SECTION 742.603. What types of punishment, discipline, or guidance are prohibited?

(a) You may not use or threaten to use corporal punishment with any child in care. Corporal punishment is the infliction of physical pain on a child as a means of controlling or managing behavior, including hitting or spanking a child with a hand or an instrument or slapping or thumping a child.

(b) In addition to corporal punishment, prohibited discipline or guidance techniques include:

(1) Any harsh, cruel, or unusual treatment of any child;

(2) Punishment associated with food, naps, or toilet training;

(3) Pinching, shaking, or biting a child;

(4) Putting anything in or on a child's mouth;

(5) Humiliating, ridiculing, rejecting, or yelling at a child;

(6) Subjecting a child to harsh, abusive, or profane language;

(7) Placing a child in a locked or dark room, bathroom, or closet; and

(8) Requiring a child to remain silent or inactive for inappropriately long periods of time for the child's age, including requiring a child to remain in a restrictive device.

Source Note: The provisions of this §742.603 adopted to be effective March 10, 2021, 46 TexReg 1247