EAST STROUDSBURG — An East Stroudsburg High School North student said school officials illegally strip-searched him and have no justification to expel him for 45 days for drug paraphernalia found in his coat pocket.
School officials say he had his clothes on during the search.
After a Jan. 11 hearing before a special committee of East Stroudsburg School Board members, the board could decide at its Jan. 22 meeting whether to follow the school district's recommendation to expel 10th-grader James Scott. Scott's family and friends have contacted the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which plans to fight the school board's decision if it's expulsion.
"I realize my son is no angel, but the school still violated his rights," said Scott's mother, Kaytrina Shaw.
On Dec. 13, Scott was suspected of having stolen money from the locker room during a gym period, according to Jan. 11 hearing testimony. It's unclear how he was identified as the suspected thief since no cameras are in the locker room and he said he wasn't the only student in the locker room at the time.
Scott was pulled out of class, taken to Dean of Students Ryan DeLong's office and told to strip down to his boxer shorts. Scott said he was ordered to squat and cough for an anal cavity search, though officials testified at the hearing that this didn't happen.
Pages 33 to 35 of the school district policy manual detail why a student and/or student's property can be searched by school officials on school grounds, but page 55 of that same manual states school personnel aren't authorized to strip-search students. DeLong testified Scott had his clothes on during the search.
Three glassine zip-loc baggies were found in Scott's coat pocket. Scott said he was unaware the baggies were there and that he hadn't worn the coat since last year, but claimed ownership of the baggies.
"I'm not convinced those baggies are paraphernalia," Scott family friend Shavon Wade testified. "Baggies like that are used to store other things, like jewelry."
The baggies contained a green, leafy residue later tested by school police officer Richard Fehrle and found to be marijuana. The school never notified Shaw about the search.
Thinking at the time that nothing illegal had been done to him, Scott mentioned nothing to Shaw until a week later. Wondering if this is legal, Shaw contacted the school, asking why she hadn't been notified, but didn't get a satisfactory answer at the time.
The school district notified Shaw via letter about the expulsion hearing's originally scheduled Jan. 9 date.
Shaw told school officials she wanted copies of reports on the search and marijuana residue test results, along with Scott's written statement admitting ownership of the baggies found in his coat pocket.
On Jan. 8, the day before the originally scheduled hearing date, the school contacted Shaw, telling her she had an hour to come and get the documents she wanted, Wade testified. This unfairly gave Shaw inadequate time to schedule a day off from her job in order to obtain and properly review the documents.
Accompanied by Wade, Shaw arrived at the school to get the documents, only to spend three hours there and receive just a statement about the marijuana residue results, Wade testified.
DeLong testified the school district documents all incidents. When questioned if that's true in all cases, since the school hadn't given Shaw all of the documents she wanted, DeLong said, "We documented everything (in Scott's case) in our notes."
During the Jan. 8 meeting with officials at the school, Shaw again asked why she hadn't been informed about the strip-search.
Fuller apologized to her and said those involved in the strip-search would be disciplined, Wade testified. Again, Fuller didn't testify to confirm or deny he said this.
In his testimony, DeLong admitted telling Shaw that the school doesn't make parents aware of everything when the parents can view information on the school district website if they wish.
School officials told Shaw the hearing would be moved from Jan. 9 to Jan. 11.
Shaw questioned whether they could reschedule the hearing without proper advance notice or first checking to see if she was available for a new date. They told her they could do so, Wade testified.
At the hearing, the school district presented Scott's sub-par academic performance and history of disruptive, belligerent behavior.
Shaw said the school had never contacted her about any of these problems with Scott. DeLong indicated he had contacted her six times and that someone else at the school had done so four other times, but there was no testimony on dates and times of these contacts.
"Regardless of James' (troubled) history or the drug paraphernalia found, the main question here is whether school personnel were authorized to strip-search him, based on what page 55 of the school district's own policy manual states," NAACP Monroe County branch president Thomas Jones said after the hearing. "If they weren't within their rights to do this, then the search was illegal and, therefore, is invalid justification for expelling him."