*A New York middle school is making headlines for all the wrong reasons after allegedly strip searching four Black girls suspected of drug possession.
According to Yahoo, on Jan. 15, the students at East Middle School made administrators suspicious by “appearing hyper and giddy during their lunch hour,” according to a letter written by principle Tim Simonds via the social justice organization Progressive Leaders of Tomorrow (PLOT).
“The children were instructed to remove their clothing, and felt shamed, humiliated and traumatized by the experience,” read a statement from PLOT, according to Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin. Three of the 12-year-old students were reportedly made to remove shirts, pants or leggings, while administrators searched their bras and underwear, a fourth received an in-house suspension for refusing to remove her clothing.
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Looking forward to seeing these young ladies telling their story on morning tv. Oh wait—I bet that’s not gonna happen. https://t.co/4LNYB4eUv5
— Soledad O’Brien (@soledadobrien) January 24, 2019
News of the underage strip down prompted 200 people to turn out for the Binghamton school board meeting on Tuesday to hear why the assistant principal and nurse allegedly forced the girls to remove their clothing to prove they weren’t carrying drugs.
But the Board of Education released a statement firmly denying the claims, USA Today reports.
“School officials did not conduct a strip search,” officials said.
“The administrators who work in the middle school every day are trained to monitor and evaluate students and recognize behavior that is out of character,” read the statement.
Officials said school officials followed protocol by contacting parents “of the precautions and procedures that were taken.”
“These on-the-spot decisions are made to ensure the student’s health and well-being remain a priority,” read the statement, “which is why students are evaluated immediately.”
The students were not punished as a result of the incident and were reportedly allowed to return to class after being humiliated.
Binghamton City School District said Wednesday “a student may, under current law and policy, be searched in a school building by an administrator when the administrator reasonably suspects that a student’s health is in danger or is in possession of a substance that may harm themselves or others.”
The district apologized for making the girls “feel traumatized.”
You can read the full statement here.
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