{"id":1014196,"date":"2026-08-21T04:06:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T04:06:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1014196\/"},"modified":"2026-08-21T04:06:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T04:06:17","slug":"do-san-antonio-school-districts-allow-corporal-punishment-as-form-of-discipline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1014196\/","title":{"rendered":"Do San Antonio school districts allow corporal punishment as form of discipline?"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN ANTONIO<\/strong> \u2013 A story out of Port Arthur in Southeast Texas is getting a lot of attention after a football player said he was paddled by a coach after missing school and wearing the wrong color practice pants.<\/p>\n

Noah Lopez\u2019s father told KPRC<\/a>, our sister station in Houston, that neither he nor the boy\u2019s mother gave permission for him to be physically punished.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just really hurt real bad. I was running across the room going in circles, and everybody was just laughing,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cI was like, dang, come on bro, it\u2019s already embarrassing I\u2019m getting hit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lopez joined the Memorial High School football team in Port Arthur less than a month ago.<\/p>\n

He said the reason he missed school was because he didn\u2019t have a ride after his mother was seriously injured in a crash.<\/p>\n

Lopez said his coach was furious with his pant color and that he didn\u2019t have Lopez\u2019s phone number. <\/p>\n

Lopez\u2019s father told KPRC the call from the school office was something he\u2019d never heard before. <\/p>\n

\u201cNever whooping without my permission. I don\u2019t even whoop on my kid,\u201d Lopez\u2019s father said. <\/p>\n

Corporal punishment is defined as deliberate infliction of physical pain by hitting, paddling, spanking, slapping or any other physical force used as a means of discipline. <\/p>\n

Port Arthur ISD said in part it\u2019s \u201cpolicy doesn\u2019t require a parent to provide advance written consent before corporal punishment may be administered.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the Texas Education Code, if parents or guardians do not want corporal punishment to be used on their children, they have to sign a written statement and send it to the district\u2019s board of trustees.<\/p>\n

KSAT reached out to more than 15 local school districts around the San Antonio area to find out about their corporal punishment protocols. Almost all of them responded.<\/p>\n

The following school districts have prohibited corporal punishment:<\/p>\n