On Wednesday, February 26th, The Satanic Temple’s (TST) Protect Children Project, erected a billboard in the heart of Dumas, Texas in response to the use of corporal punishment at Dumas High School. The billboard is located at 222-248 West 1st St, Dumas, TX 79029.
The Protect Children Project is The Satanic Temple’s campaign to protect students from physical and psychological abuse in schools. According to the Department of Education, in 17 states, it is legal for public school officials to physically assault students, and in most states, children can legally be placed in solitary confinement in their schools in spaces no larger than a closet.
In November of 2023, Protect Children Project visited Dumas High School. TST said this was initiated after learning from the Department of Education that the Dumas High School hit students 1,109 times during the 2022-2023 school year. TST Volunteers offered Student Rights Cards to student members of TST as well as interested individuals. The latest government report reveals that in the 2023-2024 school year, corporal punishment in Dumas was used 1,206 times. This is among the highest of any school in the US.
To get exempted from corporal punishment in school, students can visit ProtectChildrenProject.com to download or request a copy of TST’s “Student Rights Card”. The Student Rights Card asserts that members of The Satanic Temple are exempt from certain punishments in public schools due to their religious beliefs. The Satanic Temple believes in bodily autonomy, and therefore corporal punishment, seclusion, restraint, and denial of bathroom access violate their religious tenets. Subjecting a TST member to these punishments would violate their civil rights.
“It would be unthinkable for the state to force a practicing Muslim or Jewish person to eat foods that violate their dietary restrictions as a punishment. Similarly, subjecting a member of The Satanic Temple to practices that violate their deeply held beliefs is also unacceptable and unconstitutional,” claims Eliphaz Costus, director of the Protect Children Project.
“The history of Supreme Court rulings when it comes to student rights is shameful and appalling. However, many judges who applaud the beating of children are also sympathetic to defending religious liberty. If our religious liberty claim is not honored in school and we have to go to court, judges will have to decide which is more important, religious civil rights or the permitting government officials to torture children in school,” notes Costus.
Costus adds that an extensive body of peer-reviewed scientific research shows that corporal punishment and solitary confinement are abusive practices that cause long-term harm and do not achieve their intended purpose of constructively altering behavior.
“Students can carry this card with them in school and show it to any faculty member who threatens to violate their rights through corporal punishment, seclusion, restraint, or denial of bathroom access,” states Costus. “If the card is ignored and they are punished, it will open the door to civil and possibly criminal liabilities.”
