Families: Girls Were Strip Searched at Iowa School

Source: Associated Press

ATLANTIC, Iowa -- Family members said this week that Atlantic high school officials forced five teenage girls to remove their clothes during an investigation into a theft.

The girls' families and their lawyers said the incident at Atlantic High School amounts to a strip-search, which is illegal in Iowa schools.

But school officials said the search was "allowable" under board rules.

(snip)

Lawyers say the girls were forced to strip down to their undergarments, and one girl was required to take off all of her clothes.

The money wasn't found.

Read more: http://www.kcci.com/news/20757778/detail.html

---

How stupid can adults be?

who can find their own goddam STATE on a map and stop ordering forced strip searches of kids which violates not only written law but also common decency.

If $100 was missing from a teacher's wallet after he left it out in the teacher's lounge, they wouldn't strip-search all the teachers who had been there.

We should treat kids with the same dignity we want.

A society is measured by how it treats the most vulnerable.

...and one that makes it clear that minors were violated and taken advantage of because
people in power abused their rights and dignity.

This is against Iowa law, and somehow these fools thought they could go ahead and do this
anyway.

They went looking for $100, and now they're going to lose much, much more in lawsuits. At least
I hope they do.

So did one of my employees 8 y/o daughter. She's the one that informed us of it when she yelled down stairs. Daddy there's a naked black man in the middle of the street.

:wow: Sure enough. The police were strip searching the boys on the corner in the middle of the street.

From what I hear it still goes one every once in a while.

forced 'examinations' of students, which included gyn exams for the girls.

high schools and school boards? :shrug:

teachers were allowed, for example, to have snacks and pop in the classroom while the students were not. When I innocently criticized the blatant double standard I got detention. :eyes:

but it's pretty good policy. Snacks don't belong in a classroom.

The detention was a bit much though. I would have suggested that you start a petition drive, outside of the classroom, and in the meantime be quiet and study!

Every fucking day, there is at least one story about adults who, IMO, have lost their fucking minds! What the fuck happened to common sense? Kudos to the poster above who pointed out that we wouldn't strip search teachers if $100 had gone missing. This is a gross abuse of authority.

Authority run mad, on almost every level, is the hallmark of our era.

My principals were bullies. They never bullied me though. I was an angel and by the time I grew out of that. I was bigger than they were. So again they didn't even look at me cross eyed. The one time my principle got up the nerve to threaten me with a paddle. Mom came down to the school and let him know that if he laid a hand on me she would beat him with a bat and my father would bury whats left of him when he got home from work. Unlike my principle. I knew his paddle wasn't my problem. So I left him to Momma Bear.

I still have PTSD from it. No paddle (I'm far to young for that), but a lot of humiliating, soul-destroying BS.

be charged.

happens all the time and no one takes notice what so ever

How come when you hear about these kinds of things it is always the 'girls' that are getting strip searched? I may have missed it but I don't remember reading any stories where boys were strip searched (except in jail obviously). I know when I was in school and as a guy, and I don't care what level of school, I would have raised holy hell before I ever let them force me to take off my clothes. I remember a time in elementary school where I had done something wrong, don't remember the infraction way to many years ago knowing me probably talking in class, and was sent to the principals office where he said he was going to paddle me. I told him that he was not going to hit me and he threatened to call my parents (small town so they could be there in relatively few minutes. So I gave him my Mom's phone number and told him to go ahead because I wasn't going to let him hit me. I probably still got in trouble with my parents but they made it clear he was not allowed to use corporal punishment on me. The few times I did allow teachers (always men) to give me swats I made sure I embarrassed the hell out of them in the process. That was just over swats no way am I taking my clothes off.

It seems like it's never boys, it's always girls. :puke:

I would have his job, teaching certification and he would be looking at charges of sexual crimes that would have his ass registering as a sex offender.


Can't say my kids are angles but there are laws and there are proper procedures to be followed and when they are not, someone will answer for them.

obtuse angles, acute angles, or right angles? :)

You all no what I mean rite?

