POCATELLO — Charity Noe was astonished when her 10-year-old daughter came home from school complaining that a teacher had allegedly physically disciplined her.

After reporting the incident to Pocatello-Chubbuck School District 25 and Pocatello police, Charity was even more surprised to find out that teachers can legally use physical force on students in Idaho.

Charity's daughter Rosie, a student at Indian Hills Elementary School, said the February incident occurred while her teacher was lecturing the class and became upset that Rosie was not paying attention.

But Pocatello police concluded the teacher's alleged physical contact with Rosie was not criminal in nature and no charges were filed.

Rosie's teacher did not respond to the Journal's attempts to interview her regarding Rosie's allegations.

The School District did not want to discuss the incident either. District spokeswoman Shelley Allen said the district complies with federal and state laws that prevent the district from discussing any specific student and personnel matters.

“Therefore, acknowledgement of an incident or the outcome of any investigation or any action taken is protected by the law,” Allen added.

Rosie admitted that she was playing with her pencils and not paying attention when the teacher slammed some books down on Rosie's desk and started screaming at the child, Charity said in describing her daughter's allegations.

The teacher then "grabbed" Rosie by the head and "twisted her neck," Charity claims. Rosie was not injured but she alleges the teacher did inflict pain on her.

Older Americans likely remember a time when physically disciplining kids who misbehaved wasn’t so controversial. But one would think that the act of physically disciplining students — a practice generally defined as corporal punishment — was no longer legal.

That's certainly what Charity thought.

But 22 states still allow corporal punishment in their schools — 15 expressly permit it while another seven, including Idaho, do not prohibit it, according to a letter written by former U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. in November 2016 to the nation's governors and state school chiefs.

“The use of corporal punishment can hinder the creation of a positive school climate by focusing on punitive measures to address student misbehavior rather than positive behavioral interventions and supports,” King wrote.

After hearing Rosie's account of what happened to her, Charity’s first reaction was to call School District 25 to discuss the incident.

Allen said parents should follow the chain of command whenever they have a question or concern about any incident at school. First, they should discuss the issue with the teacher, Allen said. If an issue remains unresolved, parents may contact the school principal, then the district's elementary or secondary education director and finally the district superintendent, according to Allen.

“Our district uses restorative practices to resolve conflict,” Allen said. “At any time during the above process, the administrator may convene a restorative conference to give all sides an opportunity to discuss and clarify the issue and come to a respectful understanding and resolution."

The day after Charity reported the incident to District 25, a meeting was held to resolve matters with Rosie, Charity, the teacher and Indian Hills Elementary School Principal Jill Pixton in attendance.

“Before the meeting, the principal told me that she had already spoken to the teacher, who agreed that she did put her hands on Rosie,” Charity claimed.

But Charity said that during the meeting the teacher would not admit to placing her hands on Rosie and instead wanted to focus the conversation on how Rosie was not paying attention in class.

Charity said that Rosie became upset during the meeting and started crying, which resulted in the mother and daughter leaving with nothing really resolved.

“My daughter told (the teacher) as we we’re leaving, ‘Tell the truth. You need to tell the truth,’” Charity recalled.

Charity then reported the classroom incident involving Rosie and the teacher to the Pocatello Police Department. After Charity explained what had happened to Rosie, police told her that this sounded like a matter that the School District would need to handle, according to the police report regarding the investigation into the incident.

Charity explained that she had already contacted the School District and she was upset because the teacher had denied ever placing her hands on Rosie, the police report stated.

Police also told Charity that Idaho law allows corporal punishment and that teachers have the right to act on behalf of parents while their children are at school, the police report said.

Idaho statutes give school districts and teachers some latitude in administering corporal punishment stating, “It is the duty of a teacher to carry out the rules and regulations of the board of trustees in controlling and maintaining discipline, and a teacher shall have the power to adopt any reasonable rule or regulation to control and maintain discipline in, and otherwise govern, the classroom, not inconsistent with any statute or rule or regulation of the board of trustees.”

The National Association of School Psychologists defines corporal punishment as “the intentional infliction of pain or discomfort and/or the use of physical force upon a student with the intention of causing the student to experience bodily pain so as to correct or punish the student's behavior.”

