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02.02.06
ACLU Files Suit in Student Strip Search Case
Calls Actions of School Administration Illegal, Unnecessary
COLUMBUS, OH–Today, the ACLU of Ohio filed suit in U.S. District
Court in Columbus on behalf of eight of the students who were illegally
searched by staff at the Vern Riffe Career Technology Center on January
20, 2006. The suit names the school district, the superintendent and
three staff members as defendants.
The searches occurred after two students reported missing personal
items. After the thefts were reported, staff at the center took the
group of teenage girls one by one and searched their pockets, purses and
lockers. They were then forced to unhook and shake their bra and pull
down their pants to confirm they were not hiding the items in their bras
or underwear.
ACLU of Ohio Executive Director Christine Link said, “What happened to
these students is a travesty. The school had no right to conduct these
searches.”
Link went on, “The school had several opportunities to prevent this
situation. They could have called the police to report the theft, they
could have let the two young women check their vehicles to confirm they
did not leave the items in them and they could have called parents to
inform them of the thefts and any action they were considering. The
administration did none of those things, instead choosing to humiliate
and violate twenty teenagers by conducting intrusive illegal searches.”
The items missing from the two students were $60 cash, two gift cards
worth $15 and $35, and a credit card. The credit card was later found in
the car of the student who reported the theft.
Since the searches were conducted, several parents have expressed their
outrage and called for the school administration to apologize to the
young women and revise their school policies to prevent this from
occurring again. The center has maintained that their actions did not
conflict with school policy and that because students were not forced to
disrobe entirely, the search could not be considered a “strip search.”
Gary Daniels, ACLU of Ohio Litigation Coordinator said, “Regardless of
whether the searches occurred according to school policy, they remain a
clear violation of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which
protects people from unreasonable search and seizure.”
Daniels added, “These young women were humiliated, even if they were not
forced to completely remove an article of clothing. No excuses will make
these searches anything other than what they are—illegal.”
Text of Complaint
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