Corporal Punishment Banned

Corporal punishment will no longer be used in the Memphis, Tenn., public schools. The school board voted 5-4 vote on Nov. 22 to end the practice, following intense debate last spring. (“Review of Corporal Punishment Hits Nerve in Memphis,” April 14, 2004.) Critics said that while the 118,000-student district’s policy called for using the punishment only as a last resort, students were often paddled for whispering in class or even playing poorly in an athletic game.