Source: University of New Hampshire

Released: Thu 25-Jun-2009, 17:00 ET  Printer-friendly Version

Education Law Expert: U.S. Supreme Court Decision in Strip-Search Case Puts School Officials on Notice

Image Gallery Todd DeMitchell, professor of education and justice studies and chair of the UNH Department of Education   Click image to view fullsize   Image 1 of 1

Newswise — Education law expert Todd DeMitchell at the University of New Hampshire has reviewed today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision Safford Unified School District #1 v. Redding and provides the following analysis.

According to DeMitchell:

“There are three walk-away implications from Safford. First, school officials must be able to articulate specific evidence as to why the strip search for contraband will reveal the suspected drugs/weapons. There must be articulable reasons for why the contraband is hidden in intimate places beyond a generalized notion of that is where they could be found. A strip search is in a category of its own. Second, school officials have been put on notice by the Supreme Court that the strip search of a student can violate the student’s constitutional rights. Therefore, qualified immunity for liability will no longer be available to educators, thus increasing the chances of individual liability for their actions. Third, the more dangerous the contraband the greater likelihood of the scope being found to be constitutional. This also means that strip searches for the benefit of a third party, such as missing money will come to the courts with a greater degree of scrutiny,” DeMitchell says.

“The Supreme Court found a reasonable place for both liberals and conservatives, with the exception of Justice Thomas who considered the search to be constitutional, to protect public school students from strip searches without first finding that there is reasonable and direct suspicion to make the search more intrusive. The school officials were found to not be liable in this case, but all school officials have now been served notice to tread lightly in this area,” he says.

DeMitchell’s full review of the case and analysis is available at http://www.unh.edu/news/docs/demitchell_analysis.pdf.

DeMitchell, professor of education and justice studies and chair of the UNH Department of Education, studies the impact of court cases and other legal mechanisms on schools, school liability, and adequate supervision. In addition to his research in this area, DeMitchell has two decades of experience in K-12 as a teacher, principal and superintendent. He has published more than 120 articles/chapters and four books. His most recent books are “Negligence: What Principals Need to Know to Avoid Liability” (Roman & Littlefield Education, 2006) and “Sexual Orientation, Public Schools, and the Law” (Education Law Association, 2007).