The jurisdiction of schools has long been contested. Initially, under the sway of loco parentis, parents delegated all authority to educators. With ascendency of the common school movement in the 19th century, however, the doctrine confronted reverses. As the student body increased in size and heterogeneity, families no longer spoke with a single…

This paper examines some of the historical and contemporary assumptions regarding the social and educational context of the use of corporal punishment on children, assumptions that are implicit in the Supreme Court's decision in the Ingraham v. Wright case. Beginning with a summary of the Florida case, the author outlines the Court's majority…