Corporal Punishment in Public Schools: A Violation of Substantive Due Process

Authors

Cynthia Denenholz Sweeney

Abstract

Although the State has a legitimate, and perhaps compelling, interest in maintaining classroom discipline, classroom order can be maintained by less severe means. This Comment briefly reviews corporal punishment in the schools, early challenges to its use, and the applicability of the doctrine of substantive due process. Concluding that the student's interest in freedom from excessive corporal punishment is a basic American value, the Comment suggests that this interest be explicitly recognized as a fundamental right.

Recommended Citation

Cynthia Denenholz Sweeney, Corporal Punishment in Public Schools: A Violation of Substantive Due Process, 33 Hastings L.J. 1245 (1982).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_law_journal/vol33/iss5/8