SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – This year, Illinois becomes the fifth state in the nation to prohibit corporal punishment of any kind in all schools.
Gov. J-B Pritzker signed into law earlier this month legislation banning all physical punishment in private schools, while reiterating a ban on the practice in Illinois’ public schools that’s been in place for 30 years.
The ban takes effect in January 2025, when Illinois joins Iowa, New York, New Jersey and Maryland in prohibiting spanking, paddling or hitting in all schools.
State Rep. Margaret Croke, of Chicago, took up the issue after a call by the American Association of Pediatrics to end the practice. The association says corporal punishment can increase behavioral or mental health issues and impair cognitive learning.
The APP also says corporal punishment is disproportionately given out to Black males and students with disabilities.
17 states technically still allow corporal punishment in schools, though four of them prohibit it being used on students with disabilities.
Illinois banned corporal punishment in public schools in 1994.
The law does not apply to home-schooled students in Illinois.
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