<![CDATA[This study analyzes the legal protection afforded to the teaching profession in imposing disciplinary sanctions on students who violate school rules under Indonesian positive law. The issue arises from the tension between teachers' pedagogical authority to guide and discipline students and the state's obligation to protect children from violence. This normative legal research employs statutory, conceptual, case, comparative, and philosophical approaches. Primary legal materials include the 1945 Constitution, Law Number 20 of 2003 on the National Education System, Law Number 14 of 2005 on Teachers and Lecturers, Law Number 35 of 2014 on Child Protection, relevant implementing regulations, and Supreme Court Decision Number 1554 K/Pid/2013. The findings show that teachers are normatively entitled to legal protection in carrying out their professional duties, including educational guidance and discipline. Such authority, however, is not absolute. Sanctions must serve an educational purpose, be proportionate to the violation, respect students' dignity, and avoid physical or psychological suffering. Educational disciplinary measures cannot automatically be equated with violence. Conversely, physical abuse, humiliation, intimidation, threats, or degrading treatment may exceed professional authority and trigger legal consequences. Regulatory harmonization, clearer disciplinary guidelines, and effective preventive and repressive protection are therefore necessary to balance teachers' professional interests with children's rights]]>
