Congress voted this week to grant immunity to teachers and school administrators who molest students, provided they claim the molestation occurred during a search for drugs or weapons. Without a roll call vote, the bill called the “Student Teacher Safety Act of 2006 (HR 5295)” was rushed to the floor and passed on a voice vote. Surprisingly, it passed against the protestations of the PTA, the American Association of School Administrators, the American Federation of Teachers, and the National School Boards Association.
The dangerous text in the bill is as follows: “a) In General - Each local educational agency shall have in effect throughout the jurisdiction of the agency policies that ensure that a search described in subsection (b) is deemed reasonable and permissible.
(b) Searches Covered- A search referred to in subsection (a) is a search by a full-time teacher or school official, acting on any reasonable suspicion based on professional experience and judgment, of any minor student on the grounds of any public school, if the search is conducted to ensure that classrooms, school buildings, school property and students remain free from the threat of all weapons, dangerous materials, or illegal narcotics. The measures used to conduct any search must be reasonably related to the search's objectives, without being excessively intrusive in light of the student's age, sex, and the nature of the offense.”
Some questions not answered – 1) Does this include body cavity searches? 2) If a body cavity search is performed, will it be conducted by a licensed medical professional? 3) Will those charged with performing searches be trained in how to properly conduct a search? 4) Will any kind of background checks be required for those performing searches? 5) Will students who have a history of sexual abuse be exempt from invasive strip or body cavity searches? And finally 6) Will parents be notified and given the option of having a search conducted by the child’s own physician, instead of a teacher or “school official” who demands such access to a student?
As a mother of five, I feel again blessed that my husband and I chose to give our own children all of the benefits of home schooling. I’m relieved that my kids are safely out of the reach of these kinds of politically motivated laws. However, it was the thought of the millions of children who attend America’s public schools that turned my stomach, watching this bill unfold on CSPAN.
As a survivor of sexual brutalization at the hands of one of my seventh grade teachers, it was infuriating to watch our Congress vote to place our kids in harm’s way under the guise of “safety.” Politically motivated, fast-tracked, band-aid legislation is disgusting. Effectively legalizing child molestation by “school officials” in the name of curbing illegal drug use is unforgivable.
Across our nation, newspapers report every week about newly discovered child sexual predators who have wormed their way into our schools, devastating their victims, and typically violating numerous children before being caught. Schools have earned a reputation for putting the welfare of district bank accounts ahead of the welfare of their students by shuffling predators from school to school, in order to keep their crimes from being litigated or aired on the evening news. Currently, American schools don’t even have a uniform background check procedure in place to investigate all full time employees who are responsible for student safety. This varies from district to district.
In my own case, the sadist who abused me was not only shuffled from school to school throughout his career, but when I later sued both him and the school district in 1992, I discovered that he was working at the local community college – teaching mentally handicapped students. The teacher and school settled quietly out of court.
Over and over, I’ve read quotes from public officials who warn parents to beware – not of the stranger lurking in the shadows, but of our own friends, neighbors and relatives. Sixty-seven percent of the cases of rape that are reported are committed by someone known to the victim. This is well known, yet the people we pay to represent us decided to hide their votes from public view, and they allowed this dangerous piece of legislation to pass one step closer to becoming the law of the land.
The good news is that there’s still time to prevent this bill from becoming law. Parents need to contact their senators immediately and demand that this bill either be deeply buried, so that it can never again see the light of day, or alternatively, to kill the bill if it reaches the Senate floor.
The cruel irony is that we do need legislation that will aid our teachers and schools in providing safer educational environments for our children. It’s shameful that politics has taken precedence over that important work. If we are ever to realize this important goal, we must demand that our legislators get their priorities in order and tackle this enormous responsibility with the courage, integrity and honesty we should expect from our nation’s leaders.