:rofl:

Is that obtuse or or acute?

i think its Acute!

Thank you very much!


:rofl:

probably not relevant. Whenever I hear an Iowa story, I wonder which part of the state it is.

They are conditioning the young to be submissive to authority.
Several years back on DU a poster who was a teacher related a story about the police coming into the school looking for drugs with dogs and made the kids lay face down on the floor while they searched there lockers....they are getting the kids ready for the jack booted thugs.

Someone was repeatedly vandalizing the girl's rest room. So, the principal got on the
loud speaker and told the entire school that the police had been in the bathroom and had
investigated. They had taken finger prints and other evidence, and they knew who did it.

The principal then told all of the students that the culprits must come forward now...and get
a lesser punishment, or be arrested!

This was in an elementary school!!! Kids age 5-11 threatened with jail!!

I had to let my kids know that unfortunately, their principal lacked good judgment and that he had
made a terrible mistake. I also had to explain how forensic evidence works.

I mean really...have some educators completely lost their minds???

the fascists among us feel more enabled by the day.

Sounds more like a warden.
What kind of faith will they have in someone who would lie to them.

Just curious; I imagine the discussion would be handled fairly differently in each case, even if the same point was the goal.

(Also, insert incoherent statement of rage at the principal here. Good lord.)

...and I spoke to my kids gently and kindly about this.

I used it as a teachable moment, to help my kids understand that authority figures don't always
have all the answers. That it is good to question authority, and it is important to understand
that sometimes grown-ups and authority figures make mistakes.

I also let them know that this is an empowering message. It is not a scary one. Even though
their principal made some bad judgment calls, that they controlled their school experience--and
that they were surrounded by the best teachers in the world and parents who loved them very much.

I felt it was important that my kids understand that grown-ups are human; and to rely on their
own intuition. Ultimately, they sensed that this principal was wrong--not just on this issue. He's d
one so many bizarre things.

I don't say that to my kids--but because I don't respect this principal's judgment--I needed to shift
the dynamic. He's down a few notches on the totem pole, as he should be. I don't want my kids
trusting a total buffoon, and I don't want them to feel that conflict that comes from an adult
saying, "You need to respect authority and do what he says!" when they can feel in their bones
that this guy is "off". And he is.

BTW--the teachers that I have spoke with about him agree with me. One of them said that the
things he does go directly against everything they have learned about children and child
psychology. It's not just me.

That's probably more than you wanted to know---but there it is.

It's disgusting how sick perverts will make excuses to justify their sick behavior. :grr:

And if it is any consolation, folks like this usually have a real fun time in prison. The other prisoners often seem to be huge fans of deviant authority figures and child molestors.

You would think the benefit of catching a potential thief would be outweighed by that little fact.

Check out the Minneapolis Star Tribune about the two teachers who received only a slap on the wrist for repeatedly and constantly bullying, ridiculing and publicly humiliating a gay student to the rest of the students. One teacher was given a two week sensitivity assignment but completed only a day or so then took leave, which apparently coincided with summer and came back to teach in the fall.

this was grade schooler, forced to strip in vice priciples office. She did not have any pills. Went all the waqy to the Supremes who suprisingly came down on the side of the girl, who is now almost outa high scholl, but is going to come into some college aide money because of it.
THIS will be the same.
Some of these schools go to effin far, and if were my kid, I'd be on those teachers like ugly on an ape.

Since the Supreme Court ruled that strip searches are illegal in schools--the law is very clear and obvious by now.

This law was just decided a few months ago, correct?

And if I'm not mistaken, Scalia and Thomas said it was just fine for minor girls to be strip searched by school officials.
Luckily the majority opinion was not slanted toward pedophilia and abuse.

These girls are from Iowa, and it is clear in Iowa law that this is illegal.

These school officials are clearly on the wrong side of the law. If these people aren't fired and removed
from teaching--then there really is no justice.

The law--from Iowa and also the recent SC ruling--couldn't be any more clear.

