Schools would bar staff from using corporal punishment

School officials, employees, and agents would not be allowed to subject students to corporal punishment. This would cover public schools, charter schools, and private schools, including each school's governing body and students enrolled in the school district. The prohibition would be subject to the listed exceptions in subsection (3). The bill would not create a separate basis for civil damages against a school or its staff for claims about improper or unnecessary force. The provision would take effect on the first July 1 after the act's publication, if enacted.

School governing bodies would adopt policies allowing staff to use reasonable and necessary force for the listed non-punitive purposes. The policy requirement would apply to governing bodies of public schools, charter schools, and private schools. The bill defines corporal punishment as intentionally causing physical pain for discipline, including paddling, slapping, or holding painful positions. Actions consistent with an individualized education program and reasonable physical activity connected to athletic training would not count as corporal punishment. Good-faith, reasonable judgments by school staff would receive deference when deciding whether an exception applies. The provisions would take effect on the first July 1 after the act's publication, if enacted.