A Port Arthur ISD student at Memorial High School alleges his coach hit him with a paddle as a disciplinary tool during football practice, raising concerns about corporal punishment in Texas schools.
Noah Lopez had only been at Memorial High School in Port Arthur for about two weeks when he says a Saturday football practice turned into what he calls the most humiliating moment of his life.
Lopez, a sophomore running back, says he arrived at practice and was immediately pulled aside by his head coach, who asked why he missed school the day before.
Lopez said his mother recently got in a serious car crash, and she couldn’t give him a ride to school.
From there, Lopez says the situation escalated fast. He wore the wrong color football pants, and was sent to the office, where he says several coaches had already gathered.
“They were saying, oh, you got the wrong football pants,” Lopez said. “And then my coach, the head coach, he said, oh, he also didn’t go to school. And they were saying, dang, that’s two mistakes. And then my position coach was in there because I’m a running back, and then he said, oh, I also don’t have his number. So then there were three mistakes.”
Lopez says he was told to put his hands on a table and his feet back, and that he assumed he would be hit once.
“And then boom, just got hit one time. And I thought that was it. And then they’re saying you got hit three times,” Lopez said.
Noah’s dad, Henry Lopez, says the school should have called him.
“The way they did it, you know, it was like an assault,” said Henry Lopez, Noah’s dad. “You know, they didn’t let me know. I don’t even whoop with my son.”
Port Arthur ISD released a statement Tuesday saying it is aware of the concerns raised about the use of corporal punishment involving a Memorial High School student and is reviewing the circumstances.
“The District takes concerns regarding student safety and the administration of student discipline seriously,” the statement reads in part.
Port Arthur ISD Reviewing Incident
The district says corporal punishment is an authorized discipline method under its current board adopted policy when it is administered according to district policy and the Student Code of Conduct.
According to the statement, the policy does not require a parent to give advance written consent before corporal punishment is used.
Instead, a parent who does not want corporal punishment used on their child must submit a signed written statement to the campus principal opting out for that school year.
It is unclear if parents are notified of corporal punishment.
The district says it is reviewing the incident to determine the facts and whether policy and procedure were followed, and that the Board of Trustees will revisit the corporal punishment policy to consider whether changes are needed. The statement is signed by Superintendent Dr. Mark Porterie.
Henry Lopez says he never signed anything authorizing corporal punishment for his son and believes parents should be asked directly, every time, rather than having to opt out in writing.
“I should at least know about it, so I have the option to pull him out of that school,” Henry Lopez said.
Corporal punishment in Texas
Texas law allows for the use of corporal punishment, but it is up to each districts’ school board to decide on whether to allow it to be used for student discipline.
According to the Education Code, parents or guardians must sign a written statement and send it to the board of trustees of their district to prohibit the use of corporal punishment on their children.
KPRC 2 News reached out to 20 school districts in the Houston area on their policies on corporal punishment.
We also contacted the TEA on the process of corporal punishment.
While the station is waiting to hear back from these districts, some student handbooks posted online indicate how districts require parent or guardian authorization to permit corporal punishment.
We’ve attached several district’s student code of conducts, or student handbooks that indicates how faculty can use corporal punishment in the classroom:
- Columbia Brazoria ISD: Student-Code-of-Conduct-26-27.pdf
- Hempstead ISD: Hempstead_ISD_-_Student_Code_of_Conduct_25-26.pdf
- Brenham ISD: 25.26 Brenham ISD Student Code of Conduct - Google Drive
- New Waverly ISD: Student Handbook 2026-2027.docx
- Cleveland ISD: 2026-27-CISD-Student-Handbook---FINAL-July2026.pdf
- Splendora ISD: 2026-2027 Splendora ISD Student Handbook.docx
- East Chambers ISD: East Chambers ISD Student Handbook 2026-2027
- Anahuac ISD: 2025-2026 Student Handbook.pdf - Google Drive
- Hamshire-Fannet ISD: 2025-2026 Student Handbook.pdf - Google Drive
Background on the family
Noah Lopez had been living with his mother, who moved to the Port Arthur area a few months ago after previously living in the Gulfgate area of Houston. His parents have been separated for three years. Noah says he chose to stay with his mother and help her after she was in a car accident, even though it meant transferring schools.
Now, after the incident, Noah says he is moving to Conroe to live with his father and enroll in Caney Creek High School.
“I’m already a sophomore, I only have two more years left. This is really messing up my football dream,” Noah said.