Schools going WAY to far.......

SAFFORD, Ariz. — Eighth-grader Savana Redding was scared and confused when an assistant principal searching for drugs ordered her out of math class, searched her backpack and then instructed an administrative aide and school nurse to conduct a strip search.


"I went into the nurse's office and kept following what they asked me to do," Savana, now 19, recalls of the incident six years ago that she says still leaves her shaken and humiliated. "I thought, 'What could I be in trouble for?' "

That morning, another student had been caught with prescription-strength ibuprofen and had told the assistant principal, Kerry Wilson, that she'd gotten the pills from Savana. The nurse and administrative assistant, both women, were alone with Savana in the nurse's office when they asked the girl to take off her shoes and socks, then her shirt and pants. The two women then asked Savana to pull open her bra and panties so they could see whether she was hiding any pills. None was found.

Drug searches, along with drug tests for students in athletics and other extracurricular activities, have become common in schools across the nation. But the search of Savana at Safford Middle School on Oct. 8, 2003, ignited a legal dispute that has landed before the U.S. Supreme Court — and could transform the landscape of drug searches in public schools.

Tuesday, the nine justices will hear Safford officials' appeal of a lower court decision that said the administrators violated Savana's constitutional rights and should be held financially responsible.

Clueless politicans and bureaucrats, they should try reading two handy little documents, one is called the US Constitution and the other is the Bill of Rights.

Just like with any story of this type there was obviously more to this than is reported in this article and we'll probably never know the whole truth.

I would venture to say that most people in America probably don't know exactly what kind of rights that students do and do not have once they set foot on a school campus.
I have some knowledge of this since my father is an assistant principal at a middle school of about 1,200 students. I know that about as far as they generally go in searches is asking the student to turn out their pockets and maybe take their shoes off. I think in the rare instances that they believe the student may be hiding drugs or weapons,( yes middle schoolers sometimes bring knives or guns to school), elsewhere on their person they will notify the parent or guardian and call in a school assigned police officer of appropriate gender.

The exact rights do vary somewhat from state to state but minors in school campuses do not generally have the same rights as those over 18 in the population at large.

I'm married to a former school teacher & vice-principal, my brother is a high-school teacher, and I have 2 sisters-in-law that are teachers, one special ed, the other high school. I've heard the horror stories first-hand. With that in mind, the only thing I can say is that all teachers are in no-win situation. If the girl has drugs and they seach her, they are accussed of violating her rights. If they do nothing, they're accused of turning a blind eye and letting drugs run rampant in the school.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

When I was in high school, two friends and I got hauled into the vice principal's office because one of the teachers overheard us quoting some Cheech & Chong riffs in the hallway and took that to mean we were stoned in school. It was pretty laughable because the three of us were probably the straightest trio IN our school (I didn't begin my degeneracy till I went off to college, haha) and the vice principal happened to live down the street from me and had known me all my life, so even HE knew that the teacher had overreacted as soon as we walked into his office... One of my buds was so incensed at the accusation that we were on drugs that he offered to pee in the candy dish on the principal's desk so they could test it and prove he was clean. (That went over real well. )

Now that I look at this it probably doesn't have much to do with the topic, but I always like telling that "pee in the candy dish" story.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I'm married to a former school teacher & vice-principal, my brother is a high-school teacher, and I have 2 sisters-in-law that are teachers, one special ed, the other high school. I've heard the horror stories first-hand. With that in mind, the only thing I can say is that all teachers are in no-win situation. If the girl has drugs and they seach her, they are accussed of violating her rights. If they do nothing, they're accused of turning a blind eye and letting drugs run rampant in the school.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

yep, sad days

I understand how tough it is for teachers - I have a few friends that are teachers, but strip searching a Jr HS student for Advil? That is F'N INSANE!!!!!! The schools have gone too far!!!

What is next, full body cavity searches for 1st graders?

If they insist on a strip search, the PARENTS should be notified first and asked if they grant parental consent.

I, for one, will be telling my kids to refuse if a school ever pulls that crap and call me or have the school call me ASAP. Fortunately, we don't have the strip search problem in my son's elementary school.

FF - LOL! I loved the offer to piss in the candy dish!!!! CLASSIC!!!!!! Too bad you guys where questioned by "the man"!

Quote :

What is next, full body cavity searches for 1st graders?

Sounds like a Friday night at the Neverland Ranch.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I'm married to a former school teacher & vice-principal, my brother is a high-school teacher, and I have 2 sisters-in-law that are teachers, one special ed, the other high school. I've heard the horror stories first-hand. With that in mind, the only thing I can say is that all teachers are in no-win situation. If the girl has drugs and they seach her, they are accussed of violating her rights. If they do nothing, they're accused of turning a blind eye and letting drugs run rampant in the school.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Excellent point MG, I think the biggest problem with schools today are the parents maybe the parents of some these brat kids should try the novel idea of actually parenting.

thejokeriv wrote:

FF - LOL! I loved the offer to piss in the candy dish!!!! CLASSIC!!!!!! Too bad you guys where questioned by "the man"!

Yea, my buddy was pretty ticked off. He grabbed the dish off the guy's desk and started wavin' it around like "You wanna test my piss? I'll piss in this right now! Go ahead, test it!" and the poor V.P. was like "Um, no, that won't be necessary...you can go now, guys."

SpectreFate wrote:

Quote :

What is next, full body cavity searches for 1st graders?

Sounds like a Friday night at the Neverland Ranch.

LMAO!!!

The surpreme court has been over this at least 20 yrs ago....why is this still an issue today?? YOU CANNOT SEARCH WITHOUT PROBABLE CAUSE....hearing a rumor that another student has drugs is not probable cause, maybe if a teacher actually smelled weed on the girl or saw them use drugs...maybe that would be enough proof to investigate in that way.


Svengo is right, students loose rights everytime they step thru the doors of their school...

I agree with the sentiment here, that was BS. Nothing like that should ever be allowed without parental consent.

I'm surprised it wasn't done by the girls PE coach...

Stender wrote:

The surpreme court has been over this at least 20 yrs ago....why is this still an issue today?? YOU CANNOT SEARCH WITHOUT PROBABLE CAUSE....hearing a rumor that another student has drugs is not probable cause, maybe if a teacher actually smelled weed on the girl or saw them use drugs...maybe that would be enough proof to investigate in that way.

I tend to believe that people in the staff position lose focus of what is really important, and their reasons for doing things aren't where they are supposed to be.

Strip searching an 8th grader for some Painkillers (no Judas priest pun intended) is not a proportional action of events.

They continually turn these schools into prisons, that fail to educate their intended audience.

I'm listening to Painkiller by Judas Priest, don't tell anyone though. I don't wanna get strip-searched!