A bill in the Ohio General Assembly would do just that. The bill has bi-partisan sponsors and may have a good shot at passage. If it is passed, it would make Ohio the 30th state to ban corporal punishment and would be the first new law on this issue since Pennsylvania banned it in 2005. As the map below shows (thanks to the Center for Effective Discipline), a clear majority of states are now on the side of making corporal punishment illegal in schools. Perhaps this bill will cause some other states (ahem, Indiana, Florida, Colorado I am talking to you) to also consider legislation banning corporal punishment. I can't tell you how appalled my pre-service teachers are here in Indiana when I tell them spanking children is legal in this state. The momentum of the 1980's for this prohibition has long since passed, but in the 20 subsequent years many of the older teachers that were fond of this practice have retired. For the current generation of teachers corporal punishment is an embarrassment to the teaching profession. It is time the legislation reflected the morals of the majority of teachers.

Crossposted: At the Schoolhouse Gate