Written By Lexx Thornton
Florida has changed how corporal punishment can be used in its public schools, requiring parents to give approval before the practice is administered. House Bill 1255, passed this spring, mandates that parents either consent for the entire school year or approve before each instance of corporal punishment in both traditional public and charter schools.Â
The new rules take effect for the 2025-2026 school year.Â
What Is Corporal Punishment?Â
Nineteen public school districts in Florida allow corporal punishment, which the Florida Department of Education defines as “the moderate use of physical force or physical contact by a teacher or principal to maintain discipline or to enforce school rule.Â
 Until now, some counties required parental consent while others only provided notification that corporal punishment could be used, according to a report by the Florida Phoenix. Legal experts note that Florida’s new restrictions mark a shift, even though the practice remains legal in the state.Â
 “Corporal punishment is something that I think a lot of people would assume is not legal in classrooms anymore, but there are actually many states that still legally allow it,” Ben Michael, an attorney with M & A Criminal Defense Attorneys, told Newsweek. “So a law like this, while not making corporal punishment illegal in Florida schools, does help limit it. It puts more restrictions on schools that do use it, which gives both students and parents more protection.”Â
 He continued: “But we may still see people against this law for reasons such as the inequality of treatment it thus allows, if some students can have this type of punishment used against them while others can’t, purely because of their parents.”Â
 Nationally, corporal punishment remains legal in 17 states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming.Â
 Proponents say it acts as a deterrent to misbehavior, but the practice has drawn strong opposition here at home and internationally. The World Health Organization classifies corporal punishment as “a violation of children’s rights to respect for physical integrity and human dignity, health, development, education, and freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”Â
 “Unfortunately, some schools continue to put the mental and physical well-being of students at risk by implementing the practice of corporal punishment,” he said. “Corporal punishment can lead to serious physical pain and injury. It is also associated with higher rates of mental health issues.”Â
 Corporal punishment has been banned in most states since the mid-1990s.Â
