Arkansas is one of the few states where corporal punishment in public schools remains both legal and widely practiced. Arkansas law (§ 6-18-503) permits corporal punishment, granting districts the authority to determine its implementation. While children with certain disabilities are exempt, corporal punishment continues to be a default disciplinary method in many districts. Currently, 171 public school districts (72%) in Arkansas allow corporal punishment, while only 51 (21%) explicitly ban it. In 19% of districts, parents must opt out, making corporal punishment the default. Alarmingly, 16% of districts do not require parental notification before administering it. During the 2022-2023 school year, over 5,300 incidents of corporal punishment were reported to the Arkansas Department of Education. District-level data show that 89% of schools allowing corporal punishment reported at least one incident, indicating that as long as the practice is permitted, it will continue to be used. However, just 13 districts—each with more than 100 reported cases—accounted for approximately 50% of all incidents statewide. Notably, many of these districts, despite recording over 100 cases in a single academic year, enroll fewer than 1,000 students. These statistics underscore the urgency of addressing school corporal punishment in Arkansas. Yet, emerging evidence suggests that many parents, teachers, and lawmakers are unaware of its widespread use. A lack of accessible data on the issue creates a barrier to education. Moreover, public opinion on school corporal punishment in Arkansas is largely unknown, and without insight into school safety perceptions and policy awareness, policy change will remain out of reach. This session will explore strategies to educate the public, organize community support, and mobilize efforts for reform. By filling critical knowledge gaps and building a state-specific evidence base, we can lay the groundwork for eliminating corporal punishment in Arkansas schools—offering a model with national implications.