Families in Katy ISD and Lamar Consolidated ISD won't see their children paddled at school. Both districts prohibit corporal punishment, according to a KPRC 2 review of 20 Houston-area school districts' discipline policies published Wednesday, Aug. 19.

The survey came after a Port Arthur Memorial High School sophomore was paddled three times by a football coach during a Saturday practice earlier this month. Noah Lopez, a running back, told KPRC 2 on Tuesday, Aug. 18: "It's already embarrassing I'm getting hit."

That incident put a spotlight on a patchwork of local policies across Texas. Under Texas Education Code §37.0011, each district's board of trustees decides whether to permit corporal punishment, defined as the deliberate infliction of physical pain by hitting, paddling, spanking, slapping or any other physical force used as discipline.

Katy ISD's board unanimously approved its 2026-27 Discipline Management Plan and Student Code of Conduct on July 27. The plan, signed by Superintendent Ken Gregorski, governs discipline for nearly 94,000 students who started the school year Aug. 12. Corporal punishment is not among the authorized consequences.

Lamar CISD also bars the practice. The district, which served more than 44,000 students as of 2024 and continues to grow rapidly, covers Fulshear High School and its 3,273 students.

Eleven of the 20 districts KPRC 2 reviewed prohibit corporal punishment outright. The other nine, including Magnolia ISD, Needville ISD and Cleveland ISD, still permit it. In those districts, Texas law requires parents who object to submit a written, signed opt-out statement to the campus principal each school year.

The Port Arthur case has already triggered policy changes there. Port Arthur ISD Superintendent Mark Porterie confirmed Tuesday, Aug. 18, that corporal punishment is authorized under the district's current policy and that the board of trustees will revisit it. The district faced a prior lawsuit over the practice, dismissed in March 2026, involving a special-education student described as nonverbal and autistic.

Texas remains one of roughly 20 states that still allow corporal punishment in public schools. Neither Katy ISD nor Lamar CISD has a pending policy review on the topic since both already prohibit the practice.