Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG) has released a new report “Cruel Schools: The Nineteen States that Still Allow Corporal Punishment in Schools and the Resulting Harms to Children of Color and Students with Disabilities,” highlighting the racist roots of corporal punishment and how Black and Brown children are the primary recipients of punishment.

State-sanctioned violence as a means to control Black and Brown communities is deeply rooted in U.S. history. From the terrors of slavery and public lynchings to the disparate impacts that capital punishment, the drug war, police violence, and mass incarceration, government policies continue to legally authorize the systematic oppression of people of color. This legacy continues in the use of corporal punishment, which is disproportionately used against Black and other marginalized children.

The shocking new report illustrates that there are 19 states that still allow corporal punishment in public schools, with some targeting preschool aged children. The report goes on to document the way children of color are disproportionately targeted in incidents of corporal punishment. 

At the national level, findings include: 

• Black children make up 15.1% of public school students, but 37.3% of corporal punishment incidents;

• Children with disabilities make up 13.2% of public school students, but 16.5% of corporal punishment incidents;

• Native American children make up 1.0% of public school students, but 1.9% of corporal punishment incidents.

• Each state that uses corporal punishment in public schools disproportionately uses corporal punishment against at least one marginalized community.

Read or download the report below.