• Schleicher County ISD, Eldorado
• Eldorado High School
• Eldorado Middle School
• Athletic Handbook
At Eldorado High, tardies accumulate over a six-week period. The EHS Tardy Policy now provides 1 day of after-school detention, or 1 swat, for the 3rd tardy; 2 days of after-school detention or 2 swats for the 4th tardy; "3 days of ISS or 2 swats per day (6 total)" for the 5th tardy; AND, remarkably, "5 days of ISS or 2 swats per day (10 total)" for the 6th tardy. (The expansion to a total of 10 swats began with the 2013/14 handbook.)
Corporal punishment also features in the policy against the use of cellphones and other electronic devices. A fourth such offense brings a fine of $15 (for the return of the confiscated phone), plus either one day of after-school detention (ASD) or 1 swat; a fifth offense $15, plus 2 days' ASD or two swats; a sixth $15, plus one day of Saturday School or six swats, to be given as two swats per day for 3 days.
Similar punishments apply to a third, fourth, fifth and sixth dress code/grooming violation, respectively.
The Middle School (grades 5 through 8) has corporal punishment in general, but offers no specific scheme of escalating swats as at the High School.
"Corporal punishment as a choice" is one of the discipline techniques applied to student athletes. "If a player is disrespectful to a coach, teacher, or administrator, or is in violation of athletic policies, he or she will be disciplined. This discipline may be extra physical work and/or corporal punishment."
Stats: At the High School in 2011/12, a total of 13 boys received a paddling on at least one occasion. The total male student enrollment was 72, for an annual "CP rate" for young men of 18% at this very small grade 9-12 school. During 2015/16, fewer boys were paddled -- only two -- but spanking was extended to girls; two of them received swats. The four students were spanked on at least one occasion, but quite likely on more than one occasion, given the high school's policy of multi-day spankings to replace multi-day ISS assignments.
• Scurry-Rosser ISD, Scurry
This handbook states that corporal punishment may be used "at all campuses" (emphasized in bold). Since there are only three campuses -- elementary, middle and high -- this is a way of saying that students in all grades 1 through 12 may be paddled.
Stats: No CP was recorded at Scurry-Rosser High School in 2000/01. A decade later, this had changed, 39 boys receiving spankings on one or more occasions. Also in 2011/12, at the Elementary School, two boys were paddled; at the Middle School, 19 boys and 5 girls.
• Seminole ISD
• Seminole High School
• Seminole Junior High School
• Athletic Handbook
At the High School, CP may be provided to students who fail to show up for an assigned lunch detention, or for Wednesday detention.
At the Junior High, CP is no longer specifically mentioned for a second or third tardy, but remains available in general.
Corporal punishment is the automatic consequence for Seminole student athletes who commit "minor offenses" such as inappropriate language, "violation of training room policies", or absence from training. For the first such violation, the penalty is simply one paddle swat. For the second, the athlete receives 2 swats and must sign a behavioral contract. On the third occasion, he or she receives a further 2 swats and there is a parent conference. Parents have to sign off on these rules. If they request no paddling, the student must instead "run 2 miles with a tire", increased by 2 miles for each subsequent offense.
Stats: At Seminole High School in 2011/12, 168 boys and 67 girls were spanked. Two years later the figures increased to 253 boys and 122 girls.
• Seymour ISD
• Seymour High School
Same-sex requirement "to the extent circumstances allow" (unusual wording) in the pan-district board policy.
Stats: During 2011/12, 17 boys received swats at Seymour High School. This fell to 4 boys in 2013/14. More recent local information suggests that the high school does now paddle girls too.
• Shamrock ISD
• Athletic Handbook
Misbehaving athletes may receive "one to three swats with a board witnessed in the principal's office or coach's office". Also, "The athletic director has the right to alter punishment when he or she feels that prior punishment was too strict or not strict enough to be effective".
• Simms ISD
• James Bowie High School: Agricultural Science Department
• Staff Handbook
Corporal punishment is applied for Level I (minor) offenses, including disrupting class, cheating, profanity, failing to attend detention, and public display of affection. CP is not mentioned in connection with more serious sins. Students may also receive a paddling for a first bus offense.
At the High School, the Agricultural Science Program has its own Behavioral Guidelines, at the back of which parents tick a box to indicate whether they agree to their student receiving CP; also, "On the back of this signature page, I have explained any special instructions I wish to be followed concerning the discipline of my student, including the use of corporal punishment".
The Staff Handbook says CP is "limited to paddling" and that "Only the principal or teacher may determine if and when corporal punishment shall be administered".
• Slaton ISD
Local sources report that high-school students may elect to receive a paddling instead of detention, and that even if they choose detention, this does not mean they will escape spanking, as swats are given to students who talk in detention.
Stats: During 2011/12, 9 students were paddled at Thomas Elementary (7b 2g), but in 2013/14 no CP was recorded there. During 2011/12, 16 students were spanked at Slaton Junior High (15b 4g), but in 2013/14 only 4 students (boys) received swats. By contrast, use of the paddle soared at the (senior) High School, from only 2 boys during 2011/12 to 30 students (26b, 4g) in 2013/14.
• Slocum ISD, Elkhart
This district has deleted a provision that precluded administrators from spanking students of the opposite sex.
Stats: At Slocum High School (unusually grades 6 through 12), in 2011/12, 45 boys and 14 girls were paddled on one or more occasions, out of a student population of 228. Overall that is a 26% rate annual average, but for boys it is higher: 45 out of 106 students means that 42% of the boys were spanked that year.
• Smithville ISD
"Administrator and parent must mutually agree to the use of corporal punishment before this disciplinary technique is administered."
