Strip for the Principal
Jacob Sullum | March 3, 2008, 6:00pm
This month the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit is scheduled to rehear a case involving an Arizona eighth-grader who was strip-searched by school administrators enforcing a "zero tolerance" drug policy. The ACLU, which today filed a brief on the student's behalf, describes the search:
Savana Redding, an eighth grade honor roll student at Safford Middle School in Tucson, Arizona, was pulled from class on October 8, 2003 by the school's vice principal, Kerry Wilson. Earlier that day, Wilson had discovered [drugs] in the possession of Redding's classmate....Under questioning and faced with punishment, the classmate claimed that Redding, who had no history of disciplinary problems or substance abuse, had given her the [drugs].
After escorting Redding to his office, Wilson presented Redding with the [drugs] and informed her of her classmate's accusations. Redding said she had never seen the [drugs] before and agreed to a search of her possessions, wanting to prove she had nothing to hide. Joined by a female school administrative assistant, Wilson searched Redding's backpack and found nothing. Instructed by Wilson, the administrative assistant then took Redding to the school nurse's office in order to perform a strip search.
In the school nurse's office, Redding was ordered to strip to her underwear. She was then commanded to pull her bra out and to the side, exposing her breasts, and to pull her underwear out at the crotch, exposing her pelvic area. The strip search failed to uncover any [drugs].
"I was embarrassed and scared, but felt I would be in more trouble if I did not do what they asked," said Redding in a sworn affidavit following the incident. "The strip search was the most humiliating experience I have ever had."
The punch line: The drugs in question were ibuoprofen pills—prescription-strength, 400-milligram pills (equivalent to a couple over-the-counter Advil caplets), but nothing anyone would or could use to get high. Then again, it's much easier to overdose on ibuprofen than on marijuana, so maybe the administrators have their priorities right.
A three-judge 9th Circuit panel did not go quite that far, but last year it did say Redding's Fourth Amendment rights were not violated by the search. The judges ruled that the vice principal had "reasonable grounds" to believe the search would discover evidence that Redding had violated the school's ban on possession of prescription drugs. They also concluded that the search was not excessively intrusive. On March 24 the full court will hear arguments urging it to reconsider.
Jamie | March 5, 2008, 9:03am | #
You people are funny. Children have no rights in school. You can complain and be outraged all you want, but as parents you have caused schools to take drastic actions like this.
Do your jobs and teach your children discipline.
This country has gone from parents that ask "WHAT DID MY CHILD DO" to "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY CHILD?"
That's wrong. That mentality has plummetted the success of the American Education system, dumbed down our citizens, created a pathetically litigious society, and given children control.
Kudos to the school district for taking a strong stance, and kudos to the court system for showing support.
It takes balls to stand up to a group of people like many of you outraged on this board.
Really, people need to get over themselves.
I don't care if it was Ibuprofen or not, they did the right thing-- they protected the other students. Drugs are a serious problem in schools.
If you should be angry at anyone, it is parents for not doing their jobs. This shouldn't be the job of the school. You forced the schools hand. Teach your kids discipline.
It's unfortunate an innocent girl was accused in this process, but would you rather have the school ignore it and have 8th graders passing potentially deadly drugs around?
And yes--Ibuprofen can be deadly if taken enough of.
Step back and think about what some of you are saying. Children follow by example. If they see that discipline is lenient, they will get away with whatever they can.
I'll bet you anything there aren't discipline problems in this schoool, and I would send my children there in an instant, as should any of you.
At least I'd know they were safe, and if they did something wrong, they would be dealt with swiftly.
The only thing the district did wrong was not inform the parents that this was happening. That was a misstep on their part, which they SHOULD be punished for.
Even though schools are the legal guardians while children are there, they are still obligated to report what happens during the school day to the children's parents.
I won't be back here, so you can rip me all you want. You'll still be wrong, and I'll be right.
Teach your kids to act right, so schools don't have to. Then maybe we'll start succeeding as a nation again.
Peace.
Neu Mejican | March 6, 2008, 12:16pm | #
Jennifer,
You are correct about the fact that school officials have a legal obligation to implement laws...no matter how misguided. This incident, however, is not a case of that. It is a case of officials going beyond their legal authority (imho) and no one standing up and saying, wait, this is not what the law says should be done...and it is not right. As an educator, btw, I have been one who has stepped in when an adult was being inappropriate, or looked like they might cross the line. I have never had negative consequences for such behavior.
As for documented incidents.
I have seen in my career as an educator, administrators and teachers alike fired or reassigned for similar behavior (not quite so extreme, but...). It did not make the news because no one in the system held a press conference and parents did not complain. The offending staff member was dealt with as a routine part of business. Usually, in functional districts, educators who show this kind of poor judgment find their contract is not renewed, or they are reassigned to positions where they do not have authority over kids. In almost all cases, some in-service about how not to behave follows, to spread the word to the rest of the staff.
I have also seen the flip side. In dysfunctional districts/schools, poor behavior is allowed to continue because of poor management, good old boy networks, or just plain apathy. These kinds of school environments seem, in my professional experience, to be rare places.
You can, of course, assume I make this shit up, if you want. It matters not to me.
