Limit of teachers touching/hitting students

Question

How much can a teacher touch/hit a student before it is considered illegal, etc.

For example, can he/she put their hand on a student's shoulder, flick them, etc.

Preferably if you know the limit in AUSTRALIA, but other countries would help as well.

Thank You.

Answer 1

Teachers ARE allowed to paddle students in 21 states in America. In fact official records show there are approximately 750,000 official in-school spankings (Paddlings) per year in the USA.

Answer 2

It varies between individual states and territories in Australia.

Corporal punishment is banned by law in all schools in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, and Tasmania.

In Victoria, it is banned in government schools but not in private schools. The state government has managed to remove it from all but one private school by making "no smacking" a condition of school registration.

In Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia corporal punishment is banned in government schools under local educational policy; however its use is not actually illegal. It is allowed for teachers in private schools in Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia to spank students.

Schools in the Northern Territory are allowed to use corporal punishment.

To be honest with you though, the only schools I've ever heard of that are still using physical punishment are a number of Christian schools in Queensland, one or perhaps two in Victoria, a school in South Australia and some private schools in Western Australia.


(And contrary to what many Americans seem to believe corporal punishment IS still allowed in 21 US states - and used pretty frequently in some. Check out the American website "Teachers Who Paddle" if you want more of an idea of the situation in America http://teacherswhopaddle.wordpress.com/