NO DRUG DOGS WILL BE ALLOWED NEAR STUDENTS IN WAGNER

SIOUX FALLS - Drug-sniffing dogs will not be allowed near students at
Wagner while a lawsuit is pending in court, according to an agreement by
both sides in the case.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the district for
bringing a drug-sniffing dog into the school twice last spring.

Graham Boyd, director of the ACLU drug policy litigation project, said the
agreement will give parents and kids some relief as the suit continues in
federal court.

Twenty-two elementary and high school students and their families have
joined the lawsuit.

According to the complaint, students were told they would have to stay in
their classrooms for several hours while drug-sniffing dogs searched each
classroom.

The ACLU said the searches violated the children's rights against
unreasonable searches.

Ken Cotton, an attorney for the school district, said the search was in
response to complaints from parents about drugs in the school and did not
involve classrooms below third grade.