THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 5, 1994 TAG: 9411050696
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: GREENSBORO LENGTH: Short : 32 lines
The Guilford County School Board has adopted a new policy under which administrators may search students. The policy comes after a teacher at a High Point school allegedly strip-searched four first-graders last spring.
School Board chairman John Kernodle said approval of the search-and-seizure policy Wednesday followed months of useful public debate. The discussions had helped people understand that the new guidelines restricted the power of teachers and administrators to search, he said.
One change in the policy requires administrators to hold consultations with parents before a search if possible. If not, a meeting should take place soon after the search.
Karen Sexton, at teacher at High Point's Johnson Street Elementary School, was given a 45-day suspension without pay in June after ``inappropriate'' behavior that led to students being searched to find a classmate's missing $2.
Schools Superintendent Jerry Weast called for a written policy on student searches after the incident. by CNB