Policy

Parents Sue over 10-Year-Old's School Strip Search

Forced to remove clothes in hunt for a dropped $20 bill

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A 10-year-old North Carolina boy whose parents say he was traumatized when strip-searched by an assistant principal have sued district officials, alleging a violation of the boy's constitutional protection from unreasonable searches and seizures.

In an 11-page complaint, Clarinda and Lionel Shawn Cox allege their son, Justin, was searched for a missing $20 bill by former Union Elementary School Assistant Principal Teresa Holmes in June. A fifth-grader at the time, Justin was taken aside by Holmes — who has since reportedly retired — to be searched after a female classmate dropped coins on a cafeteria floor and he retrieved them, according to the lawsuit.

(Hat tip to Reason commenter $park¥)