Kentucky lawmaker makes renewed effort to ban paddling and corporal punishment in schools – By Billy Kobin (Louisville Courier Journal) / January 5 2021
After several years of failed attempts, a state lawmaker is once again trying to outlaw paddling and other forms of corporal punishment in Kentucky schools.
The prefiled bill for the 2021 Kentucky General Assembly session, which kicked off Tuesday, from state Rep. Steve Riley, R-Glasgow, would ban school district employees and coaches from using corporal punishment on any student.
Corporal punishment means the “deliberate infliction of severe physical pain on a student by any means intended to punish or discipline the student, including but not limited to paddling, striking, shaking or spanking,” according to Riley’s bill.
The prefiled bill says corporal punishment does not include “[s]pontaneous physical contact intended to protect a student from immediate danger” and “[r]easonable athletic and military training.”