• Sonora ISD
• Sonora High School
A same-sex requirement previously in the Board Policy document was deleted in 2014.
Stats: Sonora High School recorded no CP during 2000/01, 2004/05, 2009/10 or 2011/12. In 2013/14, however, Sonora High School joined the many Texas high schools that have decided to implement spanking for the older teens. That year 24 boys and 10 girls were paddled on one or more occasions.
• Spring Hill ISD, North Longview
• Spring Hill High School
• Spring Hill Junior High School
This Sep 2014 news item stated that Spring Hill allowed CP only at the primary level. That is no longer the case. In fact the situation has been reversed: paddling has been prohibited in grades K through 5 but reinstated at secondary level. Local sources report that students at Spring Hill High School are now offered three swats in place of an assignment to ISS.
• Springlake-Earth ISD
"Parents who choose not to allow corporal punishment as a disciplinary management technique agree to immediately pick up their child when contacted by district staff." Furthermore, if the school decides on suspension in lieu of corporal punishment, each day of out-of-school suspension requires four days of after-school tutorials for makeup work, on each day of which the parent is responsible for picking up the student at 4:30 pm. This must be a powerful incentive for the parent to allow paddling.
In 2016 this district abolished a same-sex requirement for CP.
Stats: During 2011/12, six boys and four girls were paddled at Springlake-Earth High School out of an enrollment of 51 boys and 50 girls.
• Springtown ISD
The board policy was updated in light of the events described in this Sep 2012 news item (with video clip) and its follows-up later the same month (with video clip). The requirement (inadvertently breached at Springtown High School) that the paddler must be of the same sex as the student was deleted, and now it is permissible for a man to spank a girl or a woman to spank a boy, as long as there is a witness of the same sex as the student. Each instance of CP must be specifically requested in writing by a parent. This request may not be made more than once per semester.
History: See this Sep 2007 news item (with video clip), and this March 2011 news item, which reported that the paddle had been deployed 103 times in the previous seven months, mostly at the student's choice, and that CP was not being used at the elementary level.
• Stamford ISD
• Stamford High School
• Stamford Middle School
At both High and Middle Schools, CP is particularly mentioned as a consequence for a first offense of academic dishonesty, to be combined with automatic zeroes for the work in question.
• Sterling City ISD
• Sterling City Junior High/High School
Same-sex requirement in the pan-district policy document.
The junior/senior high school handbook stipulates (Appendix III) that "corporal punishment or removal from school" is the response to a second, third or fourth dress code violation. A paddling is also the first-mentioned penalty for all minor infractions: one swat or one day's suspension for the first offense, 2 swats or 2 days for the second, and 3 swats or 3 days for each of the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th offenses.
Stats: During 2000/01, five boys received swats at Sterling City Junior High/High School. No CP was recorded in 2006/07 or 2011/12. Like many other Texas secondary schools, the school then reintroduced paddling, and extended it to the girls. In 2013/14, 16 of the 81 boys, and 4 of the 66 girls, were spanked on at least one occasion. This district paddles only teenagers: no CP was recorded at Sterling City Elementary School in any of the years surveyed.
• Sudan ISD
• Sudan Elementary School
• Sudan High School
A form, "Request for Discipline Methods Including Corporal Punishment", is provided at the end of the Elementary handbook: "Please check and sign if you do or do not wish for corporal punishment, or swats, to be issued [sic] to your child/children when needed or appropriate, which is determined only by the Principal".
At the High School, somewhat unusually for Texas nowadays, "Corporal punishment will not be used to replace ISS".
Stats: This district recorded no CP at any of its schools during any year surveyed from 2000/01 through 2013/14. Then the paddle returned: during 2015/16, nine boys at Sudan High School (grades 8-12) were spanked.
• Sundown ISD
• Sundown High School
• Sundown Middle School
The pan-district Code of Conduct discusses CP on pages 22/23. It adds (page 8) that, for gross misconduct such as drug or alcohol use, students are removed to a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP) and required to undergo counseling. For a fourth such offense, in addition to a further period of DAEP and intense counseling, the consequences can include "periods of suspension, extra work, and corporal punishment". It is unusual nowadays for CP to be regarded as a suitable response to drug and alcohol use. Truants, too, may be paddled.
In July 2016, this district rescinded the restriction on opposite-sex spanking in place since October 2011.
Students at the High School (grades 9-12) are informed that teachers "are considered your parents during the school day" and must therefore be obeyed. Any student "who chooses to be truant for one or more class periods, tutorials or assemblies" is subject to one of a list of penalties, one of which is CP.
The Middle School handbook (grades 6-8) was previously unusual for a mainstream Texas public school in stating that corporal punishment was to be carried out "by either an administrator or parent", but that has now changed to just "by an administrator". For fighting, the minimum punishment is a choice of 2 days' ISS or 2 swats. There is no longer any specific mention of spanking for tardiness.
Students placed in Saturday School or ISS, or given the option of swats instead of ISS, may not participate in activities or rewards given for that six-week period such as assembly programs, picnic in the park, 8th grade movie night, etc.
Also at the Middle School, "A student participating in a school sponsored UIL event, such as football, cross country, cheerleading, [...] may be given the option of taking a swat instead of attending ASD or ASAT. This option will only be given one time for that particular UIL event or season (fall, winter, and spring). For example, if a student is required to sign up for detention, such student may take a swat instead of staying for detention and missing football practice after school. If this same student is required to sign up for other detentions during the fall (football and cross country season), this student must now stay for detention."
Stats: 13 boys and 4 girls were spanked at the High School during 2011/12. 27 male and 13 female students were spanked at the Middle School in 2011/12. In 2015/16, 15 boys and 4 girls were paddled at Sundown High School, and 33 boys and 22 girls at Sundown Middle School.
