Corporal Punishment, School discipline, and Police Arrests

Corporal Punishment, School Discipline, and Arrest Trauma.

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts recently ruled that a 

couple who disciplined their child using corporal punishment could 

not be foster parents. The couple argued that they would not used 

corporal punishment on the foster children, but only their 

biological children. This argument was rejected by the Court.

The Court based its ruling affirmed the decision of the Department 

of Children and Families (DCF) that the foster parents use of 

corporal punishment on foster children who have likely suffered 

traumas of abuse or neglect was potentially harmful. It also ruled 

that even if the foster parents did not use corporal punishment on 

the foster children, their use of corporal punishment on their 

biological children could be emotionally upsetting to the foster 

children.

“… that children placed by the department have been exposed to an array of neglect and abuse, and their awareness of acts of corporal punishment in their foster homes "could well trigger the very trauma the placement was intended to mitigate." The hearing officer stated that the department could not simply place with the Magazus a child who had not been physically abused because foster children often do not disclose the full extent of their experiences until after being placed in substitute care. Moreover, she continued, the Magazus' willingness to refrain from using corporal punishment on a 9 foster child did not alleviate the department's concerns regarding the discipline of such child postadoption, when the child would no longer be under the purview of the department”

The Worcester Public Schools are legally similar to foster parents. 

They are parentis in loco which means that the schools have the 

same parental responsibilities as biological, foster parents, and 

guardians when the children are at school. Corporal punishment is 

not allowed at Worcester Public Schools with the exception of the 

use of Police Force.  The use of police force and arrest is traumatic 

and emotionally upsetting. Yet it is increasingly being used in the 

Worcester Public Schools for non emergency matters such as 

school discipline which is covered by Chap. 222 of the Acts. 2012.

Robert L. Simon M. D. has written

“False arrest and imprisonment can be an extraordinarily traumatic event. The author's evaluation of three cases, and a review of the recent forensic psychiatric literature and reported legal cases, clearly demonstrate that serious psychological impairment may follow false arrest and imprisonment. These cases are frequently litigated. “

Arrests made by the police for “disturbance and disorderly”, as 

defined in Chapter 222, are false arrests and imprisonment. These 

situations should be handled per the statutes by the Worcester 

Public Schools administratively and not by falsely arresting and 

imprisoning children.

 The number of arrests of students at Worcester Public is higher 

than last academic year with at least two students arrested in 

middle school. A Worcester School official has stated that most of the arrests have been for disturbances and disorderly which are not crimes.

The Worcester Public Schools published in outdated Memorandum 

of Understanding (MOU) on December 18, 2015. I am sorry to say 

that the MOU published on that date was a sham and a political 

stunt. The MOU published is the outdated MOU which does not 

cover police being full time in the school, their duties and 

restrictions, their training, nor their chain of command (can a 

principal order a police officer to stand down?). Dr. Rodrigues, 

acting Superintendent of Worcester Public Schools, said in a 

December 2015 meeting that an updated MOU would not be 

available until after March of 2016 when there would be some sort 

of curriculum for the training of police in schools.

The facts are the following:

·        the police in the school have not been trained for being School Resource Officers as there is no curriculum

·        there is no clear description of the police duties and restrictions in the schools

·        the police have not recognized that a principal of a school can make them stand down.

·        most of the arrests made in Worcester School are for non criminal events which are more appropriately handled by school administrators

·        there is evidence that police arresting children and children witnessing arrests cause trauma.

At the December 17, 2015 Worcester School Committee meeting, 

Ms. Idella Hazard opposed cops being in schools as it sends the 

wrong message to our children, is potentially damaging, and the 

resources could be better spent. Although she did not say that cops 

in the schools are a part of a racist school to jail policy, I believe 

that it is racist. This is especially true as the Worcester School 

Committee is all White and the majority of the children in the 

Worcester public schools are not.