Volconvo Debate Forums - View Single Post - School Kids Strip Searched Because Of Missing $10!

tinybear · Jan 11, 2005, 03:44 am

When a middle school girl told her teacher at Mainland Preparatory Academy in La Marque, Texas that she was missing a $10 bill, school officials responded by strip-searching 10 of her classmates, report The Associated Press and United Press International.

Police are still investigating the incident that involved 11- and 12-year-olds at the award-winning charter school who were separated by gender, sent to separate rooms, and then forced to strip to their underwear while their clothing was searched. A male teacher supervised the strip-search of the three boys, while a female teacher took charge of the seven girls. No money was found. The principal, Wilma Green, defended her actions, telling AP, "Nobody objected to it. Most of the kids didn't mind because they wanted to get their name cleared. It was no different than what the students would be doing when they would be in P.E. We searched everything down to the socks."

The police say the search is not against the law, but they want to make sure it was done legally. Their findings will be sent to the Galveston County district attorney's office. "It's not illegal," La Marque Police Chief Richard Price told UPI. "We don't see it as a criminal offense. We want to see if anything occurred during the search that was illegal. We want to make sure everything that was done legally."

At least one parent filed a police complaint and withdrew her four children from the school. "I have never signed a consent to let my kids be strip-searched--never," Shelli Owens, the mother of a 12-year-old boy who was searched, told AP. Mainland Preparatory School is located 40 miles southeast of Houston.

Well, is this legal? Any lawyers here who can tell me?

Jan 11, 2005, 03:44 am	#1 (permalink) (top)
tinybear Volcanic Erupter Location: Hong Kong (for now) Posts: 7,112	School Kids Strip Searched Because Of Missing $10! When a middle school girl told her teacher at Mainland Preparatory Academy in La Marque, Texas that she was missing a $10 bill, school officials responded by strip-searching 10 of her classmates, report The Associated Press and United Press International. Police are still investigating the incident that involved 11- and 12-year-olds at the award-winning charter school who were separated by gender, sent to separate rooms, and then forced to strip to their underwear while their clothing was searched. A male teacher supervised the strip-search of the three boys, while a female teacher took charge of the seven girls. No money was found. The principal, Wilma Green, defended her actions, telling AP, "Nobody objected to it. Most of the kids didn't mind because they wanted to get their name cleared. It was no different than what the students would be doing when they would be in P.E. We searched everything down to the socks." The police say the search is not against the law, but they want to make sure it was done legally. Their findings will be sent to the Galveston County district attorney's office. "It's not illegal," La Marque Police Chief Richard Price told UPI. "We don't see it as a criminal offense. We want to see if anything occurred during the search that was illegal. We want to make sure everything that was done legally." At least one parent filed a police complaint and withdrew her four children from the school. "I have never signed a consent to let my kids be strip-searched--never," Shelli Owens, the mother of a 12-year-old boy who was searched, told AP. Mainland Preparatory School is located 40 miles southeast of Houston. Well, is this legal? Any lawyers here who can tell me?