• Sunray ISD
Parents may refuse swats by notifying the school in writing. "The refusal will remain in effect for the entire school year for every disciplinary action requiring corporal punishment. ASD (after school detention) will be given in place of corporal punishment." This is a change from earlier versions, where the alternative to a paddling was three days' ISS. There is a maximum of three swats per incident.
Stats: No CP was recorded at Sunray High School during 2000/01. In 2011/12 (the next year the district was surveyed), 21 boys and 2 girls in grades 9 through 12 received an official spanking on at least one occasion.
• Sweeny ISD
• Sweeny High School
• Sweeny Junior High School 
• Student Athletic Handbook
The High School has standard Texas wording on CP, replacing the previous "Discipline Hierarchy".
The Junior High School no longer specifies that students or parents may request corporal punishment in lieu of ASD or ISS.
For student athletes, one of the "discipline options" is "corporal correction if allowed by the parent or guardian". The document pleads with parents to allow it: "We would like to have the option to use corporal punishment ... Due to the nature of this discipline, we would use corporal punishment in place of physical punishment. We would always allow your child the option to choose. Due to the amount of time it takes to notify parents, we will not be calling you prior to administering the punishment."
The form that parents are required to sign (page 20) states "I will (will not) allow my son/daughter to receive corporal punishment in athletics".
At page 19 is the "Written Reprimand Form", the second "Consequences" tickbox in which is labeled "Corporal punishment", followed by others relating to being suspended for a number of games, etc. The athlete choosing to be paddled has to sign this form below the line "I agree to do my part to follow the requirements of this reprimand". The form is also to be signed by the Head Coach and the Athletic Director. It is the latter who performs the spanking.
Stats: 106 boys and 6 girls received swats in this district in 2011/12.
History: In 2012 the High School published a Campus Improvement Plan favoring "discipline consequences that result in corporal punishment, Saturday School, Lunch Detentions [and] After School Detentions" in order to "reduce the frequency / duration students are removed out of their regular classes".
• Tahoka ISD
In addition to standard Texas language, in all grades "Excessive tardies may result in detention, ISS, or corporal punishment".
Stats: Tahoka High School has seen an increase in CP for the boys, and an extension of CP to the girls. During 2011/12, 9 boys received swats. In 2013/14, spankings were provided to 24 boys and 6 girls.
• Tatum ISD
See this Sep 2014 news item, in which a district spokesman said CP was used 22% of the time and that "it does work for some students". Only 5% of parents chose exemption from CP.
See also this Sep 2012 article from Tatum Middle School's student newspaper, which includes a picture of the then-new paddle.
Stats: During 2009/10 at Tatum High, 25 boys were paddled on one or more occasions. For 2011/12, the school had tripled its use of CP, and extended it to girls: 54 boys and 20 girls were spanked on one or more occasions. CP remained at a similar level in 2013/14: 55 boys and 25 girls were spanked on at least one occasion.
• Texarkana ISD (Texas)
• District Improvement Plan 2020-21
This is the enrollment form for Texas Middle School; other schools in the district have the same wording.
In 2018 this district abolished a same-sex requirement for CP.
Stats: The District Improvement Plan reveals that, in the district as a whole, paddlings were administered on 246 occasions in 2019/20, an increase from 207 the previous year.
History: See this March 2006 news item and this Oct 2014 one.
• Three Rivers ISD
Corporal punishment was reintroduced here in July 2017 after a 6-0 vote by the district's trustees. It had been in abeyance for some years. See this July 2017 news item and also this one (with video clip).
Paddling may be administered only by the Campus Behavior Coordinator or the Principal. "The student will be given one paddling for his/her infraction(s)." Parents must be contacted beforehand to obtain their express consent. Strangely, a district employee of the opposite sex of the student must be present as a witness. (Perhaps this is a drafting error.)
This resurrection of school spanking gained wide coverage across the country, particularly by journalists who were apparently unaware that CP is quite prevalent in some Texas schools.
• Throckmorton Collegiate ISD
This district now stipulates that CP is to be "administered by the parent only", which is pretty unusual for a public school.
• Tidehaven ISD, El Maton
Tidehaven used to feature on this page well over a decade ago, but the paddle had fallen into disuse by 2006. By 2011 it had been restored.
The form for opting into or out of CP must be signed by the student as well as a parent.
At the elementary schools, students undergoing ISS or corporal punishment automatically receive a "U" (unsatisfactory) for that six-week period.
Stats: in 2011/12 at the High School (grades 9 through 12), 53 boys and 45 girls were officially spanked, for an annual "CP rate" of 48%.
• Timpson ISD
• Timpson Elementary School
• Timpson High School
At the Elementary School, CP may be applied for a second bus discipline offense. It is no longer specifically mentioned as a punishment for dress-code violations.
At the High School CP is provided in general but is no longer listed for specific offenses.
Stats: During 2011/12, Timpson High School paddled 9 boys. In 2013/14, 11 boys and 2 girls were spanked.
History: A mass paddling of seniors for a prank at Timpson High School was reported in this Oct 2002 news item and this Nov 2002 follow-up.
• Tom Bean ISD
• Tom Bean High School
A same-sex requirement in the pan-district policy manual was removed in 2015.
It is no longer the case that the principal will administer CP only on request of the parent or the student. Now, per the standard Texas provisions, the high school can administer CP whenever necessary, unless the parent has previously delivered an opt-out notice.
• Trinity ISD
Corporal punishment is mentioned as a penalty for a fifth tardy at the Middle School. This was new in 2015.
