How far is too far in keeping schools drug and weapon free?
The case of a school strip-searching a 13-year-old girl after getting a tip she had prescription-strength ibuprofen on her wound up before the Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Schools have the right, and the duty, to make themselves safe. We send our children there for seven or eight hours a day, roughly 180 days a year. Some schools use metal detectors; some use drug-sniffing dogs. Many, if not most, have students sign ‘contracts’ that if they participate in extra-curricular activities, they are held to a certain standard of conduct. At least, that’s the case at the school my teenagers attend.
A strip search seems to go to a new extreme. The Court posed interesting questions, too, about whether it would make a difference had the student been suspected of having cocaine or some other drug? (The lawyer fighting against the strip search said no.)
We just marked the sad anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre, and no one would want a repeat. We don’t want high school dealers selling kids cocaine or marijuana. So how far is too far? And what level of proof, or accusation, does there need to be? Is one kid’s word enough? What about a teacher?
The men and woman on the Supreme Court have an interesting case on their hands.
Lockers at Lebanon HS being tested for drug residue
This is way wrong for so many reasons.
If your neighbor did this to your kid, what would you call it? Does having this done by a school official change anything? Since when are school employees allowed to look in your kid’s underwear?
At a minimum, the police should be called — let them sort it out. They do have experience on when and how to search people. Especially when it’s something as “dangerous” as Advil. Why take chances?
This just shows our kids grow up stupid because they’re taught by idiots.
What if this girl had refused? would they then have held her down and forcibly removed her clothes? Or as the one justice said, what next cavity searches? This definitely crosses the line. the Parents should have been called before anything like this ever ocurred. This idiot Principal took one kids word to find basis for a strip search? Do you know how many times every day a student in a school somewhere says something untrue about another student out of jeolousy, revenge, or just to be mean? So now any student who wants to get back at another student just has to say they are hiding drugs? It’s appalling to me that this Principal and the Nurse would think this was appropriate. Now I have to tell my kids along with the other warnings about strangers and bad touching, etc., I have to tell them if a school official tells you to take your clothes off, refuse and tell them to call your parents. Now I see why people home school their kids.
LMAO Of course it should not be based on one kid’s assertion. We have vengeful, lying adults screwing others over. An immature kid can’t be expected to always be truthful when adults are not. This society still thinks of nicotine, alcohol and prescription drugs as being safer than many street drugs, despite all evidence to the contrary. I would go for the angle of having parents lock up their script drugs. Few kids have to do anything but reach into the drug bottle sitting all over their parents’ houses. Go after the docs who repeatedly overprescribe that crap. Job drug tests do not even test for the most dangerous mind and behavior altering drugs becauae they came from a script pad. Go after your school personnel who give kids those drugs many times so they can have sex with them. It is typical for a teacher child molester do go on for months if not years before being caught. Strip THAT and search it!
This is typical america to go after the easiest solution instead of one that works. A strip search is traumatic for anyone. We have no idea the psychic makeup of school officials, or even cops who do searches. Many are child predators if we are to believe Dateline. Do you want that kind touching your naked kid? They have been busting low income minority kids for one pill. For nailclippers. For bull. One got nailed for a candy vitamin. He was suspended before his mom came to straighten out those silly school officials. Had they strip searched that kid, it would have been more trauma. Parents need to take responsibility for their drugs AND weapons. Strip searches will not help that sad scene.
Cases like this one, and a line of drug-search-related cases before it, have turned our public schools into prisons that teach kids only mind-numbing adherence to rules no matter how unreasonable. They sure don’t teach kids reasonableness, or to think for themselves. If the Court doesn’t say that search was a constitutional violation, I will be shocked. Current trends are leading towards investing school officials with the kinds of authority typically given to prison guards - who preside over a convicted population whose rights have been stripped away due to their own misconduct, so it’s therefore arguably reasonable to give them such authority. But over our kids? No way. If the school thought it was serious enough to warrant a strip search, they should have called the police and the parents. Since they didn’t, they obviously knew it was a tempest in a teapot but proceeded anyway. That’s not only sick, it’s dangerous and should not be legitimized by the courts.
Slugger you forgot to blame W for this.
If this was my kid I don’t know what stupid reponse I would have done, but I know it wouldn’t have been good. As the previous posters said, this is wrong on so many levels I don’t even know where to start.
Do you know, by the way, what “drug” she was accused of having? Prescription strength Ibuprofen. What a dangerous item that is!!!
