Urgent - Don't Let Congress Strip Search Students

The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote tomorrow on H.R. 5295. Please call your U.S. representative now and urge him or her to vote NO on H.R. 5295. The Drug Policy Alliance makes it easy. So do the Students for Sensible Drug Policy.

According to Students for Sensible Drug Policy,

The so-called "Student and Teacher Safety Act of 2006" (H.R. 5295) would make it easier for teachers and school administrators to search students' lockers and bags for drugs and other contraband. SSDP needs your help to make sure that this bill never becomes law.

H.R. 5295 would allow school officials to search dozens or even hundreds of students based on the mere suspicion that just one student brought drugs to school. This kind of justification allowed police officers to storm a high school in Goose Creek, SC, in 2003, forcing dozens of students to the ground and pointing guns directly at their faces during a misguided raid in which no drugs were found.

This bill is nothing more than another attack on the constitutional rights of young people by the federal government. Students should never have to check their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse door.

According to the Drug Policy Alliance:

Imagine an America in which school officials could strip search every student in their school based on the unsubstantiated tip that one of them might have a joint. Congress is voting on a bill Tuesday or Wednesday that could make these police state tactics more common.

We can stop Congress in its tracks, though. Call your representative RIGHT NOW and tell them to vote against this dangerous bill.

If you don't know who your House representative is, simply call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and give them your address. They'll connect you directly with your representative's office.

Please call your U.S. representative now and urge him or her to vote NO on H.R. 5295. The Drug Policy Alliance makes it easy. So do the Students for Sensible Drug Policy.

Remember that if you live in Ohio, as I do, you effectively have two U.S. representatives in addition to your own. U.S. Reps. Ted Strickland (D-Lisbon) and Sherrod Brown (D-Avon) are running statewide, and need the votes of all Ohioans. Therefore, they should listen to you. Congressman Strickland's telephone number is 202-225-5705. Congressman Brown's telephone number is 202-225-3401.

Finally, the main sponsor of this legislative abomination, U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis (R-Kentucky 4), is in a tight race for re-election. If you've had enough of Rep. Davis' authoritarianism, you can find out how to help his opponent, Ken Lucas.