Once again, a Republican lawmaker in Oklahoma argued that it ought to be okay for teachers to beat students with disabilities because not doing so would be unbiblical.
Oklahoma currently permits corporal punishment in public schools. That’s a problem in and of itself, but the law at least has a carve-out exempting students with “the most significant cognitive disabilities.” Teachers can theoretically spank kids but a handful of students are off-limits because they may not even understand they’re doing anything wrong.
In 2023, Republicans attempted to pass House Bill 1028, which was designed to broaden that exemption so that it applied to all students with disabilities. One Republican signed on as a co-sponsor of the bill specifically because he thought this would be an easy vote. “There's going to be nobody who's for corporal punishment on students with disabilities,” he said.
He must have forgotten that he’s surrounded by other Republicans from Oklahoma.
They will always find a way to defend abuse in the name of Jesus.
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