Legal News for South Carolina Social Responsibility Attorneys. Kindergarten teacher under investigation for alleged use of corporal punishment on students.
Kindergarten teacher allegedly demonstrated abusive behavior towards elementary school students.
Bishopville, SC—Investigators from the Bishopville Police Department are currently looking into allegations from the parents of several elementary school students claiming that a teacher was abusing her students, as reported by WLTX.com. This abusive behavior allegedly occurred in the months of October and November.
It was described in a recently filed incident report that the teacher reportedly slapped some children in the face, struck them on the hands with a ruler, hit them on the back and even stepped on the hands of some of the students. It was also reported that the teacher allegedly rubbed Purell hand sanitizer in the faces and mouths’ of these young children. The kindergarten teacher from Bishopville Primary School is accused of abusing an alleged sixteen students from the ages five to six. One parent reportedly stated that her 5-year-old daughter was allegedly very scared to go to school after being hit on the hands with a ruler by her teacher.
Corporal punishment is defined as “any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort” under human-rights law, as explained in a collaborative article posted by Time Magazine in partnership with CNN News. According to information provided in a new report by Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the use of corporal punishment is legal in twenty states under domestic law. It was noted in the report that a total of 223,190 students from 2006-2007 were subject to corporal punishment in educational establishments, with Texas being the state recognized for paddling the highest number of students, with and without disabilities. Serious muscle injuries, whiplash wounds, blood clotting, as well as hemorrhaging were pointed out by the Society for Adolescent Medicine (SAM) as examples of the medical risks these children could face as a result of such disciplinary measures. Allegedly, due to the difficulty students with autism face in demonstrating “proper” social behavior, they seem to be increasingly susceptible to corporal punishment.
It was noted in a 1977 Supreme Court case, that the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects convicted criminals from cruel and unusual punishment, yet it does not protect the nations’ students from the physical punishment many have faced in school.
Legal News Reporter: Sandra Quinlan- Legal News for South Carolina Social Responsibility Lawyers.