15-year-old speaks out after coach paddled him at Port Arthur ISD

HOUSTON - The Port Arthur ISD school board will revisit the district’s corporal punishment policy after concerns were raised about an incident at a high school.

Corporal punishment raises concerns

What they're saying:

In a message posted to Facebook, Port Arthur ISD Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mark Porterie said the district is aware of concerns about an incident in which corporal punishment was reportedly used on a Memorial High School student.

High school student describes incident

15-year-old Noah Lopez said he's a new student at Memorial High School and just joined the football team. Before football practice on Saturday, Lopez said he got in trouble and a coach paddled him three times in a school office.

"There were three mistakes I made, and they told me to go in front of this table, and I was confused," Lopez. "There were a lot of coaches in there and then there was this big guy, I didn't see he was holding anything behind me, so I didn't know what was going to happen and then boom, I just got hit and everyone was just laughing."

Noah Lopez said he was in pain and shock.

"I just stood there, shocked. I couldn't believe I was just hit by a grown man, and everybody just laughed. And I was like, come on, this is already humiliating," said Lopez.

Noah Lopez told FOX 26 he was hit three times and didn't want to go to practice afterwards because he was upset.

"I felt like I just had to go through it because if I didn't, like they were just going to yell at me," said Lopez. "I felt like they were going to make me do another punishment if I said no, so I felt like I was forced to go through it."

Parent reacts to PAISD's policy

FOX 26 also spoke with Noah's father, Henry Lopez, about the incident. He said he was not aware of the school district's policy on corporal punishment.

"He's a new student, we didn't know about the policies," said Henry Lopez. "It was unprofessional…if I knew about this, I would have opted out right away." 

Henry Lopez is hoping the school district disciplines the coach involved.

"I really hope they punish that coach, talk to him, suspend him, fire him, make him apologize to my son," said Henry Lopez. "He was just trying to be on a good football team, and it turned out real horrible with the coaches."

How to opt-out

What you can do:

In Texas, corporal punishment is allowed if a school board adopts a policy allowing for its use.

The district says PAISD does have a policy allowing corporal punishment as an authorized discipline management technique, and they are reviewing the reported incident to make sure policies and procedures were followed.

The district says the corporal punishment policy does not require written consent from a parent before it is administered.

If a parent doesn’t want corporal punishment used with their student, they must provide a signed written statement to the campus principal prohibiting its use each school year.

Board to review policy

The district says the board will review its policy to see if any changes should be made.

"PAISD recognizes the concerns that the use of corporal punishment can raise for parents and the community. The Board of Trustees will revisit the District’s corporal-punishment policy to consider whether any revisions or additional procedures are appropriate," the superintendent’s letter says. "The District remains committed to maintaining appropriate student discipline while ensuring that disciplinary practices are administered fairly, consistently, and in accordance with Board policy."

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