House approves bill requiring school boards to implement student search policies

In a voice vote the U.S. House of Representatives has approved a bill that requires local school boards to implement policies governing student searches or run the risk of losing federal funding. The Senate has not yet considered a companion bill. Representative Geoff Davis (R-KY), one of the bill’s sponsors, believes it will help curb violence. The language in the bill is based on the standards set for student searches by the U.S. Supreme in a 1995 ruling. It states that school board policies governing searches should spell out that searches have to be conducted by a full-time teacher or school officials acting on a reasonable suspicion that a student has weapons, drugs or other dangerous materials. The bill also contains a provision requiring that search methods not be "excessively intrusive." According to Representative Mark Kirk (R-IL), another sponsor, teachers in his district are asking for clear guidelines. "They want to search the book bags, and the policies are not clear," he says. The House bill has the support of the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers union. However, American Federation of Teachers, the other teachers union, opposes the legislation on the grounds it is unnecessary and may place additional burdens on teachers.

Representative George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House committee overseeing education issues, argues the bill constitutes interference in a matter of local control. "Schools and school districts already have policies in place regarding student searches," he says. "Those policies are the product of consultation with local administrators, teachers and parents. They take in the concerns of the community." Mary Kusler, a lobbyist for the American Association of School Administrators, says her organization opposes the bill. She adds the bill may be a political stunt by Rep. Davis to gain votes in a tough re-election campaign. Arguing for the bill, Rep. Davis cites a U.S. Department of Education report that found 29% of high school students in 2003 reported drugs were made available to them and 9% of students were threatened or injured with a weapon on school property, according to that report. The Education Department has not taken a position on the legislation.