Stats: This Aug 2015 news item reported: "TISD does utilize corporal punishment. It hasn't been used often at the Middle School and High School in the past, but will be utilized in the discipline management plan this year by principals and campus administrators." The statistics now confirm that these schools did exactly that. At Trinity Middle School, no students were paddled during 2013/14. But in 2015/16, 50 boys and 16 girls received 100 spankings. At Trinity High School, no students were spanked during 2011/12 or 2013/14. In 2015/16, nine boys and two girls received swats.
• Troup ISD
• Troup High School
• TISD Extra-Curricular Code of Conduct
A same-sex requirement for the witness was deleted in 2015.
The High School handbook no longer contains a form for parents and students to "opt in" to CP. Parents must now take the initiative to "opt out" if they want their son or daughter exempted from CP.
The Extra-curricular Code of Conduct -- which the student him- or herself must sign, as well as a parent -- covers all sports and also activities like band, choir, FFA and others. It applies at all times, including during summer vacation. "Violations of these standards of behavior that are also violations of the Student Code of Conduct may result in a student being disciplined under both standards." One of the consequences (chosen by the coach/sponsor) of both Category A and Category B offenses -- i.e. all offenses -- is "Corporal punishment in the form of strenuous exercise and/or paddling". Parents are notified of all violations that result in a paddling.
• Troy ISD
• Athletic Handbook [DOC]
For athletes, corporal punishment is mentioned in particular as a penalty for minor cases of hazing.
• Tyler ISD
There is a same-sex stipulation here, as also a requirement that parents must be contacted before each spanking.
History: See this Nov 2005 news item, reporting that the school board had considered the question of CP and decided to keep it, and this Aug 2008 report that the matter had once more been considered and that again it had been decided to retain the paddle.
• Tyler County Disciplinary Alternative Education Program
Nothing to do with Tyler ISD (see previous item), TCDAEP is a "discipline campus" in Woodville operated on behalf of five ISDs: Chester, Colmesneil, Spurger, Warren and Woodville. It is "the last step before expulsion". There are strict rules: "We do not want you to want to be here. DAEP is not a fun place".
Both the student and his or her parent must sign the acknowledgment form that includes: "We are aware and understand that one of the provisions in the TCDAEP Handbook Discipline Code indicates that Corporal Punishment may be an option exercised by the TCDAEP Administrator".
• Valley View ISD -- Cooke County
• Middle School enrollment form
"Corporal punishment shall be administered for students in kindergarten-grade 6 in the principal's office and in the principal's or athletic director's office for students in grades 7-12."
The Middle School enrollment form has to be signed by both a parent and the student. It does not include an opt-out form: District personnel may use CP unless the parent has provided a written statement prohibiting CP for the current school year.
• Van ISD
• Van High School
Corporal punishment may be administered for "minor" and "intermediate" misbehavior but not for major offenses.
Stats: No CP was recorded in 2000/01. But in 2011/12, spankings were meted out to 43 boys and 9 girls.
• Veribest ISD
This handbook no longer includes a "Corporal punishment consent form" which had to be signed by the student as well as the parent.
Stats: No CP was recorded at Veribest High School during 2000/01, 2004/05, or 2009/10, the only years the district was surveyed. In 2013/14, however, the high school introduced its students to the paddle. Even though only four high-school boys received swats that year (no girls), the availability of spanking seems to have improved student behavior. In 2009/10, 15 students received one or more ISS assignments, but in 2013/14, this dropped to only 6 students. Similarly, during 2009/10, 15 students were assigned to out-of-school suspension, but during 2013-14, only 4 students were.
• Victoria ISD
This school district in 2014 revoked a requirement that paddling had to be performed by a staff member of the same sex as the student.
Stats: In 2011 corporal punishment was introduced for the first time at Mitchell Guidance Center, a 6-12 alternative high school where "no form of violence or disrespect is tolerated", and 86% of the students there were paddled on at least one occasion in 2011/12. Perhaps as a result, the number of assignments to ISS in the district fell by 50% between 2009 and 2011.
See also this Oct 2014 news item and this companion piece.
• Vidor ISD
• Vidor Junior High School
• Vidor High School
• Vidor Middle School
In 2015 this district abolished a same-sex requirement for CP.
At the Junior High School, paddling may be administered in lieu of ISS, except in the case of fighting. This substitution may be made only once (per semester? it is not made clear).
The High School and Middle School handbooks state merely that corporal punishment is available. They no longer explicitly provide that students may choose between a spanking and some other punishment.
Other schools in this district mention that they use CP, but give no details.
Stats: This May 2012 news item says there were 224 paddlings at Vidor schools in the first nine months of 2011/12. In the previous whole year there were 133 CP instances at Vidor High School alone (grades 9 through 12), mostly for either "insubordination" or excessive tardies.
• Wall ISD
Corporal punishment is available for offenses at Level I, II and III. It is no longer particularly mentioned in connection with tobacco use.
Stats: In 2000/01, 55 boys and 20 girls received one or more paddlings at Wall High School. No CP was recorded in 2011/12, the next year the district was surveyed. But in 2013/14, ten boys received swats on one or more occasions.
• Warren ISD
• Athletic Handbook
This district allows ordinary teachers to paddle, not just administrators. "Corporal punishment will be used to discourage infractions of the Student Code of Conduct." "All students attending Warren ISD will be subject to corporal punishment (paddling)" unless the parent has objected in writing. CP is mentioned in particular for third and subsequent violations of the dress code, as well as for student motorists who park their vehicles in the teachers' parking lot.
Corporal punishment is classified as "minor level" discipline along with detention, as against "major" penalties such as suspension or DAEP.
Paddling is available for athletes who violate team rules.
