A newly elected school board member of Naples, Florida, wants to bring corporal punishment back in schools.
RELATED STORIES: Christian School In Florida Says LBGTQIA Students Will Be “Forced” To Leave
Jerry Rutherford was newly elected to the Collier County School board earlier this week and stated he wanted corporal punishment back in the classroom. According to Naples News, Rutherford added that the behaviors of students with disabilities are “out of control” and wanted fewer rights for LBGTQ students and religious students.
His competitor, Jory Westberry, said Rutherford’s views could “put something so pervasively wrong in schools.” First of all, if [Florida] allows corporal punishment, Collier County does not. Second, students with handicaps are entitled to a free public education without retribution because of their behavior,” she explained to the outlet.
RELATED STORIES: Florida Teens Suing School Boards Over “Don’t Say Gay” Law That’s “Forcing Us To Self-Censor”
“That’s why we have behavior specialists who work with students, parents and teachers to enable them to have a more effective, productive experience in school,”
This is Rutherford’s first time running for the school board, and he said in July that his priorities were to ensure students’ and teachers’ safety and mental health in addition to addressing budget concerns. However, his new stance is to focus on “mental and physical discipline, ” including corporal punishment against students.
“There needs to be respect for ourselves, for others, and for authority.”
About the LGBTQ community, Rutherford said they didn’t support indoctrination since people are reportedly being forced to accept the community in schools.
“I’m all for equal rights, but I’m not for special rights,”
The newly appointed board member’s comments sparked debate on social media as Florida had its fair share of controversy surrounding its schools.
Social media reacted to Rutherford’s comments about corporal punishment and various opinions surfaced.
This is Jerry Rutherford, he’s 85 yrs old + newly elected to the Collier County school board in Florida. 🤯
Jerry wants to bring back corporal punishment (it’s legal in Florida) especially for #disabled students because their behaviour in particular is “out of control.” pic.twitter.com/RQQNWoORDW— Tamara Taggart (@tamarataggart) November 10, 2022
@ACLUFL @ACLU yall better shut this shit down like a bad Ferris wheel because this has NO PLACE in 2022. #Florida
— Lauren A (@acklala) November 11, 2022
New GOP school board member Jerry Rutherford wants schools to have the ability to BEAT DISABLED KIDS when they’re “acting up”
These GOP demons have NEVER cared about kids. He also said lgbtqia kids should have “less rights”
THIS is how much GOP “care”https://t.co/zbyHOo73Um
— 🌻🦋Mountain Girl🦋🌻 (@chinacatsun1013) November 11, 2022