NYRA-Twin Cities has been in operation for several years now. Amy O’Connell, President, has been leading the group for almost half a decade. Amy’s passion for youth rights came from her own experience dealing with adults. She was largely bullied in middle school and found that adults made the problem worse. She became involved in…
Jordan Riak, founder of Parents and Teachers Against Violence in Education (PTAVE) and long-time ally of NYRA in the campaign against corporal punishment died this week. Jordan Riak has devoted his life to stopping corporal punishment since 1974. He was a major force opposing the brutal practice both in the United States and in Australia,…
Can’t attend the upcoming rally in Washington, DC against corporal punishment in our schools? You can still share your views. During the second day of the event, NYRA Executive Director Bill Bystricky will join other activists in reading comments submitted from across America. If you have a personal experience with corporal punishment in school, send…
The most basic right people of any age have is the right to physical safety, the right not to be harmed or touched against your will. Yet there are public schools in America where students are routinely hit by the very authority figures entrusted to keep them safe. Even in 2012, corporal punishment is still…
So, by now, we’ve all heard about that horrible man who made a video shooting his daughter’s laptop because… he was upset over something she said about him on Facebook. Something he only even knew about because he hacked into her account somehow, apparently. Perhaps even more disturbing than the idea this even happened is…
NYRA is headed to one of the largest music festivals in the country, SXSW, next week in order to promote our efforts to end corporal punishment in the United States. For the week, we’ll be partnering with The Hitting Stops Here!, People Opposed to Paddling Students and Marc Ecko’s new organization – Unlimited Justice. NYRA Director…
The Coalition Against School Paddling filed discrimination complaints with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office on February 6, 2010, for Civil Rights against the state departments of education in the twenty states where corporal punishment is permitted. The twenty states that permit corporal punishment in schools are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana,…
The fight against corporal punishment continues in the United States. California-based organization Parents and Teachers Against Violence in Education has taken up the cause, giving parents useful advice on what to do for their children when faced with violence from school officials. Executive Director Jordan Riak offers sound advice to the students themselves on how…
Dear North Carolina Legislator: As your constituent, I encourage you to support HB853/S874. HB853/S874 is the bill that would prohibit the use of corporal punishment in public schools across the state. North Carolina is one of 21 states that still allows school districts to use corporal punishment. There are many alternatives to spanking a student,…
Some forms of corporal punishment may soon be a thing of the past if a new bill introduced in the California legislature is successful. Introduced by California Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, the bill will make spanking in any form or fashion of a child up to age 4 a misdemeanor. Spanking also sends the message that…
