GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2007
H 1
HOUSE BILL 853
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Short Title: Prohibit Corporal Punishment in Schools. |
(Public) |
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Sponsors: |
Representatives Alexander, Fisher, Parmon, Glazier (Primary Sponsors); Hall, Insko, Luebke, and Weiss. |
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Referred to: |
Children, Youth and Families, if favorable, Education. |
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March 15, 2007
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to prohibit the use of corporal punishment in the public schools.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 115C‑391 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑391.
Corporal punishment, suspension, Suspension or expulsion of pupils.students;
corporal punishment prohibited.
(a) Local boards of education shall adopt policies not
inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitutions of the United States and North Carolina, governing the conduct of students and establishing procedures to
be followed by school officials in suspending or expelling any student, or in
disciplining any student if the offensive behavior could result in suspension,
expulsion, or the administration of corporal punishment.suspension or
expulsion. Local boards of education shall include a reasonable dress code
for students in these policies.
The policies that shall be adopted for the administration
of corporal punishment shall include at a minimum the following conditions:
(1) Corporal punishment shall not be
administered in a classroom with other children present;
(2) The student body shall be informed
beforehand what general types of misconduct could result in corporal
punishment;
(3) Only a teacher, substitute teacher,
principal, or assistant principal may administer corporal punishment and may do
so only in the presence of a principal, assistant principal, teacher,
substitute teacher, teacher assistant, or student teacher, who shall be
informed beforehand and in the student's presence of the reason for the
punishment; and
(4) An appropriate school official shall
provide the child's parent or guardian with notification that corporal
punishment has been administered, and upon request, the official who
administered the corporal punishment shall provide the child's parent or
guardian a written explanation of the reasons and the name of the second school
official who was present.
Each local board shall publish all the policies mandated by this
subsection and make them available to each student and his parent or guardian
at the beginning of each school year. Notwithstanding any policy adopted
pursuant to this section, school personnel may use reasonable force,
including corporal punishment,force to control behavior or to remove
a person from the scene in those situations when necessary:
(1) To quell a disturbance threatening injury to others;
(2) To obtain possession of weapons or other dangerous objects on the person, or within the control, of a student;
(3) For self‑defense;
(4) For the protection of persons or property; or
(5) To maintain order on school property, in the classroom, or at a school‑related activity on or off school property.
(a1) Local boards of education shall adopt policies that prohibit both the administration of corporal punishment and the threat of corporal punishment.
. . .
(h) Notwithstanding any other law, no officer or
employee of the State Board of Education or of a local board of education shall
be civilly liable for using reasonable force, including corporal punishment,force
in conformity with State law, State or local rules, or State or local policies
regarding the control, discipline, suspension, and expulsion of students.
Furthermore, the burden of proof is on the claimant to show that the amount of
force used was not reasonable."
SECTION 2. This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with the 2007‑2008 school year.