Corporal Punishment Is Banned in Colorado Schools — But Not in Nearby States

In 2025, corporal punishment in schools is far less common than it was in previous generations. The act of inflicting pain as a way to control young students in Colorado is not only frowned upon, but it’s illegal.

However, new data shows that this isn’t necessarily the case once you exit the Centennial State’s borders.

What Does Colorado Law Say About Corporal Punishment?

While corporal punishment is no longer allowed to be administered by educators or school faculty to students in an educational setting, corporal punishment administered by parents to their children is technically legal in Colorado, under certain circumstances.

Parents are allowed to inflict pain to punish their children as long as it doesn’t constitute abuse. This means that children can be punished in this manner as long as it doesn’t result in injury, isn’t frequent, and isn’t administered in an unreasonable manner.

What Do Corporal Punishment Laws Say Outside of Colorado?

The data also shows that while illegal in Colorado, there are states that share a border with the Centennial State in which corporal punishment is still allowed in schools.

Today, corporal punishment in schools is still legal in Wyoming, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arizona.

However, states like Nebraska, Utah, and New Mexico share similar laws to those in Colorado that ban corporal punishment from taking place in schools.

Interestingly, and alarmingly, there are states in which corporal punishment in schools is illegal but allegedly still takes place. The states in which this occurs, according to the data, are Illinois, Wisconsin, and Ohio.

Read More: How Colorado's Seatbelt Laws Differ From Other States

Check out the full report here.