Republican lawmaker cites scripture in opposition to bill outlawing the hitting of disabled children

‘Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him’, declared State Senator Shane Jett during a debate of Senate Bill 364

State Senator Shane Jett refuted the bill calling it a “violation of scripture” while it was being debated Tuesday (Facebook/Senator Shane Jett)

A Republican in Oklahoma has spoken out against a law banning the corporal punishment of disabled children, saying it violates scripture.

State Senator Shane Jett spoke out against Senate Bill 364, which passed in a 31-16 vote, on Tuesday night.

Jett, 50, described the law banning the beating of disabled children as “a top down socialist aligned ideological, unilateral divorce between parents’ ability to collaborate with their local schools to establish a disciplined regimen.”

He went on to call it a “violation of scripture,” citing Proverbs 22:15 to back up his case. Jett read aloud: “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him,” reports Oklahoma Voice.

In 1977, the U.S. Supreme Court decided, following the Ingraham v. Wright legal case, that school corporal punishment was constitutional, and that states would be free to decide whether or not to allow it, according to the Center for Effective Discipline.

Senator Shane Jett protested the legislation by citing references to biblical passages (Facebook/Senator Shane Jett)

Senator Dave Rader, who authored the bill, stated that while some corporal punishment would still be allowed in the state, the new bill sought to protect the most vulnerable (Oklahoma Senate)

As the debate was underway on Tuesday, Jett repeatedly questioned State Senator Dave Rader, the Tulsa Republican who authored the bill.

Radar fired back at Jett after he quoted scripture: “There are going to be times when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we won't have to fear evil because your rod and your staff comfort me.”

Adding that "not all discipline needs to be one-way and to deal with special needs takes special discipline."

Jett reportedly continued to respond with Bible verses saying: “In scripture, it's uniformly applied to everyone.”

Rader announced that educators would be further directed on the bill because current Oklahoma state law bans corporal punishment only for students with the “most significant cognitive disabilities” while a rule enforced by the State Department of Education “disallows school employees from using physical force to discipline students with disabilities”, stated the Senate.

In 2024, corporal punishment was legal in 17 states and practiced in 14 – Oklahoma being the latest to denounce its use against children with disabilities. Corporal punishment is still permitted for students without disabilities.

The Independent contacted Senator Shane Jett and Senator Dave Rader for comment.