STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Dr. Barbara Stock Nielsen
State Superintendent of Education

September 25, 1997

Mr. Jordan Riak, Executive Director
PTAVE
Post Office Box 1033
Alamo, California 94507-7033

Dear Mr. Riak:

Thank you for your recent letter expressing the concerns of your organization regarding the use of corporal punishment by male administrators to abuse female students. The incident described in the attachment to your letter was especially troublesome, since it appeared to constitute sexual harassment and assault and battery. I have long supported legislation to outlaw the use of corporal punishment in our public schools. Those efforts have been unsuccessful because numerous school administrators have opposed any efforts to repeal the statute that authorizes this type of behavior.

State law does require that all new applicants for teaching licenses in South Carolina undergo a FBI fingerprint review. If a person were charged with a crime after performing such an act of physical cruelty, this would likely be revealed on the fingerprint review. Also, state law requires all school districts to conduct a state criminal history review before hiring any teacher. The Department of Education has vigorously pursued the suspension or revocation of the teaching licenses of teachers and administrators who have been reported to us because of the excessive use of corporal punishment, or for sexually harassing students.

Thank you for the work you are doing to prevent this type of abuse from continuing in our public schools.

Sincerely,
[Signature]
Barbara S. Nielsen, Ed.D.
State Superintendent of Education

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