Mary Holcroft, a parent, told the Huntley Community School District 158 Board of Education during the meeting’s public comment period that school staff searched her daughter’s body and locker without a nurse present and without calling her first.

Holcroft said her daughter initially reported sexualized comments from another student and that, weeks later, school staff told Holcroft her daughter had been seen “slicing herself in class” and had razor blades. Holcroft said the later claim was false. “It was a fabricated…false claim,” she said. “They searched her — all of her bathing, her body included, and her locker.”

Holcroft said the school later told her the search did not happen, but that her daughter confirmed she had been taken alone to the social worker’s office and asked to remove her shirt so staff could “review her arms.” She said her daughter was taught the concept of self‑harm during that meeting and that no parent or nurse was present. “It is not appropriate for any adult ever in any circumstance other than a parent or a nurse to ask to view a child's body. Period,” Holcroft said.

Holcroft said she met with the principal and requested the vice principal and social worker attend; she said the principal refused to include them in that meeting. She also told the board a required risk‑assessment report that should have been filed “magically disappeared” and that she was told by school staff that her daughter was “probably not telling the truth.”

Holcroft asked the board to revise district protocol to require that parents be contacted first in incidents that do not pose an immediate danger, that only a nurse (or parent) may request a child remove clothing for inspection, and that unwarranted locker or body searches be prohibited. She also said the district should make clear that emotional and mental safety matter as much as physical safety.

The board did not take formal action during the meeting on Holcroft’s request. Holcroft said she intends to pursue the matter further for her child; she urged the district to bring the issue into the light to allow change.

The statements in this article reflect Holcroft’s account as given during public comment. The transcript indicates the parent named school staff roles (vice principal, social worker, principal) but does not quote those staff members during the public comment. The district provided no on‑the‑record corrective statement during the meeting about the incident.