April 22, 2022
Willkie served as a pro bono partner to L4GG in the research and development of the report.
Willkie attorneys supported Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG) on a recently released policy report on corporal punishment in schools, Cruel Schools: The Nineteen States that Still Allow Corporal Punishment in Schools and the Resulting Harms to Children of Color and Students with Disabilities.
The report highlights the roots of corporal punishment in public schools and how Black and Brown children have been the primary recipients of punishment. Its findings note that there are 19 states that still allow corporal punishment in public schools, with children of color and students with disabilities disproportionately targeted in incidents of corporal punishment. L4GG also argues for eradicating corporal punishment in schools, and drafted a model to outlaw it, based on the Protecting Students in Schools Act of 2021, supported by 158 organizations representing teachers, parents, children’s rights and civil rights advocates, among others.
The report can be accessed here.
L4GG is a community of 125,000 lawyers, law students, and activists fighting to ensure equal rights, equal opportunities and equal justice under the law.
The Willkie team was led by partner Heather Schneider, pro bono counsel Stacey Kushlefsky and included associates Ciara Sisco and Andrew Silberstein; law clerks Veronica Bognot, Ethan Eastwood and Annie Moody.
