Pubdate: Sat, 25 Apr 2009
Source: Ledger, The (Lakeland, FL)
Copyright: 2009 The Ledger
Contact:  http://www.theledger.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/795
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Savana+Redding
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/strip+searches

STUDENT STRIP SEARCH: PRIVACY PUT ASIDE

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits "unreasonable 
searches." Strip-searching a 13-year-old girl because school 
officials suspect she is hiding ibuprofen clearly fits that definition.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in a lawsuit over 
searching students. The court has to weigh the rights of the nation's 
children against the interests of administrators in keeping schools safe.

In the past, the court had sided mostly with school administrators. 
School officials don't have to show "probable cause" before 
conducting a search. They need only a "reasonable suspicion."

That's why a federal judge and a federal appeals panel ruled against 
Savana Redding and her mother in the lawsuit they brought against her 
Arizona middle school. But a full federal appeal court decided school 
officials violated Savana's rights when they searched her.

Pills Never Found

The facts in the case are not in dispute. Another child was caught 
with the ibuprofen pain-relief pills that are not allowed in the 
school. She accused Savana of giving them to her. The vice principal 
searched Savana's backpack and found nothing, so he told the school 
nurse and a female teacher to search her. They made her strip down to 
her underwear and then pull her undergarments from her body.

Savana said it was "the most humiliating experience" she has had to 
live through, which is likely for a 13-year-old girl. And all in 
search of some ibuprofen pills, which were not found.

We aren't talking about crack cocaine, firearms or even marijuana. 
We're talking about ibuprofen. And school officials had no reason to 
believe they were in the girl's underwear.

Schools have to be able to act to secure order and safety in their 
schools. The courts have been quick to support those needs.

The school's lawyer told the court Tuesday that the justices 
shouldn't limit school officials' discretion. "We've got to be able 
to make decisions," he said.

No Immediate Danger

But that argument carries less weight when school officials act with 
so little sense.

Safety and security are the primary concerns at a school. School 
officials can be forgiven in going a little overboard to secure their 
schools and keep their charges safe. But hidden ibuprofen is not an 
immediate danger to anyone.

Placing Savana in the principal's office while her parents were 
called to the school would have made much more sense.

The schools and the courts also have an obligation to protect the 
human rights of the children they serve. The courts must put some 
limits on intrusive searches by school officials. Such searches 
should only be conducted if officials have reasonable suspicion of an 
imminent threat to the children at the school.

Children shouldn't be humiliated simply because of a suspicion that a 
zero-tolerance policy has been violated.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom