( CNN ) -- More than 200,000 children were spanked or paddled in U.S. schools during the past school year , human rights groups reported Wednesday . Schools in 21 states can use corporal punishment . `` Every public school needs effective methods of discipline , but beating kids teaches violence , and it does n't stop bad behavior , '' wrote Alice Farmer , the author of a joint report from Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union . `` Corporal punishment discourages learning , fails to deter future misbehavior and at times even provokes it . '' Corporal punishment in schools remains legal in 21 U.S. states and is used frequently in 13 : Missouri , Kentucky , Texas , Oklahoma , Arkansas , Louisiana , Mississippi , Alabama , Georgia , South Carolina , North Carolina , Tennessee and Florida , according to data received from the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education and cited in the report . The highest percentage of students receiving corporal punishment was in Mississippi , with 7.5 percent of students . The highest number was in Texas , with 48,197 students . `` When you talk to local school officials , they point to the fact that it 's quick and it 's effective -- and that 's true , '' Farmer said . `` It does n't take much time to administer corporal punishment , and you do n't have to hire someone to run a detention or an after-school program . '' But she said , `` We need forms of discipline that makes children understand why what they did was wrong . '' In addition , corporal punishment can be linked to poverty and lack of resources . For instance , the report said , `` Teachers may have overcrowded classrooms and lack resources such as counselors to assist with particularly disruptive students or classroom dynamics . '' Overall , 223,190 students received corporal punishment in 2006-07 , according to the Department of Education statistics . That number is down from 342,038 students in 2000-01 as more and more districts abolished corporal punishment . Watch how one Texas family feels about corporal punishment » . The punishment is disproportionately applied to black students , according to the organizations . During the 2006-07 school year , for instance , black students made up 17.1 percent of the nationwide student population but 35.6 percent of those paddled at schools . Black girls were paddled at twice the rate of their white counterparts in the 13 states using corporal punishment most frequently . And although boys are punished more often than girls , the report found that African-American students in general are 1.4 times more likely to receive corporal punishment . In addition , special education students with mental or physical disabilities were more likely to receive corporal punishment , according to the ACLU and Human Rights Watch . Evangelical leader James Dobson 's influential Focus on the Family group is among those stopping short of calling for a full ban on paddling in schools . `` Corporal punishment is not effective at the junior and senior high school levels , and I do not recommend its application , '' Dobson said on the organization 's Web site . `` It can be useful for elementary students , especially with amateur clowns ( as opposed to hard-core troublemakers ) . For this reason , I am opposed to abolishing spanking in elementary schools because we have systematically eliminated the tools with which teachers have traditionally backed up their word . We 're now down to a precious few . Let 's not go any further in that direction . '' Andrea Cancellare said her then-13-year-old son was paddled -- or `` swatted '' -- three years ago for flicking rubber bands in class , despite the fact she had written a letter directing school officials in Alpine , Texas , not to use corporal punishment against him . School officials told her they could not find the letter when she complained . When she approached the principal and superintendent , Cancellare said , they told her that `` most parents like this because it takes care of the punishment . It gets the kids back in class . It does n't disrupt instruction . It 's like the quick and dirty way of dealing with discipline problems . '' Alpine Independent School District Superintendent Jose Cervantes said that both the principal and superintendent have taken other jobs , but for the past several years , the district has had a clear policy allowing parents to sign a waiver form and opt out of corporal punishment . `` It works on some , and it does n't work on others , '' Cervantes said . `` If you 're one of the individuals that it does work on , yes , it will become a deterrent . '' Cancellare disagrees . `` I do n't think it 's the school 's place to make decisions like that , '' she said . `` I 'm not necessarily in favor of that kind of punishment in the house either , but I feel like if somebody makes that decision , it should be the parent . '' Most states typically leave it up to individual districts whether to use corporal punishment , and some of the nation 's largest school districts -- among them Houston and Dallas , Texas ; Memphis , Tennessee ; Atlanta , Georgia ; and Mobile County , Alabama -- have banned the practice , according to the report . See where corporal punishment is legal » . CNN 's Tracy Sabo and Vivienne Foley contributed to this report .
Human Rights Watch , ACLU say spanking `` discourages learning '' Corporal punishment is used frequently in schools in 13 states ; it 's legal in 21 . Rights groups say such punishments are often disproportionately applied . Evangelical leader 's group says spanking `` can be useful '' in elementary schools .