RE: Letter mailed to Valerie Scardino, National Women's Health Information Center

Dear Mr. Riak:

Thank you for contacting the National Women's Health Information Center (NWHIC) about "Paddling in Texas". NWHIC is a health information and Federal publication referral service that provides a gateway to women's health information from other government agencies, public and private organizations, and consumer and health care professional groups. As a clearinghouse, we cannot provide medical or other advice to our users. We can however, provide them with publications and other resources on their requested topics. We have researched your request for information on violence in the form of school paddling and have listed these resources below.

We believe that the most appropriate resource for this topic would be the U.S. Department of Education. We called their information line and was told that your writer should be referred to the local Texas Department of Education for resolution. We further called the Texas Department of Education and found there were 2 steps that she could take. First, a complaint against the school could be filed. The number for the Complaints Division is 512-463-9982. Second, she may contact the Corporal Punishment Division directly and discuss her complaint. The point of contact for that office is Mr. Billy Jacobs, 512-463-9982. These two numbers can also be found on the Education Offices Directory at: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/hr/sublist.pdf.

The links below are for various documents which your writer may find helpful:

Texas Education Code: http://capitol.tlc.state.tx.us/statutes/codes/ED000021.html

>From the U.S. Department of Education, ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management:

Spanking: http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed405139.html Discipline Policies: http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed259455.html Harassment of Students by School Employees: (includes a section where spanking might be considered sexual harrassment): http://ocfo.ed.gov//fedreg/other/q496/100496c.txt

The following organizations may be able to provide your writer with additional information or help:

National Coalition to Abolish Corporal Punishment in Schools http://www.stophitting.com/NCACPS.html 614-221-8829

Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Education
600 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20202-1100
(202) 205-5413; 1-800-421-3481
FAX: (202) 205-9862
TTY: (202) 205-5166

We hope that we have provided information that will be helpful to your writer. Please feel free to contact our Information and Referral Service if you have additional questions.

Sincerely,

Valerie Scardino NWHIC
National Women's Health Information Center
1-800-994-9662 (Our free information and referral service)
1-888-220-5446 (TDD)
http://www.4woman.gov
4woman@soza.com