II. Recommendations

The ACLU and Human Rights Watch recommend a complete prohibition on the use of corporal punishment against all students in US schools.[24] Until that point, we recommend that federal and state governments and/or all relevant school districts implement an immediate moratorium on the use of corporal punishment against students with disabilities.

To the US Congress

• Prohibit the use of corporal punishment against students with disabilities, as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Define corporal punishment as any punishment in which physical force, however light, is used with intent to discipline.
• In particular, immediately prohibit the use of corporal punishment to discipline students for behaviors that are the consequences of their disabilities.
• Prohibit the use of prone or "face-down" restraint in schools.
• Increase funding to states and school districts to train all staff, including teachers and para-professionals, on effective methods of school discipline (including positive behavioral supports), and to provide for behavioral analysts and counseling staff to improve the delivery of appropriate discipline to students with disabilities.
• Support measures to improve school discipline through the implementation of positive behavior systems by passing the Positive Behavior for Safe and Effective Schools Act (HR 2597).
• Increase funding to Protection and Advocacy programs to provide parents with resources to protect their children, and to investigate allegations of abuse or neglect in schools.
• (To the Senate): Ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities without reservation.

To the President of the United States

• Propose and urge Congress to ban corporal punishment against students with disabilities in US schools.
• Submit the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Convention on the Rights of the Child to the US Senate for its consent to ratification.

To the US Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights

• Revise and expand the collection of data on corporal punishment:
  • Direct all school districts in all states to report any violence used by a staff member against a student.
  • Mandate that school districts report all instances of restraint, and document whether that restraint was used to respond to the immediate needs of safety for the child or others, or whether it was used in order to discipline.
• Promulgate national standards limiting the use of force in public schools. Mandate that force be used only when needed to protect a child or others, and that the principle of the minimum necessary use of force for the shortest necessary period of time must always apply.
• Use the Office's investigative mandate to:
  • pursue vigorously individual complaints of corporal punishment that allege violations of the prohibition on discrimination in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and
  • relying on statistical data and other sources, initiate and complete compliance reviews for school districts that demonstrate systemic issues in disparate rates of corporal punishment for students with disabilities.

To State Legislatures

• Prohibit the use of corporal punishment against students with disabilities. Define corporal punishment as any punishment in which physical force, however light, is used with intent to discipline.
• In particular, prohibit the use of corporal punishment to discipline students for behaviors that are the consequences of their disabilities.
• Prohibit the use of prone or "face-down" restraint in schools.
• Repeal or modify existing legislation that grants educators who use corporal punishment immunity from civil lawsuits or criminal prosecution; permit civil lawsuits and criminal prosecution for assault in schools.
• Enact legislation requiring school boards to incorporate positive behavior systems into individual school district discipline policies and codes of conduct.
• Increase funding to school districts to train all staff, including teachers and para-professionals, on effective methods of school discipline (including positive behavioral supports), and to provide for behavioral analysts and counseling staff to improve the delivery of appropriate discipline to students with disabilities.

To State Governors and Departments of Education

• Propose and implement an immediate and complete ban on the use of corporal punishment against students with disabilities. Define corporal punishment as any punishment in which physical force, however light, is used with intent to discipline.
• Promulgate state-wide standards limiting the use of force in public schools. Mandate that force be used only when needed to protect a child or others, and that the principle of the minimum necessary use of force for the shortest necessary period of time must always apply.
• Promulgate state-wide standards requiring training of all staff, including teachers and para-professionals, on effective methods of school discipline (including positive behavioral supports). Ensure that staff are trained on the strict limits on permitted use of force in exceptional situations.
• Implement a statistical review system that tracks every instance of corporal punishment of any kind in public schools. Authorities should be required to record each instance of force used against a child, including use of restraint.

To School Boards, Superintendents, Principals, and Teachers

• Revise discipline policies to ensure that students with disabilities do not receive corporal punishment.
• Institute alternative discipline systems such as positive behavioral support systems.
• Increase training programs to ensure that all staff, including teachers and para-professionals, can use effective methods of school discipline (including positive behavioral supports). Ensure that all staff members are conscious of best practices in responding to their students' individualized needs, including by reaching out to local medical professionals who can assist in training. Ensure that staff are trained on the strict limits on permitted use of force in exceptional situations.
• Provide for behavioral analysts and counseling staff to improve the delivery of appropriate discipline to students with disabilities.
• Better utilize professionally conducted behavioral assessments for students with disabilities; ensure that those assessments include an evaluation of what individualized, positive interventions can be used to provide effective incentives for appropriate conduct.