It IS legal in NY private schools
From the NYS Dept of Education:
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/specialed/publications/policy/BIattach-909.htm
State regulations prohibit the use of corporal punishment against a student by a teacher, administrator, officer, employee or agent of a school district in this State, a board of cooperative educational services (BOCES), a charter school, State-operated or State-supported school, an approved preschool program, an approved private school, an approved out-of-State day or residential school, or a registered nonpublic nursery, kindergarten, elementary or secondary school in this State.
In short, it’s NOT legal in NYS for a teacher to hit a child. Period.
The Wolf