CORPORAL PUNISHMENT

WHEREAS, teachers are being subjected to increasing discipline problems, personal attacks, vandalism, weak enforcement by administrators of discipline procedures and, court decisions which have eroded a teacher's authority to maintain order in the classroom; and

WHEREAS, the increase in discipline problems threatens to disrupt the instructional program and deny the majority of students the right to learn and teachers the right to teach; and

WHEREAS, school boards, administrators, legislatures, parents and other groups decry the breakdown of dis­cipline, place the blame on teachers and have done practically nothing to correct the problem:

RESOLVED, that the AFT take whatever action necessary in the Ingraham v. Wright suit currently under consideration by the United States Supreme Court to prevent further erosion of a teacher's right to maintain discipline in the classroom; and

RESOLVED, that this resolution be referred to the Executive Council for appropriate action.