A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to prohibit the use of corporal punishment in the public schools.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑391 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑391.  Suspension or expulsion of students; corporal punishment prohibited.
(a)	Local boards of education shall adopt policies not inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitutions of the United States and North Carolina, governing the conduct of students and establishing procedures to be followed by school officials in suspending or expelling any student, or in disciplining any student if the offensive behavior could result in suspension or expulsion. Local boards of education shall adopt policies that prohibit both the administration of corporal punishment and the threat of corporal punishment. Local boards of education shall include a reasonable dress code for students in these policies.
				
Each local board shall publish all the policies mandated by this subsection and make them available to each student and his parent or guardian at the beginning of each school year. Notwithstanding any policy adopted pursuant to this section, school personnel may use reasonable force to control behavior or to remove a person from the scene in those situations when necessary:
(1)	To quell a disturbance threatening injury to others;
(2)	To obtain possession of weapons or other dangerous objects on the person, or within the control, of a student;
(3)	For self‑defense;
(4)	For the protection of persons or property; or
(5)	To maintain order on school property, in the classroom, or at a school‑related activity on or off school property.
...
(h)	Notwithstanding any other law, no officer or employee of the State Board of Education or of a local board of education shall be civilly liable for using reasonable force in conformity with State law, State or local rules, or State or local policies regarding the control, discipline, suspension, and expulsion of students. Furthermore, the burden of proof is on the claimant to show that the amount of force used was not reasonable."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 6‑21.4 is repealed.
SECTION 3.  Section 1 of this act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with the 2007‑2008 school year. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law. Section 2 of this act does not apply to civil actions arising from the use of corporal punishment prior to the effective date of this act.