STUDENT STRIP SEARCH: PRIVACY PUT ASIDE

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits "unreasonable
searches." Strip-searching a 13-year-old girl because school
officials suspect she is hiding ibuprofen clearly fits that definition.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in a lawsuit over
searching students. The court has to weigh the rights of the nation's
children against the interests of administrators in keeping schools safe.

In the past, the court had sided mostly with school administrators.
School officials don't have to show "probable cause" before
conducting a search. They need only a "reasonable suspicion."

That's why a federal judge and a federal appeals panel ruled against
Savana Redding and her mother in the lawsuit they brought against her
Arizona middle school. But a full federal appeal court decided school
officials violated Savana's rights when they searched her.

Pills Never Found

The facts in the case are not in dispute. Another child was caught
with the ibuprofen pain-relief pills that are not allowed in the
school. She accused Savana of giving them to her. The vice principal
searched Savana's backpack and found nothing, so he told the school
nurse and a female teacher to search her. They made her strip down to
her underwear and then pull her undergarments from her body.

Savana said it was "the most humiliating experience" she has had to
live through, which is likely for a 13-year-old girl. And all in
search of some ibuprofen pills, which were not found.

We aren't talking about crack cocaine, firearms or even marijuana.
We're talking about ibuprofen. And school officials had no reason to
believe they were in the girl's underwear.

Schools have to be able to act to secure order and safety in their
schools. The courts have been quick to support those needs.

The school's lawyer told the court Tuesday that the justices
shouldn't limit school officials' discretion. "We've got to be able
to make decisions," he said.

No Immediate Danger

But that argument carries less weight when school officials act with
so little sense.

Safety and security are the primary concerns at a school. School
officials can be forgiven in going a little overboard to secure their
schools and keep their charges safe. But hidden ibuprofen is not an
immediate danger to anyone.

Placing Savana in the principal's office while her parents were
called to the school would have made much more sense.

The schools and the courts also have an obligation to protect the
human rights of the children they serve. The courts must put some
limits on intrusive searches by school officials. Such searches
should only be conducted if officials have reasonable suspicion of an
imminent threat to the children at the school.

Children shouldn't be humiliated simply because of a suspicion that a
zero-tolerance policy has been violated.