Easton Area shouldn't ban strip searches, solicitor says

Easton Area School District employees should only strip search a student in the most dangerous situations, the district solicitor said Tuesday night.

Two residents called for a complete ban of student strip searches, but district officials said school administrators must be authorized to strip search students in the event one of them brings a weapon to school.

Ronnie DelBacco (Lehighvalleylive.com file photo)

Ronnie DelBacco, of the 9/12 Project of the Lehigh Valley, said he can't imagine any circumstance when it would be appropriate for an administrator to strip search his 15-year-old daughter.

"I want you to keep your hands out of my daughter's pants, plain and simple," DelBacco told school board members at their meeting Tuesday night.

"I'm suggesting you take very, very strong stand. No strip searches unless the police are notified," echoed Tom Campione, of the Lehigh Valley Tea Party.

Easton Area schools Superintendent John Reinhart said it's hard for the public to understand what administrators are up against until they have an experience like he did many years ago as a building principal in the school district.

An administrator suspected a student had brought a gun to the former Bangor Area Junior High School and was going to hurt himself. The student was asked to empty his pockets in the guidance office. He took out the gun and shot himself.

Reinhart said he was an administrator in a building next to the junior high school and was called in to assist. He witnessed what happened and helped care for parents and staff in the event's aftermath.

"Until you live in our shoes, until you experience some of the concerns we have, you won't understand it," Reinhart said. "This is far more than making a simple request. We're talking about the safety of children and adults."

The child survived, thankfully, Reinhart said. Had the search not taken place, the child may have carried out the act in front of the entire student body.

District Director of Safe Schools John Remaley agreed it's not a good idea to put the words "always" or "never" into security policies.

Solicitor John Freund said he's revising the district's policies on strip searches and searches in general of lockers, students and their vehicles. He hopes to have a draft policy available for review by the March school board committee meetings.

He said the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the right for administrators to search students, but there must be clear and reasonable guidelines.

Strip searches "are really a last resort," he said.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The initial version of this article stated the shooting incident John Reinhart referenced occurred in the Easton area. It occurred in the Bangor area, where Reinhart was a principal.

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.

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