TULSA, Okla. — The issue of corporal punishment will be back in the conversation at the state capitol this year. A bill effectively banning paddling special needs students was brought to lawmakers last session but it did not pass.
Until Jocelyn Cook’s son told her how he was disciplined at school, she did not realize corporal punishment was still allowed in Oklahoma.
“I was unhappy,” she said. “The principal held me down, the principal hit me,” she recalls her son telling her after school one day.
Cook says her son is diagnosed with Dandy Walker variant and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. She says he learns on a level many years younger than his age and does not understand corporal punishment.
“He will think, ‘if you hit me, I’m going to hit you,” she explained. “That is why we do a lot of talking.”
Representative Jim Olsen (R-Roland) filed a study for this upcoming session to look at the effectiveness of paddling. He said he does not promote or condemn the practice but wants it out of the hands of lawmakers.
“Like, small government, don’t legislate that, is that what I am hearing?” 2 News Anchor Erin Christy asked during a Zoom interview on the subject.
“You’re exactly right, and encapsulated my position as a legislator,” he responded.
Olsen says some rural districts have effectively used it for generations, and he viewed the legislation as a tee-up for an all-out ban, regardless of disability.
“In order to get it out of schools, they started with children with disabilities,” said Olsen.
Olsen also believes the federal definition of disability is too broad.
For groups like the Oklahoma Institute of Child Advocacy, the stance remains — it should not be used on any student.
“We don’t feel corporal punishment is an effective use of discipline,” said Joe Dorman, OICA Executive Director. “There are other manners that can be used that are proven to be much better.”
Cook’s son’s school had an opt-out form.
“I said, ‘No, I am not going to sign this,’ and he said, ‘OK, well, if you’re not going to let me discipline the way I discipline, then you’re going to have to come and get him every time I call.’”
Cook did not sign the form, and the family has since left the school.
Current state law only bans corporal punishment for the “most significantly cognitively disabled student.” Child advocates say the standards for that definition is unclear.
Each district determines its own discipline policy. The OICA says 26% of Oklahoma schools still use paddling.
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