Social Justice

As a part of my Cross-Cultural Counseling class this semester, I am required to write four letters with the intention of advocating for an issue of social justice. Here's letter numero uno, to my representative in the NC senate:

Senator Floyd McKissick, Jr.

North Carolina Senate

300 N. Salisbury St., Room 621

Raleigh, NC 27603

Dear Senator McKissick,

I am writing to you with a concern about an issue that came up in the state Senate this past spring, and also the year before. First, though, I would like to thank you for representing my district and for your hard work in the Senate. I appreciate your work as primary sponsor of several bills that clearly demonstrate your interest in the welfare and protection of animals, that fund substance-abuse treatment programs, and that recognize the importance of celebrating and funding efforts to provide equal rights for individuals of all races and cultures in North Carolina.

My specific concern, however, is with House Bill 442, Parental Involvement in School Discipline (2^nd Edition). This bill had two parts: requiring schools to make a “reasonable effort” to obtain parental consent before administering corporal punishment to students in school, and requiring schools to document and report the frequency and reasoning behind each incident when corporal punishment was administered. Unfortunately, the bill failed its second reading in the Senate on 6/24/2009. I would like to thank you for your vote in favor of the bill. I appreciate your commitment to the rights of all North Carolinians – especially children. Unfortunately, this bill was not aimed at banning the use of corporal punishment in this state. A bill with these intentions failed in 2007. This bill was a bit of a concession, then, and still it failed.

Please consider my request to share your views on this issue with your fellow state Senators. As a doctoral student studying School Psychology at North Carolina State University, I am deeply invested in the well-being of the children in this state’s public schools. Apart from multiple research studies demonstrating the ineffectiveness of physical punishment in the classroom, there is another troubling issue that was uncovered by the U.S. Department of Education: children hit most often in schools are poor, boys, those with disabilities, and minorities. Of course, in North Carolina we do not know exactly which children are being hit or how often – and we still cannot know because House Bill 442 did not pass and schools are not required to document their actions.

I hope that you will discuss this matter with your fellow Senators, especially the 25 Senators who did not support House Bill 442. I will continue to follow your voting record and actions as a state Senator, and to discuss this matter with my colleagues and friends. Please consider the welfare of children and families in North Carolina who deserve better than schools that approve of hitting children.

Sincerely,

Chelsea Bartel