Stats: No CP was recorded during 2011/12 or 2013/14 at any of Warren ISD's four schools. Then the district introduced the paddle, but only at the high-school level. In 2015/16, 21 boys were disciplined at Warren High School (grades 9-12) in 35 spanking sessions.
• Water Valley ISD
Parents are contacted before each paddling.
Stats: At Water Valley High School, 15 boys received one or more paddlings in 2000/01. In 2004/05 through 2009/10, no CP was recorded. Then the paddle returned: during 2011/12, 13 boys and 2 girls were spanked on one or more occasions.
• West ISD
• Employee Handbook [DOC]
"Each incident [of CP] must be documented with signatures of both employees involved and student acknowledgement on a referral."
• West Orange-Cove CISD
• West Orange-Stark High School
• West Orange-Stark Middle School
• West Orange-Stark Academic Alternative Center (DAEP)
At all three schools, "Corporal punishment may be administered with written parental consent".
• West Rusk County CISD, New London
• West Rusk Junior High School Staff Handbook
• Elementary/Intermediate handbook
• Secondary handbook (Junior High and High Schools)
A demerit system was started at the Junior High School in 2017. Three classroom offenses earn one demerit. Each of the first three demerits brings noon detention or corporal punishment. For the fourth and fifth demerits, the student receives detention or CP or Saturday school or a combination of these.
Stats: At West Rusk Junior High (aka Middle) School, CP was cut in half, from 104 students (69 boys, 35 girls) in 2013/14 to 52 students (44 boys, 8 girls) in 2015/16; at West Rusk Intermediate School (grades 3 through 5), CP decreased from 36 students (27 boys and 9 girls) in 2013/14 to 27 students (20 boys and 7 girls) in 2015/16; and at the Elementary School, CP was eliminated in 2015/16 (and only 4 boys and 2 girls had been paddled during 2013/14). But the story is different at the High School (grades 9 through 12). While 30 students (24 boys and 6 girls) received swats during 2013/14, in the next survey year the school doubled the number of students it paddled: in 2015/16, 53 of the 170 high-school boys (31%), and 9 of the 164 girls (5%), received spankings.
This reflects what seems to be a Texas trend: decreasing use of the paddle to discipline younger students, but increased spanking of, especially, boys in the later teens.
• West Sabine ISD
• Athletic Handbook
The handbook says, in bold type and underlined, "All students attending West Sabine ISD will be subject to Corporal punishment (paddling). Corporal punishment will be used to discourage infractions of the Student Code of Conduct."
The Athletic Handbook states that "Athletes will be administered corporal punishment or conditioning for minor infractions".
• Wheeler ISD
Stats: The CP rate here increased sharply, against the national trend. During school year 2009/10, only five students were paddled. By 2011/12 this figure had risen to 94 students.
• Whitehouse ISD
• High School Athletic Handbook
• Extracurricular code of student conduct
Each student-athlete, before being allowed to participate, must sign the "2020-2021 Whitehouse High School Athletic Policy Parent/Athlete Acknowledgement Form" that states, "I understand the consequences that are involved if I choose an inappropriate behavior or action that violates this policy". Corporal punishment is one such consequence.
• Whitewright ISD
• Athletic Handbook
New for 2019/20, the district introduced corporal punishment in its athletic programs: "Whitewright coaches may use this option of discipline." However, coaches will not paddle if the parent files a written request with the Athletic Director not to use CP, or if the "athlete requests no corporal punishment". Since the coach determines the amount of playing time, it seems unlikely that many athletes will request not to be spanked if that is what the coach has decided is best.
• Whitney ISD
• Whitney High School
• Athletic Handbook [DOC]
One of the Discipline Management Techniques at the High School (grades 9 through 12) is "Corporal punishment (only if the student's parent or guardian has provided a signed statement requesting its use. Administration has authority to deny the request)".
New in 2018, the Whitney athletic program introduced "corporal punishment under consent of parent" as phase 2 of its disciplinary system, immediately after "verbal warning". "Misconduct by athletes will be dealt [with] directly and immediately." Both the student athlete and his or her parent have to sign a form to accept or decline the spanking option.
Stats: During 2011/12, no CP was recorded at Whitney High School. The school then reintroduced paddling: 7 boys received swats on one or more occasions in 2013/14.
• Wildorado ISD [DOC]
Students who violate the dress code are offered corporal punishment. In addition to being spanked, the student "will stay in ISS until a parent/guardian can bring appropriate clothing". Students who are "not allowed to have swats" must stay in ISS for the whole day. "If the violation occurs after lunch then the student will begin the next day of school in ISS and will be released after lunch." These provisions were new in 2015.
• Wills Point ISD
• Wills Point High School
The High School handbook no longer states that parental consent is required before the administration of corporal punishment. Also deleted is a remark that students are not allowed to choose a spanking instead of office detention.
Stats: The statistics show no use of CP at any school in the district from 2000/01 through 2013/14. Then, eight boys and four girls were paddled at Wills Point High School during 2015/16. No CP was recorded at any other school in the district, again illustrating that Texas administrators are increasingly regarding spanking as more appropriate for high-school boys and girls than for elementary children.
• Wink-Loving ISD
• Mrs Abbott's Class - Back to School [PPT]
• Plagiarism Agreement
"Students who fail to turn in late work the day after it was due may be assigned after school detention until the work is satisfactorily completed. Corporal punishment MAY NOT be substituted for this particular offense."
See Slide 9 of the PowerPoint presentation, where Mrs Abbott tells her 7th- and 8th-graders that they may receive swats for any disciplinary referral.
