Out of control, bullying public school officials continue their deplorable acts of violation against young children over incidents that puzzlingly seem to typically originate in the school lunchroom.
Recall the recent story of a boy who was suspended from school for five days after being interrogated in the Vice Principal’s office for hours on end, told he was carrying an “illegal” substance, threatened with transfer to another school and warned that he would be enrolled in a teen alcoholics support group after being called out by the lunch police for bringing a simple bottle of kombucha in his lunchbox packed by his own Mother!
Then there was the story earlier this year of a preschooler at West Hoke Elementary in North Carolina who was given a highly processed, cafeteria lunch containing pink slime chicken nuggets because the lunch police inspecting her lunchbox decided that the turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato chips, and apple juice her mother packed were not nutritious enough.
Apparently, North Carolina school officials did not learn their lesson from the huge negative publicity and backlash from that stunt because an even worse lunchroom incident has been revealed in a recent lawsuit by The Rutherford Institute.
According to the complaint Cox v the Sampson County Board of Education filed on December 6, 2012, Union Elementary School Assistant Principal Teresa Holmes allegedly strip searched 10 year old J.C. Cox as a result of the chivalrous act of helping a classmate retrieve her dropped coins from under the lunchroom table.
A press release by The Rutherford Institute on the matter describes in detail how the lunchroom incident went down all without a parent or guardian present at any time:
… on Friday, June 12, 2012, J.C. Cox, a fifth-grader attending Union Elementary School in Clinton, N.C., was in the school cafeteria eating lunch when a female classmate dropped money onto the floor.
J.C. went under the table, retrieved the coins and returned them to the girl. Upon approaching J.C.’s table, Assistant Principal Teresa Holmes, who was also in the cafeteria at the time, was informed that someone had dropped $20 on the floor, that the money was missing, and that J.C. had gone under the table in search of the missing money.
Holmes asked J.C. if he had the money and told him that unless he returned it, she would have to search him. J.C. told Holmes he did not have the money.
Holmes then ordered J.C. to come with her to her office. Holmes also called a school custodian and asked him to meet her at the office. Once there, Holmes again asked J.C. if he had the money and again, he told her “no.” J.C. even pulled out his pockets to show that he had no money.
The assistant principal then told J.C. she had no choice but to search him, and that she was within her legal right to do so. Holmes allegedly ordered J.C. to remove his shoes, socks, pants and shirt.
With J.C. stripped to his underwear, Holmes ran her finger around the waistband of his undershorts.
Holmes did not find any money on J.C. While in Holmes’ office, another teacher arrived to report that the $20 had been found on the cafeteria floor.
When J.C.’s mother later contacted the school to voice her concerns about the strip search, she was reportedly told that school personnel have the right to perform strip searches and that the assistant principal was within her rights in doing so.
Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute accuse Ms. Holmes of violating J.C.’s Fourth Amendment rights when he was inexplicably strip searched for stooping down to help out a classmate. In addition, they cite the 2009 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in Safford Unif. Sch. Dist. # 1 v. Redding which ruled that school officials such as Ms. Holmes absolutely do not have the right or authority to strip search a student unless there is evidence that the child is in possession of a dangerous item.
These frequent acts of violation against children and flagrant ignoring of parental rights by public school officials must stop and hopefully with this lawsuit, The Rutherford Institute can make some positive headway in this area.
The lunchroom has clearly become a warzone in many public schools instead of a healthy environment for eating and sharing with classmates that it is intended to be.
