 Wooden Board that's used on children |
Tulsa - Parents of one local school are reading through a letter about
allegations of corporal punishment. Three elementary school employees are on
paid leave today as the district investigates.
The alleged
incident happened last week at Hawthorne Elementary in North Tulsa. The letter
sent to parents doesn't go into a lot of detail, saying only that the district
was made aware of the situation by a third party claiming that one or more
employees used corporal punishment to discipline one of its students.
The school district won't go into specific detail
because the investigation is still ongoing. What we do know is that three
employees have been asked not to return to the school until administrators can
question every employee first.
The
use of corporal punishment like spanking or paddling by a teacher is legal in
Oklahoma, but Tulsa Public Schools Chief of Police Gary Rudick says it goes
against school policy.
"District policy for Tulsa Public Schools
is that corporal punishment is not permitted," Rudick told NewsChannel 8. "Even
parents are not allowed to utilize corporal punishment on school property."
If the allegations are found to be true, Rudick says
the school district will take any necessary actions, which could include
termination.
If the allegations are found to be true and
excessive, the parents could press charges and the case would then be handed
over to the Tulsa Police Department.