Posted on 09/24/2006 6:49:17 AM PDT by freepatriot32
With student molestations skyrocketing, lawmakers demand weapon in drug fight
WASHINGTON – Even though student molestations seem to be reaching epidemic proportions in schools across America, the House of Representatives has approved a tough new anti-drug and anti-weapon law that would require local districts to develop search policies – including strip searches – with immunity against prosecution for teachers and staff.
Schools would have to develop policies for searching students, or face the loss of some federal funding, under the bill – HR 5295, approved by a voice vote Tuesday. It moves to the Senate, which does not have similar legislation pending at this time.
The American Civil Liberties Union, the American Federation of Teachers, the Drug Policy Alliance, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, the National Parent Teacher Association, the American Association of School Administrators and the National School Boards Association all opposed the bill saying it could invite unconstitutional searches. The National Education Association supports the legislation, according to the sponsor.
The bill was the brainchild of Rep. Geoff Davis, R-Kentucky, who said the idea was to "put a process in place so that the teachers don't have any fear of liability, but at the same time it protects the rights of the students from an unreasonable search."
The bill says only that search methods cannot be "excessively intrusive."
It drew opposition from the American Federation of Teachers, a smaller teachers union, and the American Civil Liberties Union.
The "Student Teacher Safety Act of 2006" passed on a voice vote, bypassing the committee process and with no way to hold individual members of the House accountable for their votes.
Particularly controversial is the requirement that each local school district have search policies in place, with the process defined like this:
"A search referred to in subsection (a) is a search by a full-time teacher or school official, acting on any reasonable suspicion based on professional experience and judgment, of any minor student on the grounds of any public school, if the search is conducted to ensure that classrooms, school buildings, school property and students remain free from the threat of all weapons, dangerous materials, or illegal narcotics. The measures used to conduct any search must be reasonably related to the search's objectives, without being excessively intrusive in light of the student's age, sex, and the nature of the offense."
The bill does not address whether body cavity searches are included, whether training will be provided to staffers performing them, whether background checks on staffers would be necessary, whether students who have been sexually abused in the past would be subject or whether parental notification would be required. Without those specifics, the judgment of local school administrators will be the litmus test.
Some fear the mandate for random, warrantless searches of every student, at any time, on any pretext – with immunity from prosecution – could create problems worse than drugs and weapons on campus.
Rep. George Miller of California, the senior Democrat on the House committee that oversees education issues, called the legislation an intrusion into local affairs.
"Schools and school districts already have policies in place regarding student searches," Miller said. "Those policies are the product of consultation with local administrators, teachers and parents. They take in the concerns of the community."
The Education Department has not taken a position on the legislation.
WND has documented the incidents of teacher-student sex throughout the country – particularly the new trend of female teachers molesting male students. WND news editor Joe Kovacs, who has spearheaded the research on this trend, is scheduled to appear Wednesday on "The O'Reilly Factor" on the Fox News Channel to discuss the issue.
The failed war on some drugs prepares to reap more victims.
My child attends public school and I certainly want her principal to be able to act quickly in cases involving dangerous weapons or drugs.
For once, the ACLU got something right. Yet another reason to home school.
''Remember children, America is all about freedom. Now drop your pants, bend over, and spread your buttcheeks.''
"For once, the ACLU got something right. Yet another reason to home school."
Well here you go, let's stretch this out. Based on your position, I'll argue that parents don't have a right to search their *own* kids, their bags, their rooms, their drawers, etc. That's where the ACLU would take us, and apparently so would most of the posters on this thread.
ping
Media hype of cases like Debra LaFave make seem like an epidemic. I'm not for teachers strip searching students, but that is a pretty irrational first sentence.
This could raise a bigger outcry that HR6.
Tuesday does not leave much time to act. Why haven't we heard of this before? (sort of a rhetorical question)
I know they'll be hearing from me.
I don't think anyone said that. Parents do have a right; some teacher that it isn't even a family member does not. Do not put words in my mouth. I'm well aware of what the ACLU would eventually want, but I'm not above using them to my advantage when they do get something right.
It's a totally irrational sentence. "Strip searches," when they occur, are conducted in the presence of at least two school officials. This has nothing to do with molestation.
"Yes, indeed, I want school authorities upon reasonable suspicion of significant threat to be able to search lockers, book bags, and even students themselves."
It seems to me that this grants more rights to imprisoned terrorists than to our children.
"Parents do have a right; some teacher that it isn't even a family member does not."
Why? Under the law, and under several USSC rulings, schools are responsible for students throughout the day. They have a limited right to act as parents, including the right to make sure students are not possessing dangerous drugs or weapons. Under current law, searches can only be conducted when there is a reasonable and specific basis for conducting them.
But again, why would you draw a distinction between parents and schools in this matter? The only way you can do this is if your concern is for parent rights, not student rights. But when parents send their kids to school, they also transfer some of their rights over to the school.
Keep your kids home, if you like, but you have no right to unreasonably restrict the school's ability to provide the safety that other parents expect.
Looks like the child congressman doesn't have a brain. It's simple you wanna do searches like that? Get a warrant. Also notify and get parents permission. Schools are not legal gaurdians or parents and such powers schools wrongfully assume to be theirs need to be ended. Give parents opportunity to be present and let them do the search instead. It's a shame a Republican wishes to trash the Constitution of the United States. But the Congresschild like the liberals is doing it for der children of course. There seems to be a lot of Clintonism in the GOP these days even the US Attorney General is using it's for the children as a tool to abuse his office.
You think Democrats don't support this either?
Yea like taking a young girl to get an abortion? Limited powers? Please! The USSC has wrongfully exceeded it's authority in giving schools such powers. Congress needs to impeach such judges for Judicial misconduct. Just because the USSC makes a ruling does not make it Constitutionally correct nor even moral.
"It seems to me that this grants more rights to imprisoned terrorists than to our children."
I have no clue as how you would come up with such a remark. Students in our public schools have a great many rights. For example, they and their belongings cannot be searched unless the principal has reasonable and specific reason to suspect they possess drugs or weapons. Moreover, the intrusiveness of the search must be commensurate with the level of threat. So, for example, courts do not uphold strip searches for cigarettes (though a student suspected of having cigarettes could be asked to empty pockets or a purse).
I hope all you folks who would bar reasonable safety precautions in schools will keep your kids away from them.
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