{"id":75857,"date":"2025-12-08T18:52:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T18:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/75857\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T18:52:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T18:52:09","slug":"florida-leaders-file-legislation-to-end-corporal-punishment-in-floridas-public-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/75857\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida leaders file legislation to end corporal punishment in Florida\u2019s public schools"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Representative Johanna L\u00f3pez and Senator Mack Bernard have introduced legislation to ban corporal punishment in Florida\u2019s public schools, promoting a safer, more supportive environment for students.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">House Bill 109 and Senate Bill 662 by L\u00f3pez and Bernard aim to ban corporal punishment\u2014defined as moderate physical force\u2014in Florida public schools. The bills seek to modernize discipline and align Florida with states that have stopped using physical punishment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cAs a former educator and as a mother, I know firsthand that violence has no place in our classrooms,\u201d said Representative L\u00f3pez. \u201cThis bill is about protecting our children\u2019s dignity, their safety, and their right to learn without fear.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Florida, one of 17 states allowing corporal punishment in public schools, has 19 districts that authorize it. During 2023\u20132024, there were 516 reported incidents. Research associates corporal punishment with decreased academic performance and mental health problems.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Senator Bernard stated, \u201cThe use of corporal punishment is inconsistent with the school\u2019s goals of promoting honesty, responsibility, and self-discipline.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Despite ongoing use, evidence-based options like restorative practices are more effective in improving student behavior. Students with disabilities are disproportionately impacted, with 40% of corporal punishment cases involving IDEA or Rehabilitation Act students, who make up just 20\u201322% of district populations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The proposed legislation would remove statutory language authorizing corporal punishment in Florida\u2019s public schools, with the changes set to take effect on July 1, 2026, if enacted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wftv.com\/mobile-apps\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Click here;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Click here<\/a> to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wftv.com\/video\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:click here;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">click here<\/a> to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.<\/p>\n<p><a data-ylk=\"ct:story;elm:img;itc:0;\" class=\"stretched-box\" href=\"https:\/\/wftvapps.com\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"537\" height=\"108\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/beda08358d6db9816e7b0d066edd22cf.jpeg\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Representative Johanna L\u00f3pez and Senator Mack Bernard have introduced legislation to ban corporal punishment in Florida\u2019s public schools,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":75858,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[21300,28,30,29,42909,16572,42908,42910],"class_list":{"0":"post-75857","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-florida","8":"tag-corporal-punishment","9":"tag-florida","10":"tag-florida-headlines","11":"tag-florida-news","12":"tag-mack-bernard","13":"tag-public-schools","14":"tag-representative-johanna-lopez","15":"tag-supportive-environment"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75857\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}