Supreme Court reaffirms boundaries for school policies

THE U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of a 13-year-old girl strip-searched by school officials appropriately thwarts officials who might overreach in the name of enforcing zero-tolerance drug policies.

Justice David Souter wrote for the majority and offered one cogent point after another about the need for boundaries in enforcing school policies.

Authorities at the Arizona middle school would have been justified in their 2003 search had they confined it to the girl's backpack and outer clothing. But when they searched her undergarments, exposing her breasts and pelvic area to some degree, the search went from reasonable and legal to an "embarrassing, frightening and humiliating search." Souter said.

Savana Redding, now a 19-year-old college student, was suspected of having prescription-strength drugs, which are banned in school without prior permission. The search was a breathtaking example of overreach. The suspected contraband was not illegal drugs or powerful ones that might have compelled heavier measures in the interest of student safety.

The court's ruling was nearly unanimous, with Justice Clarence Thomas the sole dissenter.

A larger argument within the context of the case drew a more mixed reaction from the court and promises to remain a focus of debate in education circles. The majority opinion protected the assistant principal who ordered the search from liability, noting that "parents are known to overreact to protect their children from danger, and a school official with responsibility for safety may tend to do the same."

Justices John Paul Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg disagreed. Ginsburg pointed out correctly that the assistant principal committed humiliating actions, including making Redding sit in a chair outside his office for more than two hours and failing to call her parents.

That doesn't sound like action taken in the interest of student safety.

Leeway ought to be given to school officials to enforce zero-tolerance policies for drugs and violence. But it is not tying their hands to ask authorities to respect a student's basic rights.