An Oklahoma jury has sided with Indianola Public Schools in a corporal punishment case, ruling the school did not act negligently in connection with the alleged incident, according to local news outlets.
The purported incident took place Sept. 6, 2018, according to a KFOR article published Monday. The parents of the two alleged victims filed suit against the school district in August 2020, KFOR reported at the time. The lawsuit accused former Indianola Public Schools principal Gary Gunckel of punishing two fifth-grade students by hitting them with a wooden paddle as a means of punishment, according to the McAlester News-Capital.
“The two boys were being punished with ‘swats’ for allegedly getting into a verbal argument on the playground that did not include any physical altercation or violence,” attorneys Tod S. Mercer and Cameron Spradling said in an August 2020 statement cited by KFOR. (RELATED: 99-Year-Old Woman Could Face Criminal Charges For Failing To Show Up For Jury Duty)
Gunckel allegedly hit one of the students twice and the other three times. One of the students is reportedly disabled and falls under the the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Oklahoma state law bars corporal punishment from being used on disabled students, according to KFOR.
Jury rules in favor of Oklahoma school in punishment lawsuit https://t.co/LPYMMDjN03
— KFOR (@kfor) January 23, 2023
The boys’ lawyers accused the school of not “carrying out and following its own polices,” the McAlester News-Capital reported. The defense alleged the boys requested paddling as a punishment instead of in-school detention following their purported argument, according to KFOR. The boys’ parents ostensibly agreed to the punishment.
Gunckel was charged with two felony counts of child abuse in 2018, KFOR reported. He was accused of using “unreasonable force” when he allegedly hit the boys with the wooden paddle, according to the McAlester News-Capital. The charges were dismissed without prejudice in 2019, KFOR reported.
The lawsuit sought $75,000 in damages from the school to be awarded to each alleged victim for mental and physical damage, as well as attorney fees, according to the McAlester News-Capital.