A Troubling Disparity

WSMV’s Alanna Autler reports that students with disabilities in some middle Tennessee school districts are disciplined with corporal punishment at higher rates than their peers without disabilities.

From the story:

A Channel 4 I-Team investigation has found that at 60 schools in Middle Tennessee, students with disabilities received corporal punishment at a higher rate than their peers without disabilities.

These are students protected under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which ensures services to children with a variety of special needs ranging from autism to intellectual and physical disabilities.

The I-Team analyzed data from the 2013-2014 school year, which is the most recent data published by the U.S. Office of Civil Rights.

Autler’s story also notes that only seven middle Tennessee districts have banned corporal punishment.

Whether and when to use corporal punishment in Tennessee schools is a district-level decision.

Of course, one way to eliminate this disparity would be to ban corporal punishment at all Tennessee schools. That would require legislative action.

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