The paddle is still wielded in Kentucky schools, but in declining numbers [Kentucky.com]

At Bell Central School Center in Pineville, rated “distinguished” in the Kentucky accountability system, principal Greg Wilson said parents of misbehaving students often request that their children be paddled instead of getting suspended and losing time in the classroom.

Corporal punishment, or paddling, is fading as a disciplinary method in Kentucky public schools, dropping from 3,075 incidents in 2005 to 574 in 2015, according to the latest available data. But Bell County is among 25 school districts that reported still using corporal punishment. The state has 173 school districts.

Bell County schools reported 148 incidents of corporal punishment in 2015, the most of any district in the state. Bell Central, a combination elementary and middle school, reported 107 incidents of corporal punishment that school year, according to the Kentucky Department of Education.

“We’re a very high performing school here. Parents don’t want their kids to be out of class,” Wilson said.

“A lot of us are old school, and parents will ask us if they can use that option. We try many things before we get to that point,” Wilson said, adding, “We don’t do it for running in the hallway or not having a pencil.”