corporal punishment in schools has now disappeared from most western countries, including all european countries. in the united states, corporal punishment is not used in public schools in 34 states, banned in 31, permitted in 19, of which only 16 actually have school districts actively administering corporal punishment. every u.s. state except new jersey and iowa permits corporal punishment in private schools. many private schools have abandoned the practice, though, especially catholic schools, nearly all of which now ban. thirty-one u.s. states as well as the district of columbia have banned it from public schools, most recently new mexico in 2011. the other 19 states (mostly in the south) still allow corporal punishment in public schools. of the 19 which permit the practice, three – arizona, colorado, and wyoming have no public schools that actually use corporal punishment as of 2016. paddling is still used to a significant (though declining) degree in some public schools in alabama, arkansas, georgia, louisiana, mississippi, missouri, oklahoma, tennessee and texas. private schools in these and most other states may also use it, though many choose not to do so.