The student, as well as a parent, must sign the Plagiarism Agreement, accepting that the possible consequences of copying others' work -- or allowing others to do so -- include "swats".
History: See this Mar 2011 news report, which refers to middle- and high-school students at Wink receiving 3 days' ISS and three swats for certain offenses. At that time, these included theft, profanity, vandalism and smoking.
Stats: Wink High School administered swats to two boys during 2011/12. In 2013/14, this figure increased to 30 boys and 13 girls.
• Winnsboro ISD
• Student Code of Conduct
• Memorial Middle School
• Winnsboro High School
At page 38 of the Code of Conduct, new in 2018/19, is a parental form reading "I give my permission for my son/daughter to receive corporal punishment from an administrator according to state and local policies". Conversely there is no explicit provision for parents to withhold permission, so evidently they would have to write a separate letter to that effect.
Only the principal or assistant principal may administer CP, and parents are to be informed by letter on each occasion.
At the High School, a fourth, fifth or sixth tardy in a nine-week period brings a choice of respectively one, two, or three days of ISS, or "one, two or three Corporal". Presumably this means one, two or three swats.
Local sources confirm that 12th-graders are spanked as well as younger high-school students, if they so choose; that the HS principal offers repeated latecomers a choice between ISS and a paddling, exactly as set out in the handbook; that the swats are generally delivered the following school day, first thing in the morning before classes begin; and that prior to the adoption of the written consent form, the principal would telephone the parents for approval if the student requested swats.
Stats: No CP was recorded at the Elementary School in 2011/12 or 2013/14. But the high school introduced paddling: during 2011/12, 49 boys and 16 girls received swats on at least one occasion. This dropped slightly two years later, perhaps because the students had started complying better with the rules; in 2013/14, 41 boys and 9 girls in grades 9 through 12 were spanked. During 2015/16, no CP was recorded at either the Elementary School or the Middle School. The paddle continued in use at the High School, where 16 boys and 2 girls received spankings.
• Winona ISD
• Registration packet
The registration packet contains a parental preference form which describes CP as "Corporal punishment (spanking)".
Stats: Winona High School has adopted the paddle. No CP was recorded there in 2013/14, but 11 boys and 2 girls were spanked in 2015/16.
• Woden ISD
• Athletic Handbook
No form is provided for parents to opt out of CP: they have to compose their own letter to the campus principal.
In athletics, the first line of disciplinary action is "Corporal punishment (POP - Piece of Pine)". This is particularly mentioned as a penalty for not being dressed ready by the required time.
• Woodville ISD
• Woodville High School
• Registration forms
• Woodville Eagle Athletic Program
Here, a same-sex requirement for CP was eliminated in 2016.
The Registration Forms include a "Corporal punishment statement" that both the student and his or her parent must sign. The statement has them acknowledge that, in order to opt a student out from CP, the parents must submit a handwritten statement to the principal.
In the athletic program, "physical activity and corporal punishment" are the only two disciplinary actions before suspension.
• Wortham ISD [DOC]
• Athletic Handbook
New in 2016, the Wortham High School Point System gives students points for various disciplinary consequences, with the accumulation of too many points leading to DAEP. Students receive 4 points per day of ISS, and 3 points for a spanking.
Stats: During 2004/05, 15 boys were paddled at Wortham High School. No CP was recorded in the next years surveyed (2011/12 and 2013/14). The high school reinstated spanking during the 2015/16 school year, with six boys and two girls receiving swats. Meanwhile the district eliminated spanking for elementary school students (19 of whom had received swats during 2013/14), and drastically reduced spankings, from 18 to only 1, at the middle school.
• Yantis ISD
This district introduced paddling from November 2016, having previously prohibited all CP. See this Oct 2016 news item.
• Yoakum ISD
• Yoakum High School
• High School Discipline Referral [DOC]
• Yoakum Junior High School
• Yoakum Intermediate School
The (senior) High School confirms that CP may be used, but gives no details. The latest discipline referral form includes CP as one of the "Action Taken" options; this did not appear in the 2012 or earlier versions.
At the intermediate school, "Teachers and administrators will work with the child to find effective discipline management techniques ... Such actions for the child might include ... accepting corporal punishment." Parents who ask that CP not be used must agree to pick up the student "should he/she need this type of punishment".
• Yorktown ISD
As in a growing number of Texas districts, the paddle in Yorktown is used to discipline only high-school students. The document incorrectly states that the administrator must be of the same sex as the student. In fact this provision was rescinded here in March 2018.
The following Texas public schools (school districts N to Z) also state that they use corporal punishment, but give few or no details beyond one or other version of the Texas School Boards Association model text (CP "is restricted to spanking or paddling the student" and shall be administered with an approved instrument, etc. 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:
Natalia ISD
Navarro ISD
Navasota ISD
• Stats: No spankings were recorded at Navasota High School (grades 9 through 12) during 2006/07, but by 2011/12 the high school had introduced the paddle: 18 boys and 2 girls received swats that year. Then during 2015/16, 31 boys and 4 girls were dealt with in 49 spanking sessions.
Nazareth ISD
New Braunfels ISD
• Stats: New Braunfels High School recorded zero CP during 2000/01; five boys paddled in 2006/07; 10 boys paddled in 2009/10; but 37 boys paddled in 2011/12. No girls received CP during any of the years surveyed.
New Caney ISD
Newcastle ISD
New Diana ISD
New Summerfield ISD
New Waverly ISD
• New Waverly High School
Nixon-Smiley CISD
Nocona ISD
• Stats: Five high-school boys were paddled during 2000/01. This increased to 17 boys in 2011/12. The district was not surveyed during the intervening years.
North Forest ISD
• History: See this April 2010 news item and this Feb 2011 news item.
