It was a heated school board meeting in Binghamton, New York this week.
About 200 community members packed the meeting room to ask the board why no action had been taken after four 12-year-old girls had been strip-searched on suspicion of drug use. The black girls had been questioned and strip-searched by the East Middle School nurse and the assistant principal because their children appeared “giddy and hyper” during lunch.
The district had released a statement Wednesday saying it was aware of the situation, that occurred on January 15, and had investigated. Searches of students are allowed, but documents say nothing about strip searches.
The Broome-Tioga NAACP and other organizations voiced their strong objection to the way this had been handled after the searches. Criticism was met with the statement that it was a personnel matter and that further instruction would be given to staff.
A mother of one of the girls asked the board why none of them had returned her calls. She has since filed a police report.
Source: Press & Sun-Bulletin
Photo Credit: Getty Images