S
seattle420
Guest
PROTECT STUDENTS FROM STRIP SEARCHES
Imagine an America in which school officials could strip search every
student in their school based on the unsubstantiated tip that one of
them might have a joint. Congress is voting on a bill Tuesday or
Wednesday that could make these police state tactics more common.
We can stop Congress in its tracks, though. Call your representative
RIGHT NOW and tell them to vote against this dangerous bill.
If you don't know who your House representative is, simply call the
Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and give them your address.
They'll connect you directly with your representative's office. When
you get a staffer on the phone, politely say something like:
"My name is [your name] and I live in [your city]. I'm calling to
urge [the congressman/the congresswoman] to vote against the Student
and Teacher Safety Act (HR 5295) when it comes to the floor this
week. This bill would allow schools and police to invasively search
large groups of innocent students based on the mere suspicion that
just one of them has drugs. It strips Americans of their 4th
Amendment rights. Please let me know how [the congressman/the
congresswoman] votes."
MORE INFORMATION
The Student Teacher Safety Act of 2006 (HR 5295) is a sloppily
written bill that would require any school receiving federal funding
(essentially every public school) to adopt policies allowing teachers
and school officials to conduct random, warrantless searches of every
student, at any time, for essentially any reason they want. All they
would have to do is say they suspect one of their students might be
carrying drugs, and then they could conduct a wide scale search of
every student in the building. These searches could be pat-downs, bag
searches, or strip searches depending on how far school
administrators wanted to go. Although courts would have the power to
overturn policies that went "too far", it could take years - possibly
decades - to safeguard the rights of students in every school.
Disconnecting searches from individualized suspicion is what led to
the Goose Creek scandal in 2003. That South Carolina city sent a
machine-gun toting SWAT team into a high school because the principal
suspected one of the students might be selling marijuana. 150
terrified students were handcuffed and forced to the floor at
gunpoint as drug dogs tore through their book bags. No drugs or guns
were ever found.
Searching students without individualized suspicion that they have
done something wrong fosters mistrust between adolescents and the
adults they should feel comfortable turning to when they do have
substance abuse problems. Treating groups of students as if they're
guilty until proven innocent sends them the wrong message about what
it means to be American citizens, and makes them less likely to seek
help and guidance when they need it.
The legislation is supported by senior House Republicans and the
National Education Association (NEA). It's opposed by the Drug
Policy Alliance, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, the ACLU, the
American Association of School Administrators, and the National
School Boards Association.
The bill wasn't voted on in committee and is being fast-tracked to
the floor under a procedure that requires a 2/3 vote to pass. This
means there's a chance we can defeat it on the House floor.
The offending text of the legislation (which is not officially public
yet) is as follows:
(a) In General- Each local educational agency shall have in effect
throughout the jurisdiction of the agency policies that ensure that a
search described in subsection (b) is deemed reasonable and
permissible.
(b) Searches Covered- 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.
Sincerely,
Bill Piper
Director, Office of National Affairs
Drug Policy Alliance
http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/ctt.asp?u=1876&l=130226
____________________________________________________
Imagine an America in which school officials could strip search every
student in their school based on the unsubstantiated tip that one of
them might have a joint. Congress is voting on a bill Tuesday or
Wednesday that could make these police state tactics more common.
We can stop Congress in its tracks, though. Call your representative
RIGHT NOW and tell them to vote against this dangerous bill.
If you don't know who your House representative is, simply call the
Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and give them your address.
They'll connect you directly with your representative's office. When
you get a staffer on the phone, politely say something like:
"My name is [your name] and I live in [your city]. I'm calling to
urge [the congressman/the congresswoman] to vote against the Student
and Teacher Safety Act (HR 5295) when it comes to the floor this
week. This bill would allow schools and police to invasively search
large groups of innocent students based on the mere suspicion that
just one of them has drugs. It strips Americans of their 4th
Amendment rights. Please let me know how [the congressman/the
congresswoman] votes."
MORE INFORMATION
The Student Teacher Safety Act of 2006 (HR 5295) is a sloppily
written bill that would require any school receiving federal funding
(essentially every public school) to adopt policies allowing teachers
and school officials to conduct random, warrantless searches of every
student, at any time, for essentially any reason they want. All they
would have to do is say they suspect one of their students might be
carrying drugs, and then they could conduct a wide scale search of
every student in the building. These searches could be pat-downs, bag
searches, or strip searches depending on how far school
administrators wanted to go. Although courts would have the power to
overturn policies that went "too far", it could take years - possibly
decades - to safeguard the rights of students in every school.
Disconnecting searches from individualized suspicion is what led to
the Goose Creek scandal in 2003. That South Carolina city sent a
machine-gun toting SWAT team into a high school because the principal
suspected one of the students might be selling marijuana. 150
terrified students were handcuffed and forced to the floor at
gunpoint as drug dogs tore through their book bags. No drugs or guns
were ever found.
Searching students without individualized suspicion that they have
done something wrong fosters mistrust between adolescents and the
adults they should feel comfortable turning to when they do have
substance abuse problems. Treating groups of students as if they're
guilty until proven innocent sends them the wrong message about what
it means to be American citizens, and makes them less likely to seek
help and guidance when they need it.
The legislation is supported by senior House Republicans and the
National Education Association (NEA). It's opposed by the Drug
Policy Alliance, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, the ACLU, the
American Association of School Administrators, and the National
School Boards Association.
The bill wasn't voted on in committee and is being fast-tracked to
the floor under a procedure that requires a 2/3 vote to pass. This
means there's a chance we can defeat it on the House floor.
The offending text of the legislation (which is not officially public
yet) is as follows:
(a) In General- Each local educational agency shall have in effect
throughout the jurisdiction of the agency policies that ensure that a
search described in subsection (b) is deemed reasonable and
permissible.
(b) Searches Covered- 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.
Sincerely,
Bill Piper
Director, Office of National Affairs
Drug Policy Alliance
http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/ctt.asp?u=1876&l=130226
____________________________________________________
