An NPR analysis published on August 19 found that 15 U.S. states still have laws permitting public school employees to use corporal punishment on students, and that nearly 32,000 reported instances of paddling, hitting, or other forms of physical discipline were recorded in the 2021-22 school year. The feature arrived the same week a Port Arthur, Texas, high school student told KPRC that an assistant football coach struck him with a paddle during a Saturday practice, an incident the Port Arthur Independent School District confirmed it is reviewing. The United States has no federal law banning corporal punishment in