Parents in upstate New York are calling for the resignation of two school employees amid claims that the employees told four 12-year-old girls they had to be strip-searched because they were suspected of using drugs.
The students’ parents have accused the assistant principal and school nurse at the East Middle School in Binghamton of traumatizing their daughters during the alleged strip search on Jan. 15. The school employees allegedly searched the girls because they appeared “hyper and giddy” and were suspected of being under the influence of drugs, according to Progressive Leaders of Tomorrow, a local advocacy group that is representing the parents.
The Binghamton School District has denied that they strip-searched the students and said that the staff members were conducting a “medical evaluation” on the students which “may require the removal of bulky outside clothing to expose an arm so that vitals like blood pressure and pulse can be assessed.”
“This is not the same as a strip search,” the school district said in a statement to BuzzFeed News.