North Lamar ISD, Paris
• Stats: 18 boys and 6 girls were paddled at North Lamar High School in 2011/12.
Northside ISD-Wilbarger County, Vernon (not to be confused with Northside ISD in San Antonio)
Nursery ISD
O'Donnell ISD
Orangefield ISD, Orange
• Stats: According to this May 2012 news item, there were 103 paddlings here in the first 9 months of 2011/12.
Paint Rock ISD
Palacios ISD
• History: See this July 2005 news item.
• Stats: During 2011/12 at Palacios High School, two boys were paddled. Two years later, the school had increased its use of spanking: 14 boys and 2 girls received swats.
Palestine ISD
• Stats: From 2000/01 through 2011/12, no CP was recorded at Palestine High School. Then in 2013/14, 18 boys and 7 girls received spankings.
Palo Pinto ISD
Panhandle ISD
• Stats: During 2000/01 paddling was in use in all this district's schools. No CP was recorded in 2004/05. In 2011/12, the elementary school and the junior high maintained their non-use of CP, but the paddle returned to the high school: 15 boys in grades 9-12 were spanked.
Patton Springs ISD
Peaster ISD
Penelope ISD
Perrin-Whitt CISD
Perryton ISD
• History: See this Nov 1998 news story in Perryton High School's magazine about a then new tardy policy called "three or three" -- a choice between three days' suspension or three paddle swats.
Petersburg ISD
• Stats: Petersburg School gave nine boys swats during 2011/12.
Pewitt CISD
• Stats: Pewitt High School paddled 40 boys and 12 girls in 2011/12, slightly up on 2009/10 (35 boys and 5 girls).
Pharr - San Juan - Alamo ISD
• History: See this Feb 2005 news item.
Pleasant Grove ISD
• Enrollment form
Plemons-Stinnett-Phillips CISD
Ponder ISD
Port Arthur ISD
Port Neches-Groves ISD
• Stats: See news items from March 2012 and May 2012 -- 90 paddlings in the first 9 months of 2011/12.
Post ISD
Poth ISD
Pottsboro ISD
Prairie Valley ISD
• Stats: 13 boys and 2 girls received swats at Prairie Valley High School in 2011/12.
Princeton ISD (Texas)
Pringle-Morse ISD, Morse
Progreso ISD
Quanah ISD
• See also this May 2012 news item (with video clip) about a paddling at Quanah High School.
Quinlan ISD
Quitman ISD
Ralls ISD
Ranger ISD
• Stats: During 2013/14, 9 students (7 boys, 2 girls) were spanked on one or more occasion at Ranger High School. The same number of students received swats in 2015/16, but the mix changed to 5 boys and 4 girls.
Rankin ISD
Raymondville ISD
Red Lick ISD
Refugio ISD
• Stats: No corporal punishment was recorded at Refugio High School from 2000/01 through 2013/14. Then the school introduced the paddle. In 2015/16, 19 boys and 2 girls received swats in grades 9 through 12.
• History: See this Nov 2008 news item.
Richards ISD
Richland Springs ISD
Riesel ISD
Rio Vista ISD
• Stats: Rio Vista High School paddled two boys during 2011/12. In 2013/14, 14 boys received spankings.
Riviera ISD
Robert Lee ISD
Robstown ISD
Rockdale ISD
• Stats: Rockdale High School paddled four boys during 2011/12. In 2013/14, 14 boys received swats on at least one occasion.
Rocksprings ISD
Rogers ISD
Ropes ISD, Ropesville
• Stats: During 2011/12 at Ropes School, 15 boys and 2 girls received spankings.
Rosebud-Lott ISD
• History: See this June 2009 news item.
Royal ISD, Pattison
Rule ISD
Runge ISD
• Annual Performance Report 2015
• Stats: No CP was recorded at Runge High School in 2011/12 or 2013/14. Local statistics in the Performance Report, however, show a major change in disciplinary practices between 2013/14 and 2014/15. CP was eliminated at Runge Elementary School (12 students spanked during 2013/14, none in 2014/15), but introduced at Runge High School, where 27 students (24 boys, 3 girls) received spankings. Of these, 16 were in grades 6-8 and 8 in grades 9-12. Another Texas district where paddling is now seen as more appropriate for teenagers than for younger students.
S&S CISD, Sadler
Sabine Pass ISD
Saltillo ISD
• Stats: Ten boys were spanked during 2011/12, or eight percent of the boys enrolled at this small school.
Sam Rayburn ISD, Ivanhoe
San Augustine ISD
• Registration Form
• History: See this Nov 2009 news item.
• Stats: During 2009/10, 20 boys and 5 girls were paddled at San Augustine High School. In 2011/12 the school recorded no corporal punishment. In 2013/14 paddling was restored, and 28 boys and 10 girls were spanked on at least one occasion.
Sands CISD
Sanger ISD
San Isidro ISD
Sanford-Fritch ISD [RTF]
San Perlita ISD
San Saba ISD
• Corporal punishment notification and permission form
Santa Anna ISD
Santa Rosa ISD
Savoy ISD
Schulenburg ISD
Seagraves ISD
Shelbyville ISD
• Stats: Shelbyville School (grades K-12) did not paddle any students during 2011/12 or 2013/14, although it had used CP in earlier years. In 2015/16, corporal punishment returned: 51 boys and 11 girls received a total of 126 spankings.
Shepherd ISD
Shiner ISD
Sidney ISD
Sierra Blanca ISD [DOC]
Silsbee ISD
Silverton ISD
Sivells Bend ISD
Smyer ISD
• Stats: 25 boys were paddled on at least one occasion at Smyer High School in 2011/12.
