GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2007
H 1
HOUSE BILL 853
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.