Do you have an act of lunchtime bullying by school officials to share? Please chime in with a comment.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
As a school teacher I feel a strong need to reply to this post. At first I was angry by the hate I felt being poured onto this page. But as we know, anger always covers a deeper emotion. For me the emotion I realize I’m feeling as I reread this post and the comments that follow it is pure sadness. Yes, obviously strip searching a child is mind boggling. It’s hard to fathom any sane reason that would justifiably lead to this. Undeniably it needs to be looked in to and dealt with. But to lump all public schools into this demonized category does nothing to help the millions of children who walk through those doors every day. Our society provides a free education for all children. Not all parents have the luxury to stay home and homeschool their children. Some wish they did and some want nothing to do with that. Either way, the public school is there for all children. I love teaching. I love children, all children, the children who are whole and the children who are broken. Let me say that more and more children come to school broken. Their hearts and spirits have been broken by poverty, parental substance abuse, domestic violence, and/or mental illness (their own and/or their parents). We provide a free education to all children, even those who are broken and who have behavior that does not allow them to settle into the routine of caring learning communities. Yes I agree, there are teachers who should not be teaching. But there are also amazing teachers who give their hearts and souls to the children that they teach. Imagining that some children come to school full of hate and anger is almost impossible unless you work in the schools. Please, before you lump all public schools and those that work in them into the “most horrid place on Earth” category, visit them, volunteer in them, become part of the solution of making them a better place for your community’s children instead of standing by the proverbial fence bashing them. That truly does nothing for all the children that enter those doors everyday. Thank you for listening to my view.
Wow, what a great way to address such a difficult issue. I too know many people who teach and who have dedicated their lives to helping kids. I also know parents who have been through terrible divorces, who have had teachers care enough about their kids to help them blossom and gain self confidence where they had been struggling prior.
This is a serious issue and we do need to address it, but I agree that there should be more focus on solutions rather than distrust and anger if we are going to prevent this from happening to someone else.I think homeschooling has many benefits and can be great for many families, but if we have the time and patience to homeschool our own kids, maybe we could use our time and talents in a way that could bless the lives of the kids who’s parents are not able to do so. Things like volunteering in the classrooms, being hall monitors, being a part of the PTA etc. Whatever gets you into the school and involved in the way the kids are treated as well as keeping you closer to your kids will have a huge impact on preventing these kinds of situations.
I’m with Sarah in how indignant I feel about these situations, but I also agree that we need to be a part of the solution and figure out how we can help these kids!
Actually, public schooling is not free, it is paid for by every working American, via government extorted tax dollars.
I agree that there are some amazing teachers. But the problem is, that the public school system is broken beyond repair (and in fact, it was from the very beginning), and a few fabulous teachers don’t fix it.
Schools are about separating children from their parents, and indoctrinating them into tools of the state, godless, mindless and doing whatever they’re told.
Here in Canada the government sends ‘Public Health Nurses’ to vaccinate children behind their parent’s backs, no consent needed if they’re over twelve. I just found out that a girl that has been deathly ill for three years actually had the Gardasil vaccine given to her in school two months before getting so sick, and her parents never knew she even had the vaccine!
Kids are being taught that ‘whatever feels right is right’. Teachers ridicule kids in front of their peers if they’re Christians. One of my children had her pencil taken away from her that had a Bible verse written on it, because it was ‘inappropriate’ to bring that to school.
One extremely dedicated teacher (she came to school at six in the morning, and often didn’t leave until six pm to prepare) ‘taught’ only the whole word method, which is what she had been taught in teacher’s college…… apparently my daughter ‘read’ really well….. in fact, she had memorized about 100 books (she had an amazing memory). But when I covered up the pictures, she couldn’t even read simple words like ‘the’. I confronted the teacher, saying that memorizing and reading are two different things. The teacher claimed that it was the same thing, and that my daughter could actually read.
I took her out of school and taught her myself….. she could actually read perfectly within a month. That teacher had from September to March to teach her and failed. But her dedication was awesome!
Mary Dun, you’ve got one thing wrong, that education isn’t free..at least for those of us who aren’t holding our hands out to the government.
