The use of corporal punishment in New York schools has been in the news, in part thanks to two recent articles: A Times Union investigation finding some 1,600 substantiated cases (and 18,000 complaints) of corporal punishment in New York public schools; and a New York Times article showing it’s used in some of the private Hasidic-run schools located throughout Brooklyn and the lower Hudson Valley.

Now, the Times Union reports, “state lawmakers have introduced a series of bills … intended to make it clear in state law that corporal punishment is illegal in all schools in the state.” The bills range from adding explicit language to already existing state Education Law to adding corporal punishment to the state’s definition of child abuse in an educational setting.

An earlier Times Union investigation finding that staff at New York schools serving children with disabilities “intentionally misused physical restraints on students” resulted in the drafting and submission of a bill, “Keeping All New York Students Safe Act,” by New York State Assemblywoman Michaelle C. Solages.

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