Teacher, guards disciplined after search of students

(This is an excellent example of the abuse of 'zero tolerance' in schools
and how it has begun to lead to more and more infringements on personal
rights. These four students were forced to disrobe in restroom stalls so
their clothing could be searched for a missing $25 which was later found on
a student who had not been searched. With our public schools looking more
and more like prisons and getting worse and worse at educating students, the
future doesn't look too bright. - Mike)

Teacher, guards disciplined after search of students
----------
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
An East St. Louis schoolteacher and security guards have been
disciplined for searching four middle school students by ordering
them to undress in a bathroom stall. Officials still insist that
they acted properly, since none of the kids were seen naked
by staff. (10/18/01)

http://www.free-market.net/rd/95326500.html

Teacher, guards in search have been disciplined
By Aisha Sultan
Of the Post-Dispatch
10/17/2001 10:46 PM

An East St. Louis schoolteacher and security guards have been disciplined
and should have used better judgment before searching four middle school
students by ordering them to undress in a bathroom stall, Superintendent
Nate Anderson said Wednesday.

Still, he maintains that the district acted within its boundaries because
none of the students
was viewed naked at any time.

The incident took place Oct. 3 at Lansdowne Junior High. Security guards
waited outside bathroom stalls while four sixth-grade students handed over
their clothes so the guards
could look for $25 missing from a classroom.

Then the students - two boys and two girls - disrobed in separate
restrooms and passed
their clothing to the guards underneath the stalls. The guards passed the
clothing back
underneath the stalls.

Anderson refused to described the incident as a "strip search."

The two security guards have been "indefinitely suspended" without pay,
and the teacher
has been "sanctioned," he said. He did not provide details of the reprimand.

The $25 was later found on a student who had not been searched.

One of the parents of the students does not dispute the facts of the
incident, although she is
not satisfied with the district's response.

"These are supposed to be people who are protecting my child," said Doris
Wright. She describes her 11-year-old daughter as "quiet" and said she was
threatened with detention if she did not cooperate. Wright said she plans to
talk to a lawyer about filing a lawsuit against the district.

Several such lawsuits have been filed across the country over students
rights, and courts
have awarded judgments in what was deemed unconstitutional and unreasonable
strip searches. In May, a U.S. district court in Chicago awarded $5,500 in
compensatory damages to each of eight students who were strip-searched by a
Marseilles police officer looking for missing money.

Last year, a $30 million lawsuit was filed against an elementary school in
Adrian, Mo., after
fourth-grade students were reportedly strip-searched to find a lost war
medal. It was found
on the classroom floor.

A lawsuit was also filed against Marissa School District and school
officials last year for
strip-searching and improperly touching two female students while trying to
find $80. The lawsuit is still pending.

There have been several of other cases nationally in which young students
were reportedly
strip-searched for missing money.

That troubles civil rights groups such as the American Civil Liberties
Union.

"This is an intrusive search. It is a humiliating experience," said Ed
Yohnka, spokesman for
the Illinois chapter of the ACLU. He said he could not speak to the legality
of the search in
East St. Louis since he did not know all the details, but he raised several
concerns about
the incident.

"There was no sense of immediate threat, no gun, no weapon, no kind of
material that could
be used in a threat . . . to put kids through this kind of intrusive search
does seem a bit
strange and troubling on many fronts," he said.

Schools are required to have "reasonable suspicion" before searching a
student or his belongings. That is less than the "probable cause" standard
that applies to police searches.
Some area school district policies outright forbid ordering students to
remove more than
their outer garments.

Normandy superintendent Ray Armstrong said such a search would not be
allowed in the
district.

"Students shall not be asked under any circumstances to undress," he said.
At most, they
may be asked to remove jackets, coats or shoes.

Frederick Crawford, chief of safety and security at Parkway School
District, said an officer
may pat-down a student's outside clothing if they suspect a concealed
weapon. In more extreme cases, a student may be arrested and taken to the
police station. "I don't see any reason why a strip search would be done on
a student," Crawford said.