CASSVILLE, Mo. — A Missouri school district is bringing back corporal punishment as a discipline option for students.
The Cassville School District told NBC affiliate KY3 that the policy is opt-in only and the change was the result of a survey sent to staff, student and parents in May.
“One of the suggestions that came out was concerns about student discipline,” Superintendent Dr. Merlyn Johnson told KY3. “So we reacted by implementing several different strategies, corporal punishment being one of them."
The change will give principals one more option for discipline, acting as a last resort before using more serious punishments such as suspension, Johnson told KY3.
The corporal punishment option will only be used for students whose parents opt in.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1977 that corporal punishment is constitutional, leaving it up to states whether to allow it. Missouri is one of 19 states where school corporal punishment is legal.
Madison Horner with KY3 contributed to this story.