I can’t believe the courts dismissed the family’s lawsuit either.
Damn, the more I think of this story the madder I get…
I just had to come back and post again after I read the AP story you linked: “That leaves school administrators with the choice of embarrassing a child through a search or possibly having other children die while in their care, Justice David Souter said. “With those stakes in mind, why isn’t that reasonable?” Souter said.” Is he kidding?? If that’s the standard, would it be reasonable to do a strip search if she’s hiding some contraband peanuts in there? I mean, after all, kids could DIE of a peanut allergy while in the care of the school! Right?? Justice Souter, “embarassing” a child isn’t the issue. Violating the U.S. Constitution is the issue. Sheesh.
I understand the schools concerns about drugs. I personally don’t think prescription-strength ibuprofen is worthy of such actions though. I’ve no problem with searching lockers or book bags, but a strip search is extreme. I would think calling the parents would be the best course of action. Especially considering the number of teachers who misbehave with students. If I were the justice deciding the case, I’d side with the student.
Totally uncalled for. School should have called the police, if they felt somehow threatened by the accusation. Hope the perps get sued big time by the girl and parents. Oh, why not have CCW in highschool, and if a person doesn’t consent, just blow them away? (sarcasm)
If I were the 13 year old, I would have hauled off and belted the person who tried. Then, the parents would have *had* to be called.
I have two 200mg ibuprofen in my pocket right now. Unprescribed, but the same dosage. Do I feel I am a threat to society? Nope. Oops. I forgot about the 2″ penknife! Now, I guess I’m armed and dangerous…
Lord, what fools these mortals be!
The schools should not be placed in a situation of investigating criminal behavior. If the suspicion is well founded detain the student and call the police and the parents. Teachers get back to teaching and police (juvenile authorities) do your job. Parents stick around and get involved, you’re child needs you.
The case is about searches of a person not metal detectors, but the headline says weapons. I love the St.Louis schools and teaching there, most of the time. But I dont understand how we have 29,000 students and 290,000 cellphones, ipods and mp3 players. If the metal detectors arent keeping out phones, how can they keep out weapons? I’ve seen various explanations, like they hide them in their underwear, backpacks, and that if they’re turned off they dont set off the metal detectors, but I dont believe the latter is true. Also, I think the rules vary from no cellphones or you can only have it if you keep it off; good luck with that. Consequences of being found with one not usually great. My own view is if they can get in with a cellphone, they can get a gun in, so we need a zero tolerance for cellphones, and better use of metal detectors. Some schools also pat down. You cant get in city hall or courthouse with a cellphone, so you shouldnt be able to get into slps either. Cellphones also, then, a discipline issue. Discipline issues and other security issues are for another time, could do a whole blog about that and may some day. Some significant security issues at another high school I was at last week, but wont talk about that here. I’ve told the administration about my concern with cellphones and metal detectors, but havent heard back. They did say they’d look into the security issues at the high school I brought to their/its attention. Most of the thugs are now outside the schools, not inside, I understand, tho that was different at the beginning of the year. But we’ve had several shootings this year of our students going to or from school, not sure why - drive-bys, gangs, random, targeted, whatever. So it’s only a matter of time since one of our good, better, kids bring a gun to school for protection. Dont know if we’ve had any found in schools since the beginning of school but I wouldnt be surprised. So my bottom line, we need a zero tolerance for any metal past the metal detectors, severe consequences for students and security/staff if any get by. Good for security, good for discipline. Wont make me any friends, but that doesnt make me wrong. And by the way, our teachers do a wonderful job under the most exigent of circumstances, presuming I used the word right, which I sort of did, tho extreme might have been better. By the way, have given this information to the Post and SJ and RFT, but two former are either busy or mad at being for me being mad at Post for editorial and other policies, and RFT wont touch if Post has it, which is it’s right.
But media coverage of these issues would be helpful, I believe, helping us be the best we can be, so any media interested know where to find me. Email to go may go out eventually, but the gist is here. Finally, am I worried about retaliation, against my substituting and becoming accredited to teach for the district next year, for my speaking out? Somewhat, tho I generally try to work within the system whenever possible, and if I’m afraid to speak out on an important issue, dont deserve to run for office. If god forbid someone gets a weapon in the school past a metal detector and someone gets hurt, we’ll chance the procedures and practices then, so wouldnt it be better to get on top of it now?