JUDGE OKS SETTLEMENT IN H.S. DRUG RAID

CHARLESTON, S.C. - A federal judge approved a $1.6 million
class-action settlement to compensate students who were searched
during a 2003 high school drug raid in which police with guns drawn
ordered students to the floor. U.S. District Judge Patrick Michael
Duffy approved the settlement Monday in a lawsuit filed against the
Berkeley County School District and the Goose Creek Police Department
by students' families.

Surveillance videotapes captured the raid at Stratford High School, in
which officers drew their guns, ordered students to lie on the floor
and used a dog to search them for illegal drugs.

Police found no drugs and no arrests were made, though some students
were handcuffed for a time. About 140 students were in the school. The
students will split $1.2 million. Their attorneys' will receive the
remaining $400,000. The exact amount each student receives will depend
on the final number of claims, but could average between $6,000 and
$12,000 apiece. The raid provoked marches and lawsuits and brought
national media attention and the resignation of the school's longtime
principal.