Corporal punishment ban for Louisiana public schools one vote shy of approval

For the second time this legislative session, the Louisiana House struck down a ban on corporal punishment in public schools.

House Bill 649, authored by Rep. Stephanie Hilferty, R-New Orleans, would have outlawed “the use of physical force that causes pain or discomfort to discipline a student” in Louisiana schools. 

Correctional employees are not allowed to physically discipline juvenile or adult offenders in the state’s detention facilities, Hilferty said, so it makes no sense that schools are allowed to hit children. She sponsored the same proposal last year, with opponents labeling it government overreach.

Rep. Jon Stefanski, R-Crowley, brought forward an amendment that would only allow corporal punishment in schools if a parent or guardian signed off on it. He withdrew it after Hilferty signaled she didn’t want the change to her proposal.

Her bill failed to pass, 52-32, just one shy of the 53-vote threshold needed for approval.