Snook ISD
Snyder ISD
Somerset ISD (this is a reinstatement following abolition in 2010)
Somerville ISD
• Stats: 18 students (9b 9g) were spanked at the High School in school year 2011/12.
Southland ISD
Southwest ISD, San Antonio
Spearman ISD
Splendora ISD
Spur ISD
• Stats: During 2015/16, 25 boys and 4 girls received paddlings on a total of 28 occasions.
Spurger ISD
• Stats: During 2000/01, 35 students were paddled at Spurger High School. No CP was recorded in 2006/07 or 2011/12. The high school then reintroduced CP. Although only two students were spanked during 2013/14, disciplinary incidents plummetted.
Stanton ISD
• Stats: During 2011/12, 9 of the 114 boys were paddled at Stanton High School. Two years later this figure doubled to 17 boys.
Stephenville ISD
Stratford ISD
• Stats: During 2004/05, no CP was recorded at Stratford High School. In 2011/12, the next year the district was surveyed, the paddle had been introduced and 8 of the 104 boys enrolled in grades 9-12 received spankings. During 2015/16 also, 8 high-school boys received swats, while no students were spanked at either Mary Allen Elementary School or Stratford Junior High School.
Sulphur Springs ISD
• Stats: 94 boys were paddled in 2009/10 at the High School (grades 9 through 12). By 2015/16 this number had fallen to 25 boys spanked on 31 occasions.
Sweet Home ISD [DOC]
Sweetwater ISD
• Stats: No CP was recorded at Sweetwater High School in 2009/10, while 80 students had to serve OCS. Two years later, 38 boys and 21 girls were paddled in grades 9 through 12, while the number of students placed in OCS declined by 56% to 35. None of the district's schools reported any paddling during 2013/14. In 2015/16, 13 boys and 4 girls were paddled at Sweetwater High School; 27 boys and 2 girls at Sweetwater Middle School; and, in keeping with modern Texas practice, no students at East Ridge Elementary. During the 2018/19 school year, according to local sources, Sweetwater High School gave spankings more frequently and, following an October 2018 board-policy change, students may now be disciplined by an opposite-sex administrator, removing a same-sex requirement dating from seven years earlier.
• History: According to earlier reports from local sources, on 16 November 2011 all members of the Sweetwater High School girls' basketball team were spanked for team misconduct (except one girl who was out with an injury and missed the previous evening's away game against Breckenridge High School). The "Lady Mustangs" received a total of 45 swats, possibly the greatest number of students spanked or swats ever given on one day at Sweetwater High.
Taft ISD
• Stats: During 2011/12, 7 boys and 2 girls were paddled at Taft High School. This increased to 9 boys and 4 girls in 2013/14.
Tarkington ISD
Taylor ISD
Teague ISD
• Stats: From 2000/01 through 2011/12, no CP was recorded at Teague High School. Then the school introduced spanking: 16 boys and 2 girls were paddled on one or more occasions in 2013/14.
Tenaha ISD
• Stats: No CP was recorded in 2011/12 or 2013/14. But during 2015/16, 33 boys and 4 girls were paddled at this K-12 school.
Terrell County ISD
Texline ISD
Thorndale ISD
Thrall ISD
Tioga ISD
Tolar ISD
Tornillo ISD
• History: See this Feb 2007 news report that CP was reinstated after having been abandoned.
Trent ISD [Site is geo-blocked -- Needs VPN to access from outside USA]
Trenton ISD (Texas)
Tulia ISD
Tuloso-Midway ISD, Corpus Christi
• History: See this Feb 2011 news item (with video clip).
Turkey-Quitaque ISD
Union Grove ISD
Union Hill ISD
• Stats: In 2011/12 at Union Hill High School, 12 boys and two girls were paddled on one or more occasions.
Utopia ISD
Uvalde CISD
Valley Mills ISD
Van Vleck ISD
Vega ISD
Venus ISD
• Stats: 32 boys and 7 girls received a spanking on one or more occasions at Venus High School in 2011/12.
Vernon ISD
Waelder ISD
Walnut Bend ISD
Walnut Springs ISD
Waskom ISD
Waxahachie ISD
Weatherford ISD
Webb CISD
Weimar ISD
Wellington ISD
Wellman-Union ISD
Wells ISD
Weslaco ISD
Westbrook ISD
West Hardin County CISD
West Oso ISD, Corpus Christi
Westphalia ISD
Westwood ISD, Palestine
Wharton ISD
• Stats: This is another Texas district that has decided that posterial chastisement is especially useful for the older teenage boy. During 2011/12, no CP was recorded at Wharton Elementary School, Wharton Junior High School, or Wharton High School. In 2013/14, again no students were paddled at either the elementary or the junior high. But the High School brought back the paddle. In 2013/14, 27 boys in grades 9 through 12 received swats. In 2015/16, corporal punishment was extended to the high-school girls: 16 boys and 2 girls were disciplined in 22 spanking sessions.
Whiteface CISD
• Stats: 11 boys and 5 girls were paddled at Whiteface High School in 2011/12.
White Oak ISD
• See also this Sep 2014 news item.
• Stats: There were 51 paddlings here over five years, according to this Sep 2016 news report.
White Settlement ISD
Wichita Falls ISD
• History: See this Dec 2011 news item, "WFISD not yanking spanking rule".
Wilson ISD
Windthorst ISD
Winters ISD
Wolfe City ISD
Woodsboro ISD
Zavalla ISD
• Stats: During 2011/12, 47 boys and 11 girls at Zavalla High School were spanked on one or more occasions, out of a total student population of 221 boys and 227 girls.
Zephyr ISD
The school handbook links are spread over nine pages: