Written by Olivia Krauth of the Courier-Journal
A bill banning paddling in Kentucky schools is still in play, according to the senator in charge of its immediate future.
After passing the House with vast support and picking up a bipartisan slate of 17 sponsors, House Bill 22 has not been called for its next vote in the Senate Education committee.
Sen. Max Wise, a Campbellsville Republican and chairman of the committee, said the bill outlawing all forms of corporal punishment in schools won’t be on the committee’s agenda Thursday — but that doesn’t mean it is dead. He said he is gauging support for the measure before calling it for a vote.
Kentucky is one of 19 states that still allow the practice, but many school districts no longer spank or paddle students.
A little over a dozen districts reported using corporal punishment last school year, accounting for 284 instances of paddling. Many of those districts are in Eastern Kentucky.
About 40% of those reports come from districts represented by Senate Education Committee leadership and members.
And about one-third come from districts represented by Wise, the committee chairman.
(Cross-posted via the Kentucky Press News Service. Read the rest of the article at the Courier-Journal.)
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