TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A new bill filed this week would make a major change to how Florida schools may handle punishments for students.
That bill — HB 109 — was filed by Johanna López (D-43) on Tuesday, and it would prohibit any school district employee from using corporal punishment on a public school student.
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According to the National Education Association, Florida is among 17 states that still allow corporal punishment.
That being said, a new law passed earlier this year requires school districts to acquire parental consent before administering any sort of corporal punishment, including spankings.
[RELATED: Here are all of the new Florida laws that took effect on July 1]
But even before then, state law required that the use of corporal punishment be approved by the principal before being used, with strict guidelines for how it can be administered.
In addition, any teacher who administers corporal punishment must have another adult around, along with a written explanation for why the punishment was meted out, if a parent requests it.
That being said, the Florida Department of Education only reported 516 instances of corporal punishment in its latest discipline report for the 2023-2024 school year. Those instances were reported out of the following 17 counties:
- Calhoun County — 59
- Columbia County — 50
- Dixie County — N/A
- Franklin County — 11
- Gilchrist County — 27
- Hamilton County — 16
- Hardee County — 14
- Holmes County — 65
- Jackson County — 24
- Lafayette County — 34
- Levy County — 19
- Liberty County — 31
- St. Johns County — N/A
- Suwannee County — 74
- Union County — N/A
- Wakulla County — 45
- Washington County — 43
If HB 109 is approved during next year’s Legislative session, it is set to take effect on July 1, 2026.