Parent tells board Nicolette Middle School 'health and safety' check included forced bra check
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Summary
A Nicolette Middle School parent told the Banning Unified board that school staff required her 13-year-old daughter to pull out and shake her bra during what staff called a "health and safety check," and urged the district to change the practice and notify parents.
Casey Sunderland, a parent of an eighth grader at Nicolette Middle School, told the Banning Unified School District Board of Trustees on Feb. 6 that school staff subjected her 13-year-old daughter to a search she described as a strip search during a health-and-safety check.
Sunderland said her daughter was removed from class and taken to Vice Principal Ms. Williamson's office, where, she said, staff directed the girl to remove her socks and shoes, "grab her bra from over her shirt, pull it away from her breasts, and to lean over and shake" twice as part of a search for vapes. "They made her pull her bra and shake her breasts to check for vapes," Sunderland said.
The parent said staff later called her on speakerphone and told her the search was a safety check; Sunderland said she disagreed with that characterization and called the incident "wrong, degrading, demoralizing and straight up traumatizing to these small children." She urged the board to reconsider the policy, or at least notify parents that a "health and safety check" may include that level of search.
The board did not discuss or take action on the matter during public comment; board policy and practice for public comment were reiterated during the meeting. The superintendent and other district staff present acknowledged community concerns elsewhere in the meeting and described ongoing training and review of procedures, but no formal change to the district's health-and-safety procedures was announced during the Feb. 6 session.
Several trustees later referenced districtwide staff trainings and a mandatory meeting for principals and staff after recent county- and state-level discussions about student safety, but did not state any immediate policy change tied to Sunderland's comment.
The board has an established public-comment process and told speakers the board would not respond or take action during the public-comment period; the board may refer matters to staff for follow-up. Sunderland asked the board to notify parents promptly if the district's health-and-safety checks include the kinds of searches she described.
The district did not provide additional on-the-record details about the school's handling of the incident at the meeting. Sunderland requested the board update district policy and parental notification; the transcript shows no formal motion or vote related to the matter.