This can include hitting, shaking or slapping, either with the hand or with an object, such as a paddle or belt, the association states.

If you think this extreme kind of punishment died with the dunce cap — a form of punishment remembered by many older Americans — former Education Secretary King’s letter also stated that in the 2013-2014 school year, more than 110,000 students were physically punished in more than 4,000 schools in 21 states.

Pocatello-Chubbuck School District 25's policies and procedures handbook defines corporal punishment as “any physical penalty inflicted upon a student as a form of punishment for any violation of rules, regulations, or protocol of a school.”

The handbook also notes that “No person who is employed or engaged by the district may inflict corporal punishment or cause corporal punishment to be inflicted on a student.”

“Our expectation is that no employee ever inappropriately touches a student,” Allen said. “We expect our employees to use other strategies or behavior interventions to promote positive student behavior through building strong relationships, use of behavioral coaches and restorative practices. Employees are taught to use positive interventions to deal with behavioral issues.”

School District 25 is not saying whether the teacher faced any disciplinary action from the district regarding the incident involving Rosie.

Although Pocatello police described the incident as corporal punishment in their official report, Sgt. Trent Whitney of the Pocatello Police Department said it was actually a case of a teacher using "physical direction."

He said police never considered criminal charges against the teacher because there’s a big difference between corporal punishment or physical punishment and physical direction.

“In this particular scenario, what the teacher did was direct the student,” Whitney said. “She didn’t issue any sort of corporal punishment.”

He continued, “Teachers are just like policemen in that they are the law and order of the classroom. They are allowed to direct children, even if that means physically directing them to pay attention.”

Whitney described several forms of physical contact, with the first being direction, which he said is not punishment.

“This happens with anybody in an authority position,” Whitney said. “Direction is not, under any circumstances, a form of punishment as long as it’s used reasonably. Punishment, and specifically corporal punishment, is when you receive something physical as a matter of discipline. Not to control, not to direct, but as a matter of discipline.”

Determining if a teacher's physical contact with a student is excessive is up to the police, who in this case did not believe Rosie's teacher committed a crime.

Charity said she disagrees with the Pocatello Police Department's point of view that what Rosie's teacher allegedly did to Rosie was acceptable. Charity said in her opinion the teacher had no right to allegedly use physical force on Rosie, even if it was to gain the child's attention.

“Idaho law states that teachers can do whatever they want to other peoples’ kids, but if it were me or another parent doing it then (we) would go to jail,” Charity said. “These kids are supposed to go to school and trust their teachers but now Rosie is embarrassed and wants to switch schools.”

Charity isn't the only one upset about what's acceptable in many of the nation's public schools.

In December 2016, dozens of groups and organizations including the National Parent-Teacher Association, Children's Defense Fund and American Academy of Pediatrics signed a letter supporting an end to corporal punishment in the U.S.

The Colorado House of Representatives passed a bill earlier this year that prohibited corporal punishment by employees and volunteers at state funded child care facilities and schools. But the bill was later shot down in the Colorado Senate.

Rachel Zenzinger, a Colorado state senator who sponsored the bill, told the Denver Post that corporal punishment "has no place in a modern nation that prides itself on decades of advancement in the areas of human rights and racial equality. It’s a black mark on our reputation and really defies logic.”

Colorado and Idaho are among the seven states without laws prohibiting corporal punishment.

Also during February — the same month as Rosie's incident at Indian Hills school — corporal punishment made the news in Idaho when a Twin Falls charter school began investigating reports that one of its teachers had taped a student's mouth shut in one of the school's second grade classrooms. The school announced in March that the teacher had resigned.

Twin Falls police said they found out about the incident via media coverage and launched an investigation. But no criminal charges were filed against the teacher.

Though Idaho law does not prohibit corporal punishment, Allen said this does not create any uncertainties within District 25.

“Although corporal punishment is not forbidden in the state of Idaho, (District 25) policy forbids corporal punishment,” Allen said. “Any allegation of such is thoroughly investigated by district administration and appropriate action taken. It is absolutely not an accepted practice in our district.”