Most states have statutes that govern whether school administrators may hit, spank, or paddle students as a means of discipline. Known as “corporal punishment,†states can vary on whether it is allowed in public schools. Here's a basic overview of corporal punishment in public schools laws in Connecticut.
Corporal Punishment Statutes in Connecticut
While the majority of states prohibit corporal punishment in public schools, Connecticut’s state statutes are silent on the matter.
| Code Section | No statutory provisions |
| Punishment Allowed | - |
| Circumstances Allowable | - |
The United States has a varied history of public school discipline, with swings from one extreme to the other, normally following social attitudes toward corporal punishment in general. As public education became more prevalent in the middle of the nineteenth century, most U.S. educators relied on European models of discipline. These models suggested that learning occurred best with encouragement and kindness and discouraged corporal punishment in response to academic errors.
This changed at the beginning of the twentieth century, when model classrooms focused on well-disciplined students sitting attentively while they learned by rote. During this era, education was seen more as a process of controlling student behavior while information was conveyed from teachers to students. In large, these ideas continue to shape modern concepts about classroom goals and activities.
More recently, media coverage in the 1990s and 2000s focused on juveniles committing serious felonies on school property and portrayed schools almost as war zones. This caused many people and parents to advocate for a return to more rigorous student control, and the introduction of “zero tolerance†policies. On the other hand, emerging theories on discipline and punishment led many schools to shift their focus from punishing students for bad behavior to rewarding students for meeting or exceeding educational expectations.
Modern public school administrators are now looking at disciplinary situations as "teachable moments" and seeking to help students understand and change their behavior rather than handing down punitive consequences. Some states and school districts have begun to reexamine the way they handle disciplinary issues at school, and started to work with students to change their own behavior rather than punishing them.
Connecticut Corporal Punishment in Public Schools Laws: Related Resources
State education laws are subject to change. You can contact a Connecticut education attorney if you would like legal assistance with an education issue. You can also visit FindLaw's section on School Discipline for more resources and information.
