                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT PROHIBITED (§ 22.1-279.1)

A. No teacher, principal or other person employed by a school board or employed
in a school operated by the Commonwealth shall subject a student to corporal
punishment. This prohibition of corporal punishment shall not be deemed to
prevent (i) the use of incidental, minor or reasonable physical contact or other
actions designed to maintain order and control; (ii) the use of reasonable and
necessary force to quell a disturbance or remove a student from the scene of a
disturbance which threatens physical injury to persons or damage to property;
(iii) the use of reasonable and necessary force to prevent a student from
inflicting physical harm on himself; (iv) the use of reasonable and necessary
force for self-defense or the defense of others; or (v) the use of reasonable
and necessary force to obtain possession of weapons or other dangerous objects
or controlled substances or paraphernalia which are upon the person of the
student or within his control.

B. In determining whether a person was acting within the exceptions provided in
this section, due deference shall be given to reasonable judgments at the time
of the event which were made by a teacher, principal or other person employed by
a school board or employed in a school operated by the Commonwealth.

C. For the purposes of this section, &#8220;corporal punishment&#8221; means the
infliction of, or causing the infliction of, physical pain on a student as a
means of discipline.
			This definition shall not include physical pain, injury or discomfort caused
by the use of incidental, minor or reasonable physical contact or other actions
designed to maintain order and control as permitted in subdivision (i) of
subsection A of this section or the use of reasonable and necessary force as
permitted by subdivisions (ii), (iii), (iv), and (v) of subsection A of this
section, or by participation in practice or competition in an interscholastic
sport, or participation in physical education or an extracurricular activity.

HISTORY: 1989, c. 287; 1995, c. 681.