Aug
11
Children with disabilities are more likely to receive corporal punishment than the general school population, according to a new study.
The report from the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch found that students with disabilities made up 18.8 percent of students who suffered corporal punishment at school during the 2006-2007 school year, although they constituted just 13.7 percent of the total nationwide student population.
Thirty states ban physical punishment, but twenty do not.
At least 41,972 students with disabilities were subjected to corporal punishment in US schools during that school year. The reports’ authors believe that their findings undercount the actual rate of physical discipline, since not all instances are reported or recorded.