Okay, Another Political Rant. (I know you all love them)

So tomorrow there will be a case presented before the Supreme Court regarding a (then) 13 year old girl who was strip searched at her school because it was believed that she was carrying prescription strength Ibuprofen. The suit claims that this girls constitutional rights regarding searches was violated and that the school district should settle the matter financially (which is really about the only way it could be settled).

Here.

Or here, which is a shorter opinion (pro)

This is huge! Mainly because, depending on how the Supreme Court rules, school districts around the nation will either be at liberty to justify such behavior or they will not.

I myself was absolutely appalled by the story, which takes place in a sleepy little town in Arizona called Safford. The school district claims that they are "on the front lines of a decades-long war against drug abuse among student."

??? Right, Safford, Arizona, population 9,700. It's not Chicago or Washington D.C. or L.A. or New York.... it's Safford, that has parades when their soldiers come home from Iraq (I know this cause my husband was in the parade).

So then I read this opinion piece in the USA Today (this is what I do at work... I read the newspaper) which is the opposing view.

My question is... where were her parents? Why weren't they informed before their 13 year old daughter was stripped!?

In my most humble opinion, you can argue reasoning all you want but why on earth weren't the parents involved or the police? If the school was really working on protecting itself it would have involved the police department in a strip search of one of their students. The school would have called the parents and said, "We believe that your child is carrying unauthorized medication on her person and we are going to strip search her. If you would like to be in the room when this happens you need to come to the school immediately."

At which point, as the parent, I would have called a lawyer (my dear husband would work) and haul my behind down there to raise some serious hell.

This is the sort of stuff that really scares me. What our we coming to!? Where did all the trust and communication go to? When did people in positions of authority get the idea that they had a right to make decisions for us without our input or consent?

I hope that the Supreme Court does the right thing in this case and rules for the Redding family. If not our country is just one step closer to losing the individual freedom's our forefathers fought for.

Okay.... I'm done now and waiting for your comments.

Comments

Mrs. Miniver said…
They were talking about this on NPR this morning when i was coming back from taking the kids to school. They were talking to the school district's lawyer. His arguments were as good as anyone could probably make for such a circumtance but i bet he's thinking in his head, "That principl's such an idiot. What did he think was going to happen." over and over and over.
Cari Hislop said…
I agree...strip searching a minor without a parent or police present?
I would argue that as child abuse!
The school authority is not the legal representative and since when do they have the right to say get naked we're going to search your cavities?

Even if it was only a body search while the girl had her clothes on...she's so young I would still label it child abuse and raise hell!

I think eventually the only sane option will be to home school. The State over there as well as here continue down the path towards the Nanny State...the government knows best! It's insane.
Cannwin said…
I'm very anxious to see how the Supreme Court rules on this one, but that could be several months... patience is a virtue
Jamie said…
Freaky story. I listened to it on NPR yesterday, too. My dad's whole family lives down around Safford...they settled Thatcher, Safford's "suburb"/ college town.
Cannwin said…
exactly, Jamie, and I know you're thinking 'front lines of the drug problem? where did they say this was?'

Cause Safford is about as dangerous as... Eden.

lol

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