At least 120 Missouri school districts had policies or handbooks that said they allowed corporal punishment

One hundred twenty-three of more than 500 Missouri public school districts had language that authorized the use of corporal punishment in either their recent district policies or 2022-2023 handbooks. The Missourian investigated the status of almost every Missouri school district's corporal punishment policies.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Several districts weren't identified for the following reasons: Lack of detailed information on district policies, policies that weren't updated or conflicting information posted on districts' websites.
Map: SOFI ZEMAN/MISSOURIAN Source: Columbia Missourian