Satanic Temple puts up anti-spanking billboard after Texas school reinstates corporal punishment

The Satanic Temple has put up an anti-spanking billboard declaring "our religion doesn't believe in hitting kids" after a Texas school board reinstated corporal punishment for students.

The billboard, located on the edge of Kopplin Park in Three Rivers, Texas, was part of the Temple's campaign called Protect Children Project, which takes aim at paddling in public schools.

Malcolm Jarry, co-founder of The Satanic Temple, said that the advertisement was purchased in response to the Three Rivers Independent School District's (ISD) decision this summer to reinstate paddling as a means of disciplining its students.

"(Corporal punishment) is something we religiously object to. In addition, all scientific research has shown adverse outcome including promoting violence and lowering IQ," Jarry said, according to KSAT.

Andrew Amaro, the elementary school's campus coordinator, had pitched reinstating corporal punishment to district leaders, hoping that it would be a more effective deterrent than in-school suspension or detention. Amaro, a Three Rivers graduate, noted that paddling was effective when it was administered to him while was still in school.

The Three Rivers board of trustees reinstated corporal punishment in July, and authorized the use of it for any offense of the student code of conduct, including minor infractions such as the violation of the school's dress code.

The Texas Education Code has indicated that parents can opt out of using corporal punishment for their children, but they are required to submit a form every year to prevent it from being administered.

Jarry argued that parental permission is irrelevant when it comes to corporal punishment. He said that children have First Amendment rights to religious beliefs, noting that the Temples beliefs affirm that "one's body is inviolable, subject to one's own will alone."

"If a child is a member of The Satanic Temple and he or she is subject to corporal punishment, that would be a violation of their civil rights and we will sue the school system," he went on to say.

Three Rivers ISD Superintendent Mary Springs told The Progress that the district has been flooded with calls from media outlets all over the country about the billboard. The district has since issued a statement, saying it believes the majority of community members support the school and its policies.

"We believe that the conversations that take place between our administrators and our parents regarding student behavior are the most important conversations regarding this topic. The district continues to focus on the greatest aspect of our work which is educating children and will not have any further comment on this policy," the statement read.

According to Dallas News, Texas is one of 15 states that explicitly allow corporal punishment in its schools. As many as 43 Dallas-area districts, including DeSoto, Duncanville, Grand Prairie and Wylie ISDs, have allowed for the use of corporal punishment at the start of the 2016–17 school year.