Side Effects May Include Nausea, Sore Throat, and Loss of Constitutional Rights

According to CNN, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving a 13 year old who was strip searched based on suspicion that she had violated her middle school's zero-tolerance policy on drug possession. According to the school, this teen was suspected after another student was caught with a drug that she claimed to have gotten from her. After hearing this, a vice-principal confronted the alleged drug dealer. The student, of course, denied the accusation, so her backpack was searched for drugs. When the bag was found to be clean, the student was sent to be strip-searched by the vice-principal's assistant and a school nurse (both female). The student stripped down to her underwear and "her bra was pulled out." No drugs were found.

So, what was this drug in question that was of such interest to the school? It was ibuprofen, the drug more commonly known as Advil or Motrin. As it turns out, the school's zero-tolerance policy applies to all drugs, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines.

With the help of the ACLU, the student filed a lawsuit against the school. A federal appeals court explained the situation well when it said, "Common sense informs us that directing a 13-year-old girl to remove her clothes, partially revealing her breasts and pelvic area, for allegedly possessing ibuprofen ... was excessively intrusive."

Safford Middle School has clearly faiiiiiled big time here. Going to these kinds of lengths to deal with something so trivial is just ridiculous. Perhaps it should spend less time worrying about ibuprofen and more time worrying about academics.