Ingraham V.Wright

In 1977,  an eighth grader , who attended Drew Junior High School, in Miami, was taken to the principal's office after a teacher accused him of being rowdy in the auditorium. The principal decided to give him five swats with a paddle. When he said that he didn't do anything, he got twenty more swats in return. He suffered bruises, which kept him out of school and he also had to seek medical attention. Him and his mother sued saying it violated the eighth amendment, "cruel and unusual punishment."

    

  The Supreme Court ruled against him and his mother and said that the Eighth Amendment protected convicted criminals from excessive punishment. However, the court directed teachers and principals to be cautious and use restraint when deciding the punishment to student. Courts now leave whether to allow corporal punishment up to states and districts. Twenty two states currently allow corporal punishment in public school, but twenty eight banned the practice


In Sterling High School, teachers are not allowed to use physical force on students. As punishment, students get detention that could go up to three hours or even a Saturday detention. If a conflict is severely bad, students are sent to ,"Pride," which is night school.