I home school and I am so incredibly glad I do. Many people could afford it if that is what they wanted to do. I have 3 children, we live in a small house that is paid for and we drive used vehicles we paid for with cash. We could easily finance a 3000 sq foot house and drive brand new cars and go eat fancy dinners and put nice vacations on credit cards. But we only have ONE chance to raise our children. Those cars and houses and vacations are simply nothing compared to the well being of our children. I am sorry but most public school systems are terrible, horrific prison like environments. With more teachers who hate teaching because their classrooms are full of out of control little brats who’s parents don’t give a darn and the teachers can’t do anything about it. So we are loosing all the good teachers as they are retiring as soon as they can. Any young teachers who do care are ran off and only the ones who can’t get a job anywhere else stick around. I don’t blame the teachers but the ridiculous rules and regulations put on the schools that ultimately run off all the good teachers and decent parents. So yes, they are one of the worst places on earth for those of us who do care and don’t want our gigantic government controlling every aspect of our lives. I’ll be danged if they are going to control what my children do and don’t eat and crush their spirit with their prison like tactics.
Also, that principle should get fired. I have a little boy and I am just infuriated thinking of anyone stripping him down in such a manner. I hope these are parents who give a darn and make that woman’s life a living hell until she is ran off. Maybe if parents started making women like this an example, pedophiles and weirdos wouldn’t look for teaching jobs as an easy way to find victims.
Mary- my mom was a single mother with 5 children. She stayed at home and taught us at home. The child support my biological father paid was barely enough to cover our rent. Food, clothing, utilities, car repairs, and our school books were covered by my mom. She did day care, got up at 3:30 in the morning to deliver newspapers and bake bread to sell at our local health food co-op. She almost worked herself to death trying to provide for us and keep us at home where she felt we would receive the best education. My mom didn’t do it because it was a luxury. She did it because she knew it was best, even though we were living well below the poverty line. I have many friends who are in the public education system and they all express frustration with the way their hands are tied when it comes to their students. Most families that home school make numerous sacrifices to keep their children at home. For us it is not a luxury, but a necessity for the safety and well being of our children, not to mention their education.
Opting out of the system and homeschooling may be great for individuals (it’s on the table at my house), but we are trying to create a society in which our children’s children will want to live, and that involves preserving an educated electorate. Creating and protecting a free nation takes a whole-society effort and I am honored to pay my dues into that system that will make good neighbors for my children.
What “dues” are you referring to?
@Mary Dunn I am grateful for the honest, loving good teachers out there. What has happened in our country over the last 50 years was planned. Once LBJ had his perfect society our country has gone downhill. The welfare system has taken the father out of the home. So the government steps in in increments. First it was to help the widowed moms, then the single moms. Divorce became much easier. Americans became used to the government taking over and making the decisions for our children. The fact that the government provides breakfast, lunch and snacks to low income children is awful. This lets the parents off the hook for being responsible for the welfare of their children. Once the government is more and more responsible for the welfare of children, parents can continue to do drugs, not work and have more out of wedlock babies. Parents need to be more responsible and quite depending on the government for money, food, schools. America is one of the last countries that a person can be almost anything you want. You just have to want it. Unions have hurt our schools. Schools need to more local control and parents being involved.
Amen!!!! So true.
“The fact that the government provides breakfast, lunch and snacks to low income children is awful. This lets the parents off the hook for being responsible for the welfare of their children.”
Actually whats awful is that you want children to go hungry.
I agree with Will. Do you really think it’s better for children to go hungry?
@ Will and Melinda. No I do not want the children to go hungry. I want the government out of our school lunch programs. I want parents to take responsability for their children that they brought into this world!!! Other people should not have to pay higher taxes so that lazy, irresponsible parents don’t do their jobs. The sad thing is our childrent are fed the crappiest food possible in the school lunch programs.
“Other people should not have to pay higher taxes so that lazy, irresponsible parents don’t do their jobs.”
Iowa girl, what about single moms who WORK FULL TIME to provide for their children, but don’t quite make enough? Many of them work harder than most people who work full time, and go above and beyond, but still need a little extra help.
We do agree that “our childrent are fed the crappiest food possible in the school lunch programs”. The real issue is getting QUALITY, nutrient dense food into the school lunch progran. Not demonizing other parents as “lazy, irresponsible parents” who “don’t do their jobs”, when you have no idea what the truth of their lives are like. Letting innocent children go hungry is exactly what you mean, despite you protests to the contrary, when you say ignorant things like, “Other people should not have to pay higher taxes so that lazy, irresponsible parents don’t do their jobs.”
I would just like to mention that in order for these kids to get any food from schools in the first place, the parents have to fill out forms (most of the time). There are parents who are so irresponsible, they can’t even manage that, so some children are starving despite the school food programs, as lacking as they may be.
The real issue is both things. Parental responsibility and better quality school fare should not be mutually exclusive. Both issues must be addressed.
Rachel, I do agree with you. I’m not saying there aren’t any irresponsible parents. I’m just sick of sweeping, ignorant statements like iowa Girl made, that lump all parents who depend on the school lunch program into one category. In her eyes, and many others, that category is “lazy and irresponsible”. They view “those people” as taking money out of their pocket. It’s just not true.
It’s personal to me, because my sister is a single mom who gets very little help from her ex. She works full time at a low income job, and believe me she works hard. She is not lazy or irresponsible, and there are a LOT of parents out there just like her. They are the majority. Not the parents who take advantage, or can’t even manage to fill out the paperwork when their children do qualify.
Ironically enough, my sister has been packing my two young nephew’s lunches this year, because the shool food is so atrocious that they don’t want to eat it. She is responsive to the needs of her sons, even though they definitely qualify for the free school lunch.
People who think like iowa Girl should be thankful that they haven’t ever been in a situation where they truly couldn’t provide everything their children need, instead of calling other parents names. What is the saying? There, but for the grace of God, go I.
While I appreciate your point of view, I am extremely tired of hearing how I (and other homeschool parents) have “the luxury to stay home and homeschool their children.” I can assure you that “luxury” has nothing to do with our decision. My husband and I have worked hard to be in the financial position to have one parent home with our son. We have sacrificed wants so that we can provide for our family’s needs, Christian education being one of those needs. There is no “luxury” at our house. Just the prioritizing of what is most important.
People were doing just fine learning how to read the bible at home prior to the adoption of the public educational school system. From what I’ve read, Andrew Carnegie imported that model of education from Germany as a means of educating in a fashion that would ensure a “factory-worker-mentality” workforce (don’t question what you are taught, don’t question authority, etc. etc.) which he so passionately believed was needed to staff his ever-growing steelworks. Prior to this model of public education, visitors to this new country were quite amazed at the level of literacy and philosophical wherewithal of this group of “country bumpkin farmers” who were mostly taught at home.
we actually hear it all the time. it starts with a statistic telling us what percentage of parents can’t or don’t do this or that well enough for “our children” and then proceeds to tell us what the government can to do help the problem.
that’s outrageous!
Parents should take to the streets to protest and take their rights back. This is appalling!
for those that say this is what happens in public schools etc, private can be just as bad. i hate the idea of children being fed by the school and lunch rooms am very glad we don’t do that here in nz.
I can’t help but say GET YOUR CHILDREN OUT OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS!!!!! The home is the environment that children will learn best in. It is not the governments responsibility to teach our children what they need to know. Let’s use the freedom that we have while it is legal to homeschool and teach our children at home where God intended them to be nurtured.
As Larry The Cable Guy says, “what the hell is this, Russia?”. And the sad answer is it certainly appears to be pretty darned close.
but, amy, children shouldn’t be mass grouped. they are human beings, not cattle.
This is beyond belief! I hope that poor family wins big! I am usually against lawsuits, but this is unthinkable! What an embarrassing, humiliating experience for that boy! It just makes the hair on my neck stand up to hear such abuse being held up as justifiable! Where does it end? Homeschooling is a wonderful option for those who are considering a change of environment for their children. THANK YOU RUTHERFORD INSTITUTE for protecting the honest citizens of this nation! God bless you!