Schools strip down search policies
Posted On: Tuesday, Apr. 28 2009 05:12 AM
By Rebecca LaFlure
Killeen Daily HeraldSavana Redding, a 13-year-old honor roll student from Safford, Ariz., was strip-searched by school officials in 2003 after a peer accused her of hiding prescription-strength ibuprofen pills – the equivalent of two Advils. No pills were found.
Now 19 years old, Redding has become the basis for a Supreme Court case that will decide whether school administrators constitutionally have the right to conduct strip searches on students suspected of possessing or distributing drugs on campus. A hearing is scheduled for today.
Redding's supporters insist that older students should have the same constitutional rights as adults – the Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable search and seizure – while some school administrators argue that limiting their authority would jeopardize school safety.
Redding hopes the court will establish clear guidelines on how school officials should conduct searches.
Safford school officials say that the search was reasonable, pointing out that