News In Brief

Gov. John Engler of Michigan has signed one of the first state laws in recent years to relax, rather than tighten, legal curbs on how much force teachers can use on students.

While the measure, approved last month, bars corporal punishment, it allows teachers to "use reasonable physical force upon a pupil as necessary to maintain order and control.''

The bill had been delayed in the legislature as a result of disagreements over the phrase "maintain order and control.'' Once that language was clarified, however,...