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The mother of a student at East Lake Middle School has sued the school for forcing her daughter to be strip-searched over a vape pen. According to the lawsuit, the eighth-grader's mother claimed that she was approached by another student asking her is she wanted to smoke a new vape pen.
The student's mother also said that the young girl declined the offer but allowed the other student to leave the vape pen in her locker. Following this, the girl was pulled from class and questioned about the vape pen. It was also alleged that the school principal also questioned her before asking some staff members to carry out a body search on her.
The alleged incident took place on September 7, 2022, and the lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio on December 28, 2022.
The mother alleged that the East Lake Middle School student was suspended despite nothing being found after the strip search
The East Lake Middle School student's mother said that the nurse’s aide was asked to strip-search the girl. Additionally, the aide wasn't trained but was asked to conduct the search anyway.
The girl's mother also said that although the authorities and staff at the East Lake Middle School found nothing after the strip search, the girl was still suspended.
The lawsuit also claimed that the East Lake Middle School officials acknowledged that the strip search was “inappropriate.” The complaint filed by the mother was against the Willoughby-Eastlake City Schools Board of Education and school employees involved in the strip search.
Jared Klebanow, the attorney representing the student’s mother, said:
“Students do not check their constitutional rights at the door when they walk into school. Subjecting a teenage girl to a strip search over an object which posed no threat of violence to students or staff was unreasonable and in violation of her civil rights.”
The attorney also claimed that their first priority was to make sure that the same thing doesn't happen to any other student again. He added that the girl's damages are still being assessed.
Additionally, the lawyer stated that the complaint mentions that the school violated the student's constitutional rights, namely the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States.
The attorney said:
“Students and parents must be able to trust that public school districts and the adults working within those districts will do everything possible to protect the rights of our students, not violate those rights."
He added:
"In this instance, the district and each of the adults involved in this case failed. People say time heals all wounds, but it is important to remember that, almost always, a scar is left behind.”
The lawsuit also alleges that the locker of the student was also searched. However, during the search, the principal and staff of East Lake Middle School did not find anything inappropriate or illegal.
At the moment, neither the school nor the principal has responded to the claims made by the parents in her lawsuit.
