SPRINGTOWN, Tex. (KDFW) A local high school accused of going against its own policy by letting a male administrator paddle two female students has decided to change the policy rather than apologize.
The debate over the corporal punishment went national after the mothers of two girls attending Springtown High School noticed bruises left behind by the paddling.
Cathi Watts' 16-year-old daughter, Jada, was disciplined by Assistant Principal, Kirt Shaw. The teen said it left a bruise on her back side that was visible for more than a week.
Watts said the marks she saw on her daughter prompted her to call child protective services.
Watts and the other girl's mother also complained that it was a man who delivered the blow. According to the district's policy a female administrator was supposed to discipline the female students.
School board members voted unanimously Monday night (09/24) to change the school’s policy. Now, if a male administrator spanks a female student, a female adult has to be present.
Watts still believes it puts her daughter and other female students in a bad situation.
“If I put a mark on her and send her to school CPS is gonna knock on my door," Watts said at a school board meeting where the decision was discussed. "No authority, NO school official should be able to bruise my child.”
Dena Jorgenson's daughter was also paddled by Shaw, saying her daughter suffered "welts, blisters and bruises" from the punishment.
According to school officials, Dena's daughter got into trouble for allowing someone to cheat off of her test. Instead of taking a day of in school suspension, her daughter opted to be paddled.
According to Jorgenson, the severity of her daughter's injuries was shocking.
"If you're kid came home with welts, blisters and bruises five days later, you'd be upset," Jorgenson said at the hearing.
Watts says this wouldn't have happened if a female administrator had been doing the paddling.
"They give swats harder," Watts said after the meeting. "That's why the girls are bruised. because the man are doing it."
Springtown, which is northwest of Fort Worth, actually hands out the most spankings in the area. District leaders said many parents and students actually prefer it as an alternative to suspension.
