The following letter was mailed on May 27, 2008 to state education department heads in 21 paddling states. Recipients are listed at the bottom of this page. Their responses, linked from their respective names, will be published upon receipt, and any failure to respond will also be indicated. The letters were sent snail mail on PTAVE stationery.

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Superintendent of Education
[department and address]

Dear [name]:

Striking a child on the buttocks with a wooden paddle has no proven educational value. When done to a nonconsenting adult, the perpetrator would face arrest, prosecution for sexual battery and, if convicted, likely prison time.Yet this precise activity is standard practice in some of the schools under your authority. While all credible research conclusively demonstrates corporal punishment’s negative effects, there is one additional risk factor that is typically overlooked. You should be aware of it. Some child abusers, including pedophiles and sadists, are drawn to the teaching profession, especially to paddling schools where they can indulge their peculiar habits while earning a living. That's bad for the children, bad for good teachers, and bad for the system.

If we have mischaracterized corporal punishment and maligned its practitioners, and in fact it is a legitimate educational procedure, then presumably there are established protocols, and teachers are trained and tested for competency. If that's true, can you please send us a copy of same or direct us to a source? Can you identify any college or university in [state] that trains educators in the correct method for hitting schoolchildren?

Thank you for your kind attention. We look forward to your reply which we will share with our membership and other interested parties.

Sincerely,

Jordan Riak, Exec.Dir.
Parents and Teachers Against Violence in Education (PTAVE)
P.O. Box 1033, Alamo, CA 94507

E-mail: riak@nospank.net

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ALABAMA -- No response to date     Joseph B. Morton, Secretary and Executive Officer     State Dept. of Education     5114 Gordon Persons Bldg.     Montgomery, AL 36130 ARIZONA -- No response to date     Superintendent Tom Horne     Arizona Department of Education     1535 West Jefferson Street, Bin 12     Phoenix, AZ 85007 ARKANSAS -- No response to date     Commissioner T. Kenneth James, Ed.D.,     Arkansas Department of Education     Four State Capitol Mall     Little Rock, AR 72201 COLORADO -- No response to date     Dwight D. Jones Commissioner of Education     Colorado Department of Education     201 East Colfax Avenue, Room 500     Denver, CO 80203 FLORIDA -- Read Response of June 12, 2008 and Jordan Riak's response to Joe Davis, Chief Bureau of Family and Community Outreach, June 12, 2008     Commissioner Eric J. Smith     Florida Department of Education     Turlington Building, Suite 1514     325 West Gaines Street     Tallahassee, Florida 32399 GEORGIA -- Read Response of June 5, 2008     Kathy Cox, Chief Executive Officer     2066 Twin Towers East     205 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive SE     Atlanta, GA 30334 IDAHO -- No response to date     Superintendent Tom Luna     Idaho Department of Education     650 West State Street     PO Box 83720     Boise, Idaho 83720-0027 INDIANA -- No response to date     Superintendent Dr. Suellen K. Reed     Indiana Department of Education     State House, Room 229     Indianapolis, IN 46204-2798 KANSAS -- No response to date     Alexa Posny, Kansas Commissioner of Education     120 South East Tenth Avenue     Topeka, KS 66612-1182 KENTUCKY -- Read Response of June 2, 2008     Dr. Jon Draud, Commissioner of Education     Kentucky Department of Education     Capitol Plaza Tower - 500 Mero Street     Frankfort, KY 40601 LOUISIANA -- Read Response of June 5, 2008 Jordan Riak's response to Joan Hunt, June 5, 2008     Paul G. Pastorek, State Superintendent of Education     Louisiana Department of Education     PO Box 94064     Baton Rouge, LA 70804 - 9064 MISSISSIPPI -- No response to date     Dr. Hank M. Bounds, Executive Secretary,     State Superintendent of Education     P.O. Box 771     Jackson, MS 39205 MISSOURI -- No response to date     D. Kent King, Missouri Commissioner of Education     Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education     PO Box 480     Jefferson City, MO 65102 NEW MEXICO -- No response to date     Dr. Veronica García, New Mexico Secretary of Education     Jerry Apodaca Education Building     300 Don Gaspar     Santa Fe, NM 87501 NORTH CAROLINA -- No response to date     State Superintendent June Atkinson     North Carolina Department of Public Instruction     Education Building     301 North Wilmington Street     Raleigh, NC 27601-2825 OHIO -- No response to date     Superintendent Susan Tave Zelman     Ohio Department of Education     25 South Front Street     Columbus, OH 43215-4183 OKLAHOMA -- No response to date     Sandy Garrett, State Superintendent of Public Instruction     Oklahoma State Department of Education     Hodge Education Building     2500 North Lincoln Boulevard     Oklahoma City, OK 73105-4599 SOUTH CAROLINA -- No response to date     State Superintendent Of Education Jim Rex     South Carolina Department of Education     1006 Rutledge Building     1429 Senate Street     Columbia, SC 29201 TENNESSEE -- Read Response of June 10, 2008     Tim Webb, Acting Commissioner     Tennessee Department of Education     Andrew Johnson Tower, Sixth Floor     Nashville, TN 37243-0375 TEXAS -- No response to date     Commissioner of Education Robert Scott     Texas Education Agency     William Travis Building     1701 North Congress Avenue     Austin, TX 78701 WYOMING -- Read Response of June 10, 2008     Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Jim McBride     Wyoming Department of Education     2300 Capitol Avenue, 2nd Floor     Hathaway Building     Cheyenne, WY 82002-0050