THREE RIVERS, Texas — Students in a south Texas school district who commit minor infractions, such as disobeying teachers, may soon be paddled as a form of punishment, according several reports.

A paddle, expected to be wood, will be used in the upcoming school year to administer corporal punishment, local newspaper Corpus Christi Caller-Times reports.

Minor incidents such as not following classroom rules and disobeying a teacher could lead to the use of physical punishment, campus behavior coordinator Andrew Amaro told the paper.

The board of trustees for Three Rivers Independent School District in south Texas approved of the disciplinary measure Tuesday.

Parents must permit the use of a paddle before the new punishment method is used on a child, and it will be administered by the campus behavior coordinator or principal.

A policy preventing corporal punishment, or punishment that involves hitting someone, was previously in place in the district.

Texas is among 15 states that expressly permit corporal punishment, NPR reported last year.

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are among 28 states that do not allow this form of punishment, while seven others do not expressly permit or prohibit it.