Groups want ban on corporal punishment in schools

Saying corporal punishment disproportionately targets minority students and creates a "violent and degrading school environment," two groups want federal and state lawmakers to ban it. Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union cite U.S. Education Department statistics that find school personnel in the 2006-07 school year reported disciplining 223,190 students by hitting, spanking or similar means. The Education Department says 17 percent of students nationwide are black, but they made up 35.6 percent of students paddled in 2006-07. In Texas, 10.7 percent of students are disabled, but they made up 17.4 percent of paddled students.