Legislators from Wisconsin have proposed a bill that would criminalize some intrusive student searches. The school administrator's searches for vaping devices in the small town of Suring last year served as the impetus for the proposed rule.
Superintendent Kelly Casper of the Suring School District was charged in January 2022 with compelling pupils, ages 14 to 17, to undress to their underwear so that Casper could look for vaping devices. Parents were not informed until after the searches had taken place, and pupils were not informed that they may refuse to be searched.
During the hunt, Casper discovered one gadget that had fallen out of a female student's bra. Even after confessing to vaping and giving the school superintendent her device, another student was still made to take off her clothes and undergo a search. The students' parents were irate and worried. A few made threats to sue the school system and Casper.
After the Oconto County District Attorney concluded that the searches did not reach the state criminal standard for illegal strip searches since the students' genitalia were not exposed, Casper was ultimately charged with six counts of false imprisonment. Later on, the false imprisonment accusations were dropped by the judge, and Casper consented to leave her position at Suring.
This Monday, Republican state senator Eric Wimberger and state representatives Elijah Behnke and David Steffen filed a new law that would broaden the definition of what constitutes an illegal strip search to encompass searches similar to those conducted in Suring. According to the Green Bay Press Gazette, the proposed bill would expand the definition of a strip search to include touching or exposing underwear-covered private parts, rather than only searches in which a person's genitalia or private areas are handled.
"The allegations surrounding this incident are a clear violation of basic privacy expectations, and the fact that this involves minors is even more concerning," Representative Steffen stated. "We have joined with parents in demanding that these types of strip searches performed by teachers or school staff never happen again in Wisconsin."