I will enjoy seeing these girls and their families sue and become millionaires. It's time for those who are vulnerable
and victims of abuse of power---go on a tear and get what they deserve.

No more bullies. No more abuse of power. No more authority figures thinking that they don't have to follow the law. ENOUGH!

"But school officials said the search was "allowable" under board rules."

That is such bull shit. They think the can get away with this because of the outcome of that ibuprofen case. If I were the parents I would press stat rape charges. The school board are pedophiles and deserve to be on the sex offender list.

:grr:

I guess they'll think about it good and hard next time whether this is the way to go when talking about - what WERE they thinking

Which is that we teach our kids that under NO CIRCUMSTANCE are they required to submit to such treatment at the hands of their teachers. And we back them all the way if it comes up.

We're talking high schoolers here -- pranking is practically in our blood when we're that age.

So I also wonder if it ever occurred to the adults that the first girl might've been lying...

In any case, I smell a big lawsuit coming.

...and why they assumed it was a girl.

This article doesn't give enough detail.

:puke:

Sick jollies and a power trip to boot...

Still, I find it interesting that no teacher was suspected.

kids are much easier victims because they (unconstitutionally) loose many rights when they enter the school building.

Smell that girls already!

Period. End of story. Nothing less is fair.

Throw alway the key, monsters can't be fixed.

on the Arizona case.

So the School's immune from liability.

The Supreme Court said strip searching school kids was illegal--but then they make it law
that the parents can't sue in civil court?

What's the point of it being illegal, if there is no restitution for the victims?

There must be some way these students can get justice.

These kids are in Iowa, and Iowa law specifically states that strip searches in school
are illegal. They are not allowed according to Iowa law. I hope these kids are allowed
to sue based on that law. I also hope these school officials are prosecuted, because they
did violate Iowa law.

School officials may search if what they know creates only “a moderate chance of finding evidence of wrongdoing” — that is, evidence of violating school rules, such as a ban on having drugs (even medicines). As long as they maintain that good faith belief, and it's somewhat justified by the facts, they have qualified immunity.

That sets it up so that all they have to say is "Oh, we thought there was a problem!", and because we're so conditioned to obey authority figures, society will accept that.

the standard is "reasonable suspicion" which is the standard that cops can detain under (see: terry v. ohio) but cops need probable cause, a higher standard to search (terry does allow in some cases, protective frisks, but that is beyond the scope).

in brief, school officials require a lesser standard of evidence ot search a student (in school) than law enforcement does.

of course, STRIP SEARCHING is an entirely different story, and that is not allowed.

Where apparently well-meaning school officials overstepped their bounds. I don't believe the SCOTUS ever said anything about future cases, in which the school districts could be found liable. It's only that very first case that made it to the Supreme Court that couldn't be found liable. Kind of a modified Bush v. Gore, or at least that was my understanding.

All they ruled is that as this wasn't an established legal precedent before the decision, the school in THAT CASE can not be held liable. It didn't rule that any further violations of it can not be held liable. So this school is going to be paying out the ass.

You're correct of course that the ruling on 4th Amendment law doesn't apply retroactively- but the new standard of review still allows for such searches, and provided that they're carried out in good faith reliance on the new standard, qualified immunity will attach.

they found that the individuals involved could not be sued individually.

they left open the question as to whether the SCHOOL could be sued saying it needed to be determined at state level first.

And I told them that I expect to see that part of Iowa law expanded so that there's heavy fines, prison time, and sex offender registry requirements for any pieces of garbage working in our schools that try to get away with this.

The important thing is, will these girls be forced to watch the president speak?

If forcing an underage girl to undress doesn't qualify as a sex crime, I don't know what does.

to a few buddies and they kept it on their phones, ALL of them would be on offender registry, why shouldn't these freaks trying to sneak a peek be on the registry? Very little difference.

and stand in line naked while the gym teacher checked off our names before handing us a towel. It was creepy.

How bad... violated the rights of women!

